Installing the Slovak Keyboard (Windows XP)

  1. Click Start button
  2. Click Control Panel
  3. Click Regional & Language Options (depending on your desktop settings, you may need to select Date, Time, Language and Regional Options in the Pick a category window, then select Regional & Language Options)
  4. Select Languages tab in the dialog box
  5. Click the Details button
  6. Text Services and Input Languages dialog box should now be open - in the Installed Services area click the Add button
  7. Add Input Language dialog box should now be open - select Slovak in the Input language drop-down slot
  8. If there is a check box to the left of Keyboard layout/IME, click the check box to add a check mark for Keyboard layout/IME (otherwise, ignore this step)
  9. Click the OK button for the Add Input Language dialog box
  10. In the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, click the Language Bar button to open the Language Bar Settings dialog box
  11. Place a check mark in the check box next to Show Language bar on the desktop
  12. Close all dialog boxes by clicking their OK buttons. Your computer should now have the Slovak Keyboard installed in addition to the English Keyboard.

Using the Slovak keyboard (Windows XP)

The active keyboard is indicated on the Taskbar (e.g., the English keyboard is represented by the letters EN). To select the Slovak keyboard, first open the software you intend to use (e.g., Microsoft Word) and make sure that the software has the focus (click inside the software window). Then click the letters on the Taskbar (EN in the example illustration below) to open a keyboard menu and select Slovak (SK).

The Slovak keyboard should now be active, with the letters SK appearing on the taskbar. You may wish to work with the Language Bar on the screen. To restore the Language Bar, right-click SK and select Restore the Language bar on the menu. The Language bar should now appear docked to the title bar of the software window. You can also drag the Language bar down into the document area if you wish, as illustrated below:

To return the Language bar to the Taskbar, click on the minimize button (button with a minus sign on right side of Language bar).

The On-Screen Keyboard can be used as an aid in learning the layout of the Slovak keyboard. To start the On-Screen Keyboard, follow this Start Menu path: Programs/Accessories/Accessibility. You can enter characters via the keyboard, using the On-Screen Keyboard as a template, or you can enter characters directly by clicking the keys on the screen.