Keyboard Installation Guide
- Clarissa Forbes
- Meryl Bishop
- Helen Zhang
Desktop
This tutorial will guide you though installing the virtual and on-screen desktop FirstVoices Keyboards, on both Mac and PC.
The virtual keyboard changes what language you’re typing on the physical keyboard, and causes certain keys to type different characters. The language you’re typing in can be controlled in your settings.
The on-screen keyboard is a keyboard in a window that can be dragged across your screen. If you choose, you can type by clicking the virtual keys in the window, similar to typing on a smartphone.
List of Desktop Keyboards
Before starting, it’s helpful to know which keyboard you’re looking for. You can search for the keyboard for your language in the dropdowns below. One is a list of all of the keyboards that FirstVoices maintains, the other is which keyboard correlates with each FirstVoices site.
Once you have found the keyboard for your language, click the link in the Keyboard column to go directly to the download page, and proceed to the Windows PC or Mac installation instructions.
Mac
Screenshots and videos for this tutorial were taken from a MacBook running macOS 13 (Ventura) using the Safari browser. The exact menu navigation and location of some things may look different from what you see on your computer. If you run into any problems, you can email us at hello@firstvoices.com and we are happy to help you out.
Installing Keyman
This video takes you through a quick installation of the Keyman software. A more detailed step-by-step guide with screenshots is posted below the video.
Find the page to download the keyboard for your language. You can find this in the dropdown under List of Desktop Keyboards.
Once opened, the page will look like the image below. Click on the green Install Keyboard button.
You will be brought to the keyboard download page. Don’t click the install keyboard button yet! Click on Install Keyman for macOS.
You will be taken to the Keyman for macOS page to install Keyman. Click the large green Download Now button to start downloading the installer. This usually only takes a few minutes.
Once complete, the download will appear in your browser downloads (or can be found in your computer’s downloads folder). Click the file to begin the installation process.
The Keyman Installer will open in a new window. Click anywhere around the Keyman logo to start the installer. There will be a security pop-up asking if you are sure you would like to open it - click Yes.
FirstVoices Keyboards, including the mobile app and computer keyboards (Keyman), do NOT view, track, or log any of your personal data (such as passwords, credit card info, etc) and are safe to use. However, many installers will prompt you about data security before installing any software that affects your keyboard.
Once accepted, there will be one more pop-up to confirm you would like to install Keyman and some information on what will happen when it installs. Click Install to proceed.
As soon as it begins installing, your Keyboard Settings page will launch in another window, along with a pop-up. The pop-up states that Keyman installer would like to enable Keyman as a third-party input method - this is required for Keyman to work on your computer. Click OK to continue.
Keyman is now installed! There will be a pop-up with some brief information about where Keyman is located on your computer and how to begin using it. Click OK to dismiss this pop-up.
Before moving on to installing your keyboard, now is a great time to check that Keyman installed correctly. Your Keyboard Settings window should still be up. Return to that window, and in your Input Sources, click Edit…
Under input sources, you should see Keyman (underlined in green in the image below) on the left side under All Input Sources.
If Show Input menu in menu bar (underlined in blue in the image below) is not turned on, please do so now. This will allow you to access the input menu from the top right of your screen rather than opening up your settings every time you want to switch keyboards.
Installing a Keyboard
Returning to your browser, hit back to go back to the keyboard download page. Once there, click the Install Keyboard button.
Like with Keyman, once the download is complete it will be in your browser’s downloads (or you can find it in your downloads folder). Click on the file to begin installation.
Clicking the keyboard file will open up Keyman Configuration in a new window, along with a pop-up asking if you’d like to install your keyboard. Click Install to proceed. When complete, the keyboard will be visible in Keyman Configuration.
You can find the keyboard by clicking on the Input button in the top right side of your screen. Hovering over the Keyboards selection opens another menu, showing which keyboards are available to use. The keyboard that is currently selected will have a checkmark next to it.
View the On-screen keyboard
This video shows you how to access the On-Screen Keyboard. A more detailed step-by-step guide with screenshots is posted below the video.
In this menu you can also access the On-Screen Keyboard. You can type with the on screen keyboard by clicking on each key, and the window can be dragged anywhere on your screen. Aside from typing, the on screen keyboard is a great tool to have in the first few days of using a new keyboard as you can see where all of the special keys are.
Pressing and holding the modifying keys Shift, Alt, Ctrl, and combinations of these keys will reveal different “layers” of the keyboard, and any special characters that can be found by pressing these keys.
Installing Additional Keyboards
If you are looking to install a new keyboard, either for another language or for another writing system of the same language, this can be done entirely in Keyman Configuration. To start, click on the input method icon on the top right of your screen to bring up the drop down menu. If Keyman is not your current input method, you will need to swap to that first.
Once the drop down is open, click on Configuration….
Keyman configuration will open in a new window, showing all of the keyboards you currently have installed. On the bottom left corner of the window, there is a button that says Download Keyboard…. Click here.
