Using Ukelele-generated keyboard layout in Word (Office 365)

[FX Coudert]

Hi all,

I have created a keyboard layout based on French layout (link to my layout: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rfoxc86gxiqkenq/French%20FX.zip?dl=0). I have installed it to the current user through Ukelele, and have been able to add it as an input source in system preferences. I can use it just fine in most applications, except:

- For some reason I cannot have it as the only input source. Right now I have "French" (system-provided) and "French FX" (mine) as my two input sources, but I cannot remove "French" to use mine as only input source.

- When I switch into any window of Office 365 (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), the input source is silently switched back to the system-provided French. I cannot use my new layout in these apps, although if I move the focus back to another app (like Safari), the input source is switched back to mine.

Thanks for any help you can give me with this issue.

Cheers,

FX

[Sorin Paliga]

On 5 Jan 2017, at 16:11, FX Coudert <fxco...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

I have created a keyboard layout based on French layout (link to my layout: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rfoxc86gxiqkenq/French%20FX.zip?dl=0). I have installed it to the current user through Ukelele, and have been able to add it as an input source in system preferences. I can use it just fine in most applications, except:

- For some reason I cannot have it as the only input source. Right now I have "French" (system-provided) and "French FX" (mine) as my two input sources, but I cannot remove "French" to use mine as only input source.

You cannot do that, the default input source MUST be one pre-existing in the system folder.

- When I switch into any window of Office 365 (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), the input source is silently switched back to the system-provided French. I cannot use my new layout in these apps, although if I move the focus back to another app (like Safari), the input source is switched back to mine.

I do not know, MS Office often has such caveats, perhaps it does not handle something. Let us see what Office users say, I cannot test this. 

Thanks for any help you can give me with this issue.

Cheers,

FX

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ukelele Users" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ukelele-user...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to ukelel...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/ukelele-users.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Gé van Gasteren]

Sorry to say that not much can be done there, I think. You did everything right:
– Mac OS X requires at least one of the built-in layouts to be there, for some reasons.

– As Sorin wrote, Microsoft products often "adapt" to the Mac environment poorly. But maybe if you ask on the Microsoft community someone comes up with a work-around for the problem. I’m using an older version Office for Mac 2011, and there I can use custom layouts.

On 5 January 2017 at 15:20, Sorin Paliga <sorin....@gmail.com> wrote:

On 5 Jan 2017, at 16:11, FX Coudert <fxco...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

I have created a keyboard layout based on French layout (link to my layout: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rfoxc86gxiqkenq/French%20FX.zip?dl=0). I have installed it to the current user through Ukelele, and have been able to add it as an input source in system preferences. I can use it just fine in most applications, except:

- For some reason I cannot have it as the only input source. Right now I have "French" (system-provided) and "French FX" (mine) as my two input sources, but I cannot remove "French" to use mine as only input source.

You cannot do that, the default input source MUST be one pre-existing in the system folder.

- When I switch into any window of Office 365 (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), the input source is silently switched back to the system-provided French. I cannot use my new layout in these apps, although if I move the focus back to another app (like Safari), the input source is switched back to mine.

I do not know, MS Office often has such caveats, perhaps it does not handle something. Let us see what Office users say, I cannot test this. 

Thanks for any help you can give me with this issue.

Cheers,

FX

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ukelele Users" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ukelele-users+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

To post to this group, send email to ukelel...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/ukelele-users.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ukelele Users" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ukelele-users+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[FX Coudert]

I have found a workaround: custom layout works if installed for all users (and not just me). Don't ask me why, but it works, so I'm reporting it here.

FX

[Gé van Gasteren]

Thanks, FX!

Just guessing: MSWord 365 may use some network connection, and that may not have access to keyboard layouts stored in a user account. Or maybe it simply doesn’t look there.

Anyway, I’m glad you got it working – reporting success here is much appreciated!

On 6 January 2017 at 21:19, FX Coudert <fxco...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have found a workaround: custom layout works if installed for all users (and not just me). Don't ask me why, but it works, so I'm reporting it here.

FX

--

[Sorin Paliga]

At least theoretically, the location of the keylayout in /Library/Keyboard Layouts or ~/Library/Keyboard Layouts should NOT affect its behaviour, other than that, in the first case, it is available to all users, and in the second to the user, who installed the keylayout. 

I guess there is something else there, which is not clear from your too brief text. 

On 6 Jan 2017, at 22:19, FX Coudert <fxco...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have found a workaround: custom layout works if installed for all users (and not just me). Don't ask me why, but it works, so I'm reporting it here.

FX

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ukelele Users" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ukelele-user...@googlegroups.com.

[Philipp Schaible]

Hi all, 

I have the same problem, but not only with Office - also pages, e-mail and some other programs seem to not be able to switch to my custom layout (created with ukelele), some other programs (e.g. Chrome, Telegram, etc.) accept the new keyboard layout. 

I would try the proposed workaround (to instal it for all users) but I cannot copy the .keylayout file into the .System directory, even not with sudo.

[Geke]

Hi Philipp,

(It’s usually better to start a new thread. Once you know how, it’s easy: Go back to the User Group overview showing the list of posts, and there click on the button "New Topic".)

You can install your keyboard layout from within Ukelele: menu option File/Install…/Install For All Users.
Then you’ll need to enter the administrator password, twice I think.
After that, log off and back on with your account and in the System Preferences/Keyboard/Input Sources, the new layout should appear in the list of keyboard layouts:
Click the + to add a new one, select the language you specified for your keyboard layout (or pick "Others") and your layout should show up.

Good Luck!

[John Brownie]

Philipp Schaible wrote:
> I would try the proposed workaround (to instal it for all users) but I
> cannot copy the .keylayout file into the .System directory, even not
> with sudo.

You don't want it in the /System/Library/Keyboard Layouts, but in
/Library/Keyboard Layouts.
--
John Brownie
In Finland on furlough from SIL Papua New Guinea

[Sorin Paliga]

What version/generation of MS Office and Pages do you use? Have you tested the behaviour with LibreOffice or OpenOffice? What about TextEdit? If the keylayout behaves OK with TextEdit, it means that apps, where you identify issues, are probably responsible with the bad behaviour, not the keylayout. 

By ‘e-mail’ you mean Mail.app installed with the system? Or smth else?

[Gé van Gasteren]

Hi Sorin,

The original poster had a problem where certain applications couldn’t use a custom layout that was installed only for the current user.

(When switching to such an app, they switched from the active custom layout to one of the standard layouts – like a fall-back mechanism.)

The workaround was then to install it for "all users".

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ukelele-users+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

To post to this group, send email to ukelel...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/ukelele-users.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ukelele Users" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ukelele-users+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[Sorin Paliga]

This should not happen for the logged-in user.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ukelele-user...@googlegroups.com.

[Adam Libuša]

I had a very similar problem. I went around it by creating only a ".keylayout" file instead of the entire ".bundle". They ".keylayout" can be copied out from the ".bundle" via Finder. With this approach, it worked well also in Pages and Notes, where it had behaved before exactly in the way you describe—switching back silently.

I am not sure if my and your problem have the same cause, but the symptoms are similar, so I am just reporting it here.

Adam

[Gé van Gasteren]

Great, Adam, that’s a very helpful insight!
Or at the very least something to try when similar problems come up.

John Brownie is probably off-line for some time still, but this could be important info for him, too.

Thank you very much.

--