- Introduction
- Understanding System Preferences
- Viewing System Preferences
- Locking and Unlocking Preference Settings
- Changing Appearance Options
- Setting Up the Desktop
- Setting Up Screen Savers
- Setting the Date and Time
- Changing Language Options
- Changing Text Substitution Options
- Saving Energy and Managing Power
- Selecting a Startup Disk
- Changing the Way a CD or DVD Starts
- Controlling Sound
- Dictating Your Speech
- Letting Mac Do the Talking
- Setting Accessibility Options
- Having VoiceOver Read from the Screen
- Setting VoiceOver Preferences
- Using VoiceOver Commands
- Setting Ink Preferences
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Changing Language Options
The Language & Text pane in System Preferences gives you options to use different languages for menus, dialogs, and the keyboard, as well as write text in other languages. The language you write can be different from the language for menus, dialogs, and the keyboard. The Language tab allows you to select a language that you use in application menus and dialogs, and write in an application. The Region tab allows you to select international formats for dates, times, numbers, and measurement units. The Input Sources tab provides you with a list of languages that you can select a keyboard layout, which lets you type in other languages. If you’re not familiar with the keyboard layout, you can use the Keyboard Viewer to show you what keys to press to display the keys you want in the input menu language. To make language selection easier, you can add the Input menu to the menu bar.
Set Input Sources Options
Click the System Preferences icon in the Dock, and then click the Language & Text icon.
Click the Input Sources tab.
Select the check box next to the language(s) you want to use.
To see what the characters look like on your keyboard, select the Keyboard Viewer check box.- The Keyboard Viewer is available on the menu bar in the Input Menu.
Click Keyboard Shortcuts, select the keyboard shortcut or text matching options you want, and then click OK.
Select an option to use the same or different input sources.
To change input menu languages from the menu bar, select the Show input menu in menu bar check box.
Click the Close button.
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Timesaver
Press 
+ Spacebar to switch between the two most recent keyboard layouts. Press Option++Spacebar to cycle down the list of keyboards.
Set International Date, Time, and Number Formats
- Click the System Preferences icon in the Dock, and then click the Language & Text icon.
- Click the Region tab.
- Click the Region pop-up, and then select a region. If necessary, select the Show all regions check box to display your region.
- Click Customize, specify the formats you want for Dates, Times, and Numbers, and then click OK.
- Select a Currency and Measurements Units from the pop-ups.
- Click the Close button.
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Change Language Options for Menus and Dialogs
- Click the System Preferences icon in the Dock, and then click the Language & Text icon.
- Click the Language tab.
- A list of available languages on your computer appears.
- To add or remove languages, click Edit List, select or clear the check boxes, and then click OK.
- Drag the language you want to the top of the list.
- If an application can’t support the first language, it tries to use the second one, and so on.
- Click the Close button.
- Changes take place the next time you launch the Finder or an application.
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