Keyboard Installation Guide
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.
Sometimes Keyman doesn’t automatically appear in your Input Sources. Please see I installed Keyman to my Mac, but it's not showing up as an input source? in the FAQ.
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.
