This article explains how to use a different keyboard layout on a computer running Ubuntu Linux. Adding a new keyboard layout will display a useful drop-down menu in the upper right corner of the desktop which will allow the user to switch between layouts quickly and easily.
Steps
Step 1. Go to Ubuntu Settings
Click on the down arrow icon located in the upper right corner of the desktop, then click on the icon with a wrench and screwdriver. Alternatively, you can open the activity overview window and click on the icon Settings.
Step 2. Click on the Region and Language tab
It is listed in the left pane of the window. The right pane will display the language and input method settings.
Step 3. Click on the + button visible in the "Input sources" section
A list of all available languages will be displayed.
Step 4. Click on one of the present layouts to select it
If the language you want is not listed, click the three-dot button below the list to view more options. If the layout you want isn't listed yet, click the button Other to view other languages.
- If the problem persists, close the "Settings" window and press the key combination Ctrl + T to open a "Terminal" window. At this point, run the following command settings set org.gnome.desktop.input-sources show-all-sources true, then reopen the "Settings" window and access the "Region and language" tab again.
- Depending on the language you choose, there may be more than one keyboard layout. For example, in the case of the English language, the following layouts will be present "English (US)", "English (Australia)", "English (Canada)", "English (United Kingdom)", etc. Another example is that of Cameroon which has the following layouts: "Cameroon Multilingual (Dvorak)" and "Cameroon Multilingual (QWERTY)".
Step 5. Click the Add button
It will appear in the upper right corner of the panel for the layout you have selected. In this way the keyboard layout in question will be inserted in the "Input sources" list.
Step 6. Move the layout you want to set as default to the top of the list
The first layout in the "Input Sources" list is the one that Ubuntu will automatically associate with the computer keyboard. If you need to use a different layout as the default, click the button with an up arrow (^), located at the bottom of the "Input sources" section, to move it to the top of the list.
If you need to use a certain layout according to the program you are using (for example if you need to create a document in Spanish and one in Italian), click on the button Options visible above the "Input sources" section to view the configuration settings of multiple sources.
Step 7. Switch between layouts
When there are two or more keyboard layouts within the "Input Sources" section, a special menu will appear in the upper right corner of the screen. It is characterized by the abbreviation of the language currently in use and a small icon in the shape of an arrow pointing downwards. To quickly switch from one layout to another, click on the icon indicated and select the layout you need.
Advice
- You can change the keyboard layout at any time by pressing the "Windows + Spacebar" key combination to cycle through the installed ones.
- To delete a keyboard layout you no longer use, select it by clicking on it with the mouse, then click on the trash can icon.
- To change the Ubuntu Server Edition command line keyboard layout, use this command: sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration.
- Not all layouts are compatible with standard keyboards. Make sure your computer keyboard is compatible with the layout you want to use before selecting it.
