technotes

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TechNotes

The German grammar INTERMATIK incorporates a special navigation system, as well as sound and video clips. You will find information on the technical requirements for INTERMATIK, solutions to the most common problems associated with using the grammar, and instructions on how to type "umlauts" (special German characters) on either the Macintosh or Windows side on this page.

WELCOME

TECHNICAL NOTES

UMLAUTS ON THE MACINTOSH

ACCESSING THE GRAMMAR

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS

UMLAUTS ON THE WINDOWS-STYLE MACHINES

SETTING UP A SECOND KEYBOARD CONFIGURATION IN WINDOWS

7.

SETTING UP A SECOND KEYBOARD CONFIGURATION IN WINDOWS
(using the US-International keyboard layout/methodology to produce accented characters

OVERVIEW
There are a variety of ways that you can produce accents using your PC running any reasonably recent version of Microsoft ® Windows.™ One method involves using the numeric keypad (calculator-type arrangement of keys) on your keyboard to type in special codes. An additional method, discussed here, involves configuring your computer to use a different keyboard layout, the "United States-International" layout. Whenever the alternative keyboard layout is activated, your keyboard will perform slightly differently, making it possible to easily create accented characters. At the same time, however, the ways special characters are made (like quotation marks, etc.) will not be exactly the same.

First, this document will instruct you how to configure Windows to make the alternate keyboard layout available. From there, the document will explain how to use the alternate keyboard layout.

INSTANTIATING AN ADDITIONAL KEYBOARD LAYOUT

Open the Control Panel. This can be done by going to the [Start] menu and selecting "Settings" and then using the sub-menu option "Control Panel"

Find the "Keyboard" control panel item and double click on it.

A menu will pop up that looks like the following:

Click on the 'Language' tab and you will get a screen that looks something like this:

This "page" of the Keyboard Properties control panel displays all the keyboard setups that are currently configured on your machine. In most cases, the entry "English (United States) … United States" will be the only listing.

Click the "Add…" button. Because you would like another listing for the "United States-International" layout, you must click the Add button. When you do, you will obtain the following dialog box:

Use the pull down menu to find your "foreign" language. When the desired language is found, click. It really does not matter which language you choose since you are only picking a "different" language to easily distinguish the contexts in which you would want to use the international keyboard.

If necessary, click "OK" to dismiss this dialog box and finalize the selection. You should then see the original window, with a new listing &endash; for example, the following:

In most cases, the layout that appears next to the foreign language is not "United States-International" but instead a standard layout for that country. Unless you are familiar with the keyboard from that country, this setting will need to be changed. If the layout already reads "United States-International" you may skip the next three steps:

To change the "Layout" for your "foreign" "Language" do the following:

Hi-light it (as above) in the list, if it isn't already, by clicking on it once.

Click on the Properties button.

After clicking the "Properties" button, the following dialog will come up:

Use the pull down menu to select the setting, "United States-International." If necessary, click "OK" to dismiss this dialog box and return to the following screen.

You should ensure that you have a listing for the additional language and also a listing for the layout "United States-International".

Likewise, be sure that the option "Enable indicator on taskbar" is also checked, as above.

If the configuration looks reasonable, click "Apply" &endash; and then click "OK" to dismiss this keyboard control panel.

Congratulations, you now have the ability to dynamically call upon the International keyboard!

SWITCHING THE LAYOUT WHEN NEEDED

If the process above was successful, a new "mini-icon" should appear in your taskbar (near the clock area). In most cases, it appears as "En" as shown below.

This "icon" is actually a sort of control panel which

displays the keyboard setup currently in use

can be used to change the keyboard setup

To change your keyboard to the United States-International keyboard, simply click on the blue icon to obtain a popup menu of choices, like this sample menu:

To switch the current configuration (for the current program that you are using) click on the "foreign" language. The icon on the taskbar should change to reflect the new status you've set &endash; as illustrated here:

The same process can be followed to restore the original layout, if desired.

