Windows 10 smc keyboard layouts

What are these "Keyboard" layouts ?

Microsoft Windows 7,8,10 versions support internationalisation for Malayalam very well. Although there are third party tools available for these Windows versions, they did not work on Windows 10 for some reason, and we needed some.

These keyboard layouts provide two popular keyboard layouts for people typing in Malayalam on their computers.

Inscript keyboard

Although Microsoft provides an Inscript keyboard layout with their Malayalam langauge pack, they don't have the exact keyboard layout mapping as specified by the Kerala Government website. This keyboard layout mimics the Kerala Government spec as faithfully as possible.

Remington Keyboard

This is direct copy of what Sebin implemented for ibus on GNU/Linux operating system. Refer SMC's wiki article for history and details.

Installation.

These instructions are for Windows 10. Usage involves two steps.

1. Make sure you have the Malayalam language pack installed.

This video illustrates how to do this. Alternatively, you can refer to this link

2. Install the keyboards.

Download the installers from here. Extract and install the keyboards (Inscript/Remington) you want. Follow the video if need any help.

REMEMBER: Sign out of Windows 10 and sign-in to have these keyboards available.

Switching to Malayalam keyboard

The default key combination to switch keyboard layout is Windows Key + Space. Pressing this key combo should bring up a menu from where you can select the keyboard layout you want. You can then make a selection using arrow key or the mouse, as shown in the Installation demo video above.

How, Why, Who ?

These are keystroke mappings were produced using a program called Microsoft Keyboard layout creator. This program allows you to map your keyboard key strokes, with or without the modifier keys and once you are satisfied, it lets you make an installer for the keyboard layout you just made. The UI is very simple, and it took about 4 hours to make and test both keyboards.

The keyboards were made at the behest of Jaisen Nedumpala, as part of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan project. I made them in my capacity as an SMC volunteer.

The sources will be pushed to SMC's gitlab project at a later date, and will update the link here.