Change Keyboard Input Sources preferences on Mac
On your Mac, use the Input Sources pane of Keyboard System Preferences to add input sources that allow you to type in other languages, and change options for specific sources. When you use an input source, you can type in any language that uses the same script or alphabet. Learn how to use input sources.
To open this pane, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Input Sources.
Open the Input Sources pane for me
Option | Description | ||||||||||
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Input sources list | The input sources that have been enabled for use. | ||||||||||
Add , Remove | Add or remove an input source from the list. | ||||||||||
Input source preferences | If the selected input source provides preferences, they appear in the area on the right. For example, if a Hebrew input source is selected, options for bi-directional text and keyboard shortcuts are shown. | ||||||||||
Show Input menu in menu bar | The Input menu appears in the right side of the menu bar. It contains enabled input sources as well as easy access to the Character Viewer and the Keyboard Viewer and offers a fast way to switch between them. This option is automatically selected when you add input sources. | ||||||||||
Use the Caps Lock key to switch to and from [last used Latin input source] | Select to be able to quickly switch between a non-Latin input source (such as Chinese or Korean) and a Latin input source (such as French or English). This option appears only when you add a non-Latin input source, and the text after “Use the Caps Lock key to switch to and from” varies, depending on your list of input sources. Note: Depending on your keyboard, you may have a Caps Lock key or a dedicated language switching key (for example, “中 / 英” on Chinese – Pinyin and Chinese – Zhuyin keyboards). When enabled, press and hold the key until the green light comes on to activate continuous uppercase typing; repeat to turn it off. | ||||||||||
Automatically switch to a document’s input source | Choose an input source for a document and have it used every time you work in the document until you close it, even if you switch to other documents that use other input sources in the meantime. This option appears only when you add a second input source. |
In addition to the various options detailed above for switching input sources, you can also set an option in the Keyboard pane of Keyboard System Preferences to change input sources by using the Fn key or (if available on the keyboard).
Chinese, Korean and Japanese input sources include numerous options. If you added one of these input sources, switch to it (using the Input menu in the menu bar), then open its help to learn about the options.