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 for this tutorial were taken from a MacBook running macOS 13 (Ventura) using Safari. The location and name of some items may vary from the version of macOS and browser that you are using. If you run into problems, you can email us at hello@firstvoices.com and we are happy to help you out.
Installing Keyman
If you have not already opened a link to the keyboard for your language, please find and open the link to your keyboard 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 keyboard on your screen
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
If you have not already opened a link to the keyboard for your language, please find and open the link in the provided dropdown 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 keyboard on your screen
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.
Android
To begin, either click here while on your Android device to go directly to the app installation page and proceed to Setting up the FirstVoices Keyboard App. Otherwise, start here.
Installing the FirstVoices Keyboards App
On your phone, locate and open the Play Store app. Tap on the search bar, and type in “FirstVoices”.
You may encounter ads at the top of your search results - ignore those, and click on FirstVoices Keyboards. It is labeled as a tool, and has First Peoples' Cultural Council listed as the publisher. Tap Install - the download should begin shortly. The installation is usually rather quick - only a minute or two.
Setting up the FirstVoices Keyboards App
Locate the newly installed FirstVoices Keyboards app on your phone, and tap it to open. You will be greeted with the home page, which has 2 options. At this stage, only the Select keyboards option is available. Tap there to open up the keyboards pop-up.
The keyboards pop-up sorts all of the available keyboards by their approximate region. If you are unsure where your language would fall in these categories, please scroll back up to the drop downs under List of Mobile Keyboards to identify where it would be.
For this tutorial, we installed the diitiiditq keyboard, which is located in the BC Coast region. Tap on the region to see the available options, then select the keyboard you wish to install.
Selecting a keyboard will bring you to another menu - here, you can turn the keyboard on by tapping the slider on the right of Enable keyboard. When a keyboard is active, the toggle will be teal (as shown in image 11 below). When it is inactive, it will be grey (as shown in image 10 below).
Here, you can also see which version of the keyboard is being used.
When the keyboard is enabled, there will be a brief pop-up as shown below in image 11. It will disappear momentarily. The dictionary is used when predictive text is turned on. Currently, this is only available on certain keyboards.
Once complete, tap the arrow until you return to the red home page.
After enabling a keyboard and returning to the home page, the second Setup button will be available. Tap here to bring up the Setup pop-up. Tap on Enable ‘FirstVoices’ - this will take you to your phone's keyboard settings.
In your phones keyboards settings, there will be a list of available keyboards and toggles or sliders on the side. Toggle on the FirstVoices Keyboards.
There will be two pop-ups that you have to tap OK on to be able to use the keyboards. One is regarding security, the other is about needing to unlock your phone before being able to use the app when your phone restarts.
Once these pop-ups have been accepted, the keyboard is enabled! Tap the back button to return to the app homepage.
Great! Now that you have selected your keyboard and enabled it, you can select it as an input method. Tapping on the second option will bring up your input method menu, and you can select the FirstVoices keyboard.
In this menu you can see the “Show Keyboard button” option. When this option is turned on, there will be a small keyboard icon in the bottom right corner of your phone when you have your keyboard up. Tapping on this icon will bring up the input method menu, which makes it quicker to change from your default keyboard to the FirstVoices keyboard and vice versa.
Alternatively, you can press and hold the little world button on your keyboard to do this.
Alternatively, you can press and hold on the globe button to swap keyboards. If you would like to see an example of swapping keyboards, see FAQ: How do I swap between mobile keyboards?
The FirstVoices keyboard is now installed and ready to use!
iOS
To begin either click here while on your iPhone or iPad to go directly to the app installation page and proceed to Setting up the FirstVoices Keyboard App. Otherwise, start here.
Installing the FirstVoices Keyboards App
On your phone, open the App Store and search for FirstVoices. You may encounter some ads at the top of your search result - ignore those, and tap GET beside FirstVoices Keyboards.
Once the app has finished installing, tap Open. You will be brought to the home page and can begin setting up the keyboard.
Setting up the FirstVoices Keyboards App
Tap Here to open the keyboard selection menu, and scroll to find your Keyboard’s Region. Keyboards are ordered alphabetically by region. Once you have found your keyboard, tap on it to open its menu and turn it on by tapping the toggle beside the name.
The keyboards pop-up sorts all of the available keyboards by their approximate region. If you are unsure where your language would fall in these categories, please scroll back up to the drop downs under List of Mobile Keyboards to identify where it would be.
For this tutorial, we installed the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ keyboard, which is located in the BC Coast region. Tap on the region to see the available options, then select the keyboard you wish to install.
Once the keyboard has turned on, press back until you return to the red homepage. Exit the Keyboards App, and open up your Settings.
In your settings, go to General, then tap on Keyboards to open your keyboard settings.
Tap again on Keyboards to open your input methods settings, then tap on FirstVoices to open the settings for the FirstVoices Keyboards.
There is only one setting available here, which is Allow Full Access. This must be toggled on for the keyboard to work. Tap the toggle to turn it on.
You will receive a pop-up informing you that FirstVoices may collect anything that you write, including passwords.
The keyboard is now enabled and ready to try out! Open the app of your choosing (we used Notes for this tutorial) and tap where you can type to open the keyboard. Once it’s open, tap or hold on the key with the globe icon to change keyboards. Tapping will automatically swap to a different keyboard, which is great when you only have two! If you have more than two, press and hold on the globe icon to bring up the keyboards menu, and select FirstVoices. If you would like to see an example of this, please see FAQ: How do I swap between mobile keyboards?
The keyboard should open, and you will be able to type using your newly installed keyboard!