Windows 10: Using PC with European keyboard with US version of Windows

Have been doing some casual on-again off-again shopping for a tiny, light notebook for my wife, without having to spend $700+ for an Ultrabook.

I was in Micro Center the other day, and noticed a Dell Inspiron 11 on display at what seemed to be a very good price. Then I noticed that, on the counter where the product description was posted, the sales people had hand written an addition: "EUROPEAN KEYBOARD" (did not specify for which country).

Looking at the keyboard I saw a bunch of piggybacked additional characters in orange on some keys. In Control Panel, the keyboard selected was US English. Did some quick typing in Notepad and did notice anything odd. I took note of the model and left.

When I checked prices online later, their price was about $100 less than elsewhere, even with my employer-sponsored Dell discount applied at the Dell web site.

So I'm wondering: with some keys potentially moved, what are the practical day-to-day implications with Windows, as well as anything else I might have to ruin (I'm thinking live CD's for maintenance or repair: PartEdMagic, Macrium Reflect, other Linux, etc). I'm fearing this might be a show-stopper if something is pre-built for a US keyboard, but having no such experience I'm not really sure.

:)

 

European/ US version switch

Which handset,

Some like the N8 will work in all markets out of the box



Others will stuggle in the US due to the retarded americans wanting to be different from the rest of the world

 

European/ US version switch

Hi



I was wondering if it is possible to switch the compatibility of a phone from European frequencies to north american frequencies,



is this a hardware or a software issue?

 

The physical keyboard layout is completely irrelevant, you can type Portuguese on a laptop bought in France with French AZERTY physical keyboard.

Living expat life in my adopted home country I buy / get most of my hardware here. It means that physical keyboards are German, so called QWERTZ instead of Scandinavian QWERTY layout I'm used to. On this PC I am using to reply to your post, I have UK English Windows 10 PRO, physical keyboard with German layout, and default input language (Windows keyboard layout) set to either Finnish or Swedish. I can switch the input language as I wish from language button in notification area:





(Please notice, screenshot might look odd because I keep Taskbar vertical at left.)

According to my needs I can select any of installed input languages. As I mentioned I am normally using either Finnish or Swedish input language, meaning I just have to remember that although a key on my German physical keyboard shows a German letter ß (it's double S, as in Straße (street) which can also be written as Strasse), I get a + sign from that key instead, that although a key on my physical keyboard shows German letters Üü I get Scandinavian letters Åå from the same key, or that although physical keyboard shows I need to press AltGr + Q to get the @ sign, I need to press AltGr+ 2 instead. And so on.

No worries, you will never have any issues using that physical keyboard with any application, with whatever input language you select in Windows settings.

Sounds complicated but you will get used to it *Smile



P.S. If you are interested, I am quite sure I can tell you exactly which regional / national physical keyboard layout you have. Just take a pic of it and post here.

 

Kari: great post. You have obviously spent waaaaaaaaaaay too much time messing around with keyboard layouts. Given your multi-multi-linguistic situation, that's also obviously been forced upon you by brute necessity. Thanks for sharing,
--Ed--

 

Thanks Ed.

I usually manage with Finnish or Swedish layout, being totally able to type in all Scandinavian languages, English and German with that with an exception of two German letters; if and when I need to type in German I need to switch to German input language to get those two letters not present in any other layout I use, Üü and ß (ß has no lower/upper case).

Anyway, my point in my previous post was that the whereabouts of your physical keyboard are totally irrelevant; if a user so wants he can buy a French Logitech MK710 keyboard to replace his broken Italian MK710 one, pop out all key caps from both and replace the original keys in new French keyboard with old ones from now broken Italian device (works as long as both keyboards are same make and model *Wink).

The only thing that matters is what input language is selected in Windows.