A new window will open, showing a simplified version of Keyman’s search page. Type in the name of the keyboard you are looking for, and hit enter or click search.
In the search results, click on the name of the keyboard you would like to install. This will bring you to the keyboard’s download page. If this is the keyboard you would like to install, click the green Install button.
The keyboard will then begin downloading, and a pop-up showing the download progress will appear. When it’s complete and the option is available, click the Done button. Keyman configuration will then close.
Re-open Keyman by clicking the Input methods icon again, and click on Configuration. When it opens, you will be met with a pop-up containing details about the keyboard. This can be closed when you’re ready.
The keyboard will now be visible in Keyman Configuration as well as in your keyboards options, and is ready to use!
Windows PC
Installing Keyman and Keyboard
This video takes you through a quick installation of the Keyman software and a FirstVoices Keyboard. A more detailed step-by-step guide with screenshots is posted below the video.
First open the link to the keyboard for your language. You can find this in the dropdown under List of Desktop Keyboards.
The page looks like the image below:
Click on the green Install keyboard button - this will start a download of the keyboard as well as Keyman, the program that is used to run the FirstVoices Keyboards. The download is usually quite quick, only a minute or two. If the keyboard doesn’t automatically start downloading, press the Download keyboard button.
Once complete, you can open the program either from your in-browser downloads button (image 2) or the downloads folder in your computer (image 3).
After clicking the downloaded file, Keyman and your keyboard will begin installing. You will receive a Windows Security pop-up asking if you would like the app to make changes. The changes it is asking to make are installing the keyboard and Keyman. Click Yes to proceed.
After this, the Keyman Setup will open. Click Install to proceed with the installation.
There will be a small pop-up while Keyman and your keyboard download. Like the initial download, this usually doesn’t take very long. When it’s finished downloading, the Keyman Setup window will close and the Keyman start page will open. Click Start Keyman, and the set-up step is complete!
To use the keyboard, you will need to make sure it is selected. The keyboard can be selected by clicking on the input methods icon in your taskbar on the bottom right side of your screen (Image 7). Clicking here brings up the input methods menu and you can select the keyboard for your language here.
The Keyman icon (image 9) will now be visible in the bottom right of your screen, in your taskbar.
If the icon is not visible in your task bar, it is likely in the hidden icons menu. Click on the little arrow pointing up (^) to make the hidden icons visible, and you should be able to find the Keyman icon.
Clicking on the icon brings up the menu that allows you to access Keyman settings (called Configuration), as well as the on-screen keyboard. You can type with the on screen keyboard by clicking on each key, and the window can be dragged anywhere on your screen. Aside from typing, the on screen keyboard is a great tool to have in the first few days of using a new keyboard as you can see where all of the special keys are.
Pressing and holding the modifying keys Shift, Alt, Ctrl, and combinations of these keys will reveal different “layers” of the keyboard, and any special characters that can be found by pressing the keys.
Installing Additional Keyboards
If you are looking to install a new keyboard, such as for another language or another writing system, you have two options. You can follow the same steps as above, or you can install it directly in Keyman Configuration.
To begin, click on the Keyman icon in your taskbar. You may need to click on the little arrow pointing up (^) on the bottom right side of your screen to bring up your hidden icons, then select Keyman.
The Keyman menu should now open. Click on Configuration… to open the Keyman Configuration window.
At the bottom left of the Keyman Configuration window there are two options - Install Keyboard and Download Keyboard. Click on Download Keyboard.
The new window that has popped up is a simplified version of Keyman’s search page. Type in the name of the keyboard you would like to download, then hit enter or click search. Click on the keyboard you would like to download. This will open up the keyboard’s information and download page. If you are certain this is the keyboard you would like to download, click the green Install Keyboard button.
The installation windows will now open, including some information about the keyboard. Click Install to proceed. There will be a Windows security pop-up during installation, similar to when you downloaded Keyman. The changes that the pop-up is referring to is installing the keyboard and adding it to your input options. Click Yes to proceed with the installation.
Once complete, some information on the keyboard layout and combinations will pop-up. This can be accessed at any time on the keyboard’s help page, or through clicking the button beside the keyboard name in Keyman Configuration. You can click OK when you are ready.
The keyboard is now installed! It should be visible in both Keyman Configuration as well as in your input methods.
Viewing the On-Screen Keyboard
This video shows you how to access the On-Screen Keyboard. We recommend that you have the on-screen keyboard on for the first few days, as it shows the keyboard layout as you type. Pressing and holding the modifying keys Shift, Alt, Ctrl, and combinations of these keys will reveal different “layers” of the keyboard, and any special characters that can be found by pressing the keys.
Mobile
This tutorial will guide you through installing the FirstVoices Keyboard App on your phone or tablet.
List of Mobile Keyboards
Before starting, it’s helpful to know which keyboard you’re looking for. In the app, keyboards are organised by region. Finding your keyboard here may be faster than trying to locate it in the app. You can search for the keyboard for your language in the dropdown below.