How do I make my language settings for "input language" (keyboard layout) which I set via the language bar stay set program to program?

April 25, 2008 1:15 PM

How do I make my language settings for "input language" (keyboard layout) which I set via the language bar stay set program to program?

If I set the language to "Colemak" when I have Textpad open, and then go to Firefox, the language bar still displays US English and I have to type in QWERTY. If I go back to Textpad, it's Colemak. It is not specific to any program, all are affected.

Using Windows XP SP2. Not sure if it matters but the language bar is minimized into my Taskbar.

posted by jesirose to computers & internet (5 comments total)

The language settings are per-application and inherit from whatever program launched the particular application. So, if you set the language in Explorer, then when you launch Firefox, it gets the same language. So to avoid the problem, set the language in Explorer before you launch anything.
posted by kindall at 2:38 PM on April 25, 2008

Lame. I see I can set the computer to use Colemak on startup, but if I want to switch everything back to US wouldn't I have to reboot again? That seems like a pain in the butt, but I guess not that many people are switching back and forth :)

What do you mean, whatever program launched the application? I launch them via the programs menu or my task bar.
posted by jesirose at 8:44 PM on April 25, 2008

I launch them via the programs menu or my task bar

In that case, the program launching your applications is Windows Explorer.

What kindall is suggesting you do is make sure a Windows Explorer window is the front/active window (My Computer would do), then set your input language, then launch whatever programs you want to use that same input language in. The programs you launch should then inherit whatever language setting that you chose for Windows Explorer. You can change the Windows Explorer language setting at any time, just by making sure an Explorer window is active before you hit the Language Bar.
posted by flabdablet at 1:49 AM on April 26, 2008

Thanks.
posted by jesirose at 6:25 AM on April 26, 2008

Or you could use one of the AutoHotKey solutions, which work globally and not per application. If you're typing most of the time on Colemak, make sure to set the default keyboard layout to Colemak.
posted by Sharcho at 7:40 AM on April 26, 2008