Problem
There are some known limitations with switched keyboard layout handling in GNOME and KDE live installs. This affects scripts like Cyrillic, where it is standard to use one keyboard layout (usually US English) to type Latin characters and another, ‘native’ layout to type native characters.
GNOME (Workstation)
For GNOME, due to technical limitations between the installer and the desktop, the installer is not able to configure an appropriate layout automatically when you select the language. You may proceed through installation using only English (US), or you may click the link the installer shows in order to go to the Control Center and add a native layout.
On first boot, the initial setup utility and desktop should follow the configuration from the installer. If you did not add a native layout during install, you can do so from the Control Center.
KDE Plasma
For KDE, the installer is able to configure an appropriate layout when you select the language, and should do so correctly for most relevant languages. If it does not, you can set your desired configuration manually.
However, layout switching does not work correctly in the KDE live environment. If you attempt to switch layouts, you will only be able to type native characters very briefly before input ‘snaps back’ to US English.
On first boot, the initial setup utility should follow the installer configuration, but this is not very clear. No visible layout indicator / switcher is shown, and the Keyboard Layout page interface is confusing; it will show only one layout selected, likely the native one. It is best to touch nothing on this screen and proceed through the utility, as changing the selection may remove the US English layout and leave you unable to type Latin characters. If you leave the selection alone, layout switching should work using Alt + Shift, though it’s usually not necessary to switch in the initial setup process.
If you leave things alone during initial setup, once you reach a user session, things should be configured correctly: both layouts should be available, US English should be the default, and switching to the native layout should be possible by clicking the indicator at bottom-right or pressing Meta + Alt + k (the standard KDE shortcut).
Cause
There are various separate issues. The inability for the installer to configure keyboard layouts in GNOME is one. Broken layout switching on KDE live sessions is another. The KDE initial setup utility (plasma-setup) having an inappropriate UI for multiple layout configurations, and not automatically adding a Latin-capable layout when selecting a non-Latin-capable layout, are others.
Related Issues
- Workstation WG issue: #430 (installer cannot configure layouts on GNOME)
- Bugzilla report: #2453260 (layout switch does not stick in KDE live environment)
- Bugzilla report: #2448283, Plasma Setup issue: #52 (plasma-setup does not add Latin capable layout when selecting non-Latin-capable; also covers inappropriate UI that cannot indicate multiple selected layouts)
- Plasma Setup issue: #84 (meta-alt-k does not work in plasma-setup)
- Plasma Setup issue: #85 (no persistent layout indicator in plasma-setup)
Workarounds
See the description for individual desktop environments under the Problem section.