USING THE US-INTERNATIONAL KEYBOARD LAYOUT

Since you will only need this procedure once, yet may consistently need to refer to how to type using the International keyboard, notes on how to produce various characters using the "United States-International" keyboard are detailed in the associated reference document.


7.	SETTING UP A SECOND KEYBOARD CONFIGURATION IN WINDOWS (using the US-International keyboard layout/methodology to produce accented characters

	OVERVIEW There are a variety of ways that you can produce accents using your PC running any reasonably recent version of Microsoft ® Windows.™ One method involves using the numeric keypad (calculator-type arrangement of keys) on your keyboard to type in special codes. An additional method, discussed here, involves configuring your computer to use a different keyboard layout, the "United States-International" layout. Whenever the alternative keyboard layout is activated, your keyboard will perform slightly differently, making it possible to easily create accented characters. At the same time, however, the ways special characters are made (like quotation marks, etc.) will not be exactly the same. First, this document will instruct you how to configure Windows to make the alternate keyboard layout available. From there, the document will explain how to use the alternate keyboard layout.

	INSTANTIATING AN ADDITIONAL KEYBOARD LAYOUT Open the Control Panel. This can be done by going to the [Start] menu and selecting "Settings" and then using the sub-menu option "Control Panel" Find the "Keyboard" control panel item and double click on it. A menu will pop up that looks like the following:

	Click on the 'Language' tab and you will get a screen that looks something like this: This "page" of the Keyboard Properties control panel displays all the keyboard setups that are currently configured on your machine. In most cases, the entry "English (United States) … United States" will be the only listing.

	Click the "Add…" button. Because you would like another listing for the "United States-International" layout, you must click the Add button. When you do, you will obtain the following dialog box:

	Use the pull down menu to find your "foreign" language. When the desired language is found, click. It really does not matter which language you choose since you are only picking a "different" language to easily distinguish the contexts in which you would want to use the international keyboard.

	If necessary, click "OK" to dismiss this dialog box and finalize the selection. You should then see the original window, with a new listing &endash; for example, the following:

	In most cases, the layout that appears next to the foreign language is not "United States-International" but instead a standard layout for that country. Unless you are familiar with the keyboard from that country, this setting will need to be changed. If the layout already reads "United States-International" you may skip the next three steps: To change the "Layout" for your "foreign" "Language" do the following: Hi-light it (as above) in the list, if it isn't already, by clicking on it once. Click on the Properties button. After clicking the "Properties" button, the following dialog will come up:

	Use the pull down menu to select the setting, "United States-International." If necessary, click "OK" to dismiss this dialog box and return to the following screen. You should ensure that you have a listing for the additional language and also a listing for the layout "United States-International". Likewise, be sure that the option "Enable indicator on taskbar" is also checked, as above. If the configuration looks reasonable, click "Apply" &endash; and then click "OK" to dismiss this keyboard control panel. Congratulations, you now have the ability to dynamically call upon the International keyboard!

	SWITCHING THE LAYOUT WHEN NEEDED If the process above was successful, a new "mini-icon" should appear in your taskbar (near the clock area). In most cases, it appears as "En" as shown below.

	This "icon" is actually a sort of control panel which displays the keyboard setup currently in use can be used to change the keyboard setup To change your keyboard to the United States-International keyboard, simply click on the blue icon to obtain a popup menu of choices, like this sample menu:

	To switch the current configuration (for the current program that you are using) click on the "foreign" language. The icon on the taskbar should change to reflect the new status you've set &endash; as illustrated here:

	The same process can be followed to restore the original layout, if desired.

	USING THE US-INTERNATIONAL KEYBOARD LAYOUT Since you will only need this procedure once, yet may consistently need to refer to how to type using the International keyboard, notes on how to produce various characters using the "United States-International" keyboard are detailed in the associated reference document.