Adding German keyboard/input

 

German Keyboard Layout

The German keyboard is similar to the American keyboard you are used to, but it adds support for the 4 German characters (ä, ö, ü, and ß) that are not found on American keyboards. Many of the non-alphabet keys are in different places as well.

Note that it also has the keys z and y in reversed position!

We've circled the most important differences in the keyboard below:

Adding an Input Language to Windows Vista:

1. Open the Control Panel from the Start Menu.

2. In the Clock, Language and Region section, click Change keyboards or other input methods.

3. On the dialog box that appears, select the Keyboards and Languages tab and click on Change keyboards...

4. Under the General tab, click Add.

5. A new dialog box appears. Select an Input language to install - search for German (Germany) on the list and then check German. Click OK.

6. The window will close and you will come back to the previous dialog box. Click Apply.

7. Now, in the lower right-hand side of your desktop, click on the language bar.

Then, select DE German (Germany).

 

8. You can now switch between English and German keyboard inputs by selecting the language on your Taskbar. (If you do not see the language selection on your taskbar, right click anywhere on the empty portion of the toolbar, and then under "Toolbars" option make sure "Language bar" is checked.)

Note that Windows only switches a language for the CURRENT window - all other windows still use your default language (which is most likely English). You will have to remember to select German as the input language for Auf geht's! every time you start the program.

Adding an Input Language to Windows XP:

1. Open the Control Panel. Make sure the Control Panel looks like this (classic view) - if you need to, you can switch to Classic View in the upper left side of the window.

2. Double-click on the Regional and Language Options button.

3. On the dialog box that appears, click the Languages tab:

4. Under the Languages tab, click the Details button:

5. In the window that pops up, click the Add button to install German keyboard.

6. A new dialog box appears. The upper pull down menu lets you select an Input language to install - search for German (Germany) on the list.

7. Now use the lower pull down menu to select a Keyboard layout - choose German.

8. After you have selected German as both your Input Language and Keyboard Layout, click OK.

9. You can now switch between English and German keyboard inputs by selecting the language on your Taskbar. (If you do not see the language selection on your taskbar, right click anywhere on the empty portion of the toolbar, and then under "Toolbars" option make sure "Language bar" is checked.)

Note that Windows only switches a language for the CURRENT window - all other windows still use your default language (which is most likely English). You will have to remember to select German as the input language for Auf geht's! every time you start the program.

10. You can also use the Language Bar and Key Settings buttons to edit your preferences on how to switch between languages, and how the language bar will be displayed.

Note: For switching between input languages, might consider using the key combination Alt+Shift because it doesn’t conflict with other programs that might be in use.

Adding an Input Language to Windows 98:

Windows 98 has the same basic sequence as Windows XP - while the look of the dialogs might be a little different, the images from Windows XP above show the correct sequence.

1. Open the Control Panel.

2. Double-click on the Regional and Language Options button.

3. On the dialog box that appears, click the Languages tab:

4. Under the Languages tab, click the Details button:

5. In the window that pops up, click the Add button to install German keyboard.

6. A new dialog box appears. The upper pull down menu lets you select an input language to install - search for German (Germany) on the list.

7. Now use the lower pull down menu to select a keyboard layout - choose German.

8. After you have selected German as both your Input Language and Keyboard Layout, click OK.

9. You can now switch between English and German keyboard inputs by selecting the language on your Taskbar. (If you do not see the language selection on your taskbar, right click on the toolbar, and under Toolbars select Language Bar.)

Note that Windows only switches a language for the CURRENT window - all other windows still use your default language (which is most likely English). You will have to remember to select German as the input language for Auf geht's! every time you start the program.

10. You can also use the Language Bar and Key Settings buttons to edit your preferences on how to switch between languages, and how the language bar will be displayed.

Note: For switching between input languages, might consider using the key combination Alt+Shift because it doesn’t conflict with other programs that might be in use.

Adding an Input Language to Mac OS X:

Mac OS X comes with support for multiple language inputs built in. Follow the 4 steps below to set up your keyboard for German input.

1. Select System Preferences from the Apple menu in the Finder.

2. Under the choices for Personal, select the icon for International, as show below.

3. When the International dialog box appears, click the Input Menu tab:

4. Under Input Menu tab, scroll down and select the German keyboard button. Be sure that the Show input menu in menu bar radio button at the bottom of the dialog box is selected to let you easily switch languages.

That's it! You can now easily switch between English and German keyboard inputs by selecting German on the menu bar (look for the flags!). Note that Mac OS X switches the language to German for all applications. Just select U.S. to switch back to English input. (You can also use a key combination to switch back and forth - see Options under the International dialog).