Language Bar in Vista Is Missing After Updates

Use your standard keyboard for different languages with Windows language bar support.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 have a language bar feature that allows for quick switching between different languages for entering text through the keyboard or handwriting recognition. If the language bar disappears from the toolbar it can be re-enabled with a few steps.

Language Support

Microsoft Windows offers the ability to use multiple languages and starting with the Windows Vista version, the ability to use multiple languages within the same Windows installation and user login to speed in multilingual work. The language bar provides the fast switching between languages.

Additional Language

Enable additional languages in order to see the language bar. Click "Start," then "Control Panel," then "Regional and Language Options" and "Keyboards and Languages." Click the "Change Keyboards" button. Click the "Add" button to select the language you wish to support, then click "Apply."

Show Language Bar

Enable the language bar to be shown by clicking "Start," then "Control Panel." Click "Regional and Language Options" and "Keyboards and Languages," then click "Change Keyboard." Click on the "Language Bar" tab then uncheck "Hidden" and check "Show text labels on the Language Bar" then click "OK."

Registry Editing

If the language bar is still not displayed, you may need to change a registry setting. Changing the wrong registry setting can make your computer non-functional. Proceed at your own risk. Click "Start" then type "Run" in the search bar and press "Enter." Type "regedit" in the dialog box then press "Enter." Navigate to the registry entry: "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" without quotes. Right-click any empty area on the right and click "New," then "String Value." Right-click on the value created and click "Modify" then type: "ctfmon"="CTFMON.EXE" with the quotation marks intact. Then press "OK" and reboot your computer. The language bar will appear.

References

• Windows: Language Bar Overview
• System Problems: Language Bar Missing