Keyboard Support

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(image: Keyman icon) Getting Started

Introduction

Keyman interprets and translates input from the computer keyboard according to a set of rules called a keyboard. These rules are stored in a keyboard file, which a user must download and install in order to type in the language defined by the keyboard.

You must have Keyman running to use a Keyman keyboard.

Note: You can have Keyman start with Windows so that you have your keyboards accessible all the time by selecting the Start Keyman with Windows option in the Keyman Configuration Options page.

How a keyboard is distributed

Keyman keyboards can be distributed either as a keyboard file (.kmx) alone, or as a keyboard package (.kmp), which contains a keyboard file and may also contain fonts, documentation, and other related files.

(image: kmx file)
Keyboard file
(image: kmp file)
Keyboard package

Where to obtain a keyboard

Tavultesoft maintains a list of keyboards available for Keyman 6.2, in which you can search for a keyboard for a specific language or script.

You can install a keyboard directly from the site or download it and install it from your computer. For more information, read the keyboard installation help topic.

Keyboards from previous versions

Keyman 6.2 can load keyboards from Keyman 5.0 and later. Keyboard files from version 4.02 or earlier versions of Keyman cannot be used with version 6.2. If you have such a keyboard that you would like to use with Keyman 5.0, you should try to contact its author to see if they have the keyboard available for Keyman 5.0.

Keyman Developer is required to recompile earlier keyboard files into Keyman 6.2 format.