 

I hear you, Kari: I've cannibalized a few keycaps myself. I type so much, I regularly beat the printing off the C and M keys on my keyboards. I've scavenged more than a few such keys at Goodwill, garage sales, or the trash to start somewhat less worn out. Weshalb wohnen Sie jetzt in Deutschland? Ich bin Amerikaner, aber wuchs in Deutschland auf (mein Vater war beim Armee da).
Vielen Dank,
--Ed--

 

LOL! Ich komme doch aus Finnland, aber habe im Ausland seit 30 Jahren gelebt. Hier (Leipzig, Sachsen) bin ich seit 2006, von Rom Italien nach hier umgezogen.






I'm from Finland, but have been living abroad about 30 years now. Moved here (Leipzig, Saxony) from Rome back in 2006.

 

Thanks. Since, as I indicated, the keyboard in question is mounted on a notebook computer sitting on a store shelf, I would have to go back there in order to photograph it.

 

Deutsch:
Ich wuchs auf in dem wunderschoenen Stadt Heidelberg, wo wir ueberletzten Sommer nochmal besucht haben. Es freut mich immer mein Deutsch zu ueben. I arbeite auch manchmal als Dolmetcher, technischen Artikeln von Deutch auf Englisch zu uebersetzen. Die Familie meiner Frau wohnt jetzt in Deutschland -- sie kommen aus Kyrgyzstan, aber ihren Uhrmitglieder kamen zuerst auch aus Sachsen, zuerst nach Russland und dan spaeter nach Kyrgyzstan, und benuetzten den Wiederkehrprogramm nach Deutschland im Jahre 2002 danach to uebersielden -- und wir reisen dort vielleicht jedes zweites oder drittes Jahr. Vielleicht koennen wir uns auf einmal Treffen? Ich moechte sowieso Leipzig zu besuchen.

English:
I grew up in the wonderful and scenic town of Heidelberg, which we revisited two summers ago. I'm always glad to practice my German. Sometimes, I work as a translator, and translate technical articles from German into English. My wife's family now live in Germany -- they came from Kyrgyzstan, but originally lived in Saxony, then went to Russia and eventually to Kyrgyzstan, and used the German "return program" to move to Germany in 2002 -- and we visit them every two or three years there. Maybe we could meet sometime? I have always wanted to visit Leipzig in any case.

Thanks!
--Ed--

 

We can have a beer (if I have to pay) or seven (if you pay) when you will visit wife's folks next time *Wink

 

Sorry, I misunderstood.

Anyway, as I said you will have no issues to use it if you decide to buy it. The physical layout of the keyboard is irrelevant as long as you can cope with some characters coming from "wrong" key.

 

Hi there

US Keyboard is about 99% similar to European (assuming QWERTY). Main difference is Cap 3 is a # sign (US still call that a Pound sign) and a few minor special characters are in different places such as the @ sign, the \ sign and some US keyboards don't have a EUR symbol.

Really minor differences -- just switch in Windows to the layout you want.

I usually with a laptop take a small portable Wireless Ms Arc keyboard -- when working in France or Belgium I just can't even THINK of using the AZERTY keyboard -- 5 mins on one of those and I'd just chuck the whole computer out of the window.

The keyboard is really light and when travelling the micro receiver is magnetically held under the keyboard so you don't lose it. Small battery lasts YEARS. I've only replaced one and I've had thekeyboard for at least 7 years. Lasts longer than the laptops I've used it with. !!

Here's a pic of EN (UK) version.





I use ISL keyboard -- works fine for English and has some umlauts too for writing German text when I need it. Plus it has ISL special characters --rather like Danish with some extra symbols.

Cheers
jimbo

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I am really not looking to add bulk, though, to an 11.6 inch notebook PC. My main concern was not to create a situation where it typing a critical character on the keyboard might be an issue. I can see from the responses that Windows has adequate customization tools to make this a non-issue. The only other situation where it might arise is when USB-booting other environments such as pre-built Linux or WinPE recovery environments where you can't choose the desired layout.