Lang Switcher requirements: Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit — and what’s not supported

What you need

• Windows 10 version 1607 or later, or Windows 11, 64-bit.
• You’ll need administrator rights once, to install: the program goes into C:\Program Files\Lang_Switcher, and the installer creates a certificate on your computer so that it can also work in windows of programs run as administrator (the uiAccess manifest). The program itself runs without administrator rights.
• Layouts: any, except Chinese, Japanese and Korean (see below). With two, there’s nothing to set up; with three or more, choose a pair or a cycle in the settings.
• No internet needed. Once every 15 days the program reads one file from the author’s site: letters and the latest version number. It sends nothing else and downloads nothing. You can turn that off in the settings file.

What’s not supported

• Windows 7, 8 and 8.1, and Windows 10 before version 1607. The program needs a Windows feature that first appeared in Windows 10 version 1607.
• 32-bit Windows. The program is built for 64-bit Windows only.
• Mac and Linux. Lang Switcher runs on Windows only.
• Chinese, Japanese and Korean layouts. They build each character from several keystrokes, so the keystrokes stop matching the text in the field. That’s why these layouts don’t show up in the settings and can’t join the cycle.
• Automatic switching. The program changes nothing until you ask: one press of the key fixes the word. How that compares with other switchers is covered in the questions and answers on the program page.

Where it can’t catch keystrokes

It can’t catch keystrokes on the UAC prompt, the Ctrl+Alt+Del screen or the sign-in screen: Windows doesn’t allow that. In password fields, the program deliberately keeps no typing buffer.

What hasn’t been tested

My test machines run Windows 11, so the program hasn’t been through my automated tests on Windows 10. Nor has it been tested in a Remote Desktop (RDP) session, or with touch or pen input.

Installing with Smart App Control turned on in Windows 11 hasn’t been tested either: Windows may not let the installer run. If that happens, see the download page for what to do.