Need a different keyboard layout to use special characters – for example for texts in a foreign language? One option is to insert them using the “Insert special characters” function, but that’s rather tedious. A more practical solution is temporarily switching the keyboard layout. Read on to find out how to change the keyboard language in Windows 11.
When you want to switch the default keyboard layout in Windows 11, you need to do the following:
- Launch Windows Settings by clicking the Start menu icon
- Then click the “Settings” icon.
- Select the “Time & language” section
- Then press “Language & region”.
- Click “Add language” and select the language you want to use as the new keyboard language.
- To continue, click “Next”. Click on “Add language” and install the desired keyboard layout.
- Install the package by clicking the button with the same name.
Switch Keyboard Language via Windows 11 Taskbar
After you’ve installed the language pack, you can set the appropriate keyboard layout in Windows 11. The operating system links to the corresponding settings menu in the taskbar, or more precisely in the information panel to the left of the date and time. The country abbreviation of the currently active keyboard will be shown here. Click on the abbreviation to view available keyboard languages.
- To change the keyboard language select the desired layout by left-clicking. In the same way, you can undo the keyboard settings later if you want to revert back to the original layout.
