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Keyboard setup for multilingual typing tests

Typetera ships its own fonts — you don't need to install anything to see Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Spanish, French, or Portuguese text. But to type in those scripts, your operating system needs the right keyboard layout active. This page walks you through enabling each one on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Hindi — Devanagari (Inscript / Mangal)

For Indian government typing exams (SSC, RRB, CPCT), the standard layout is Inscript (also called Mangal on Windows). It uses Unicode Devanagari encoding — which is what Typetera expects. Krutidev/Remington (legacy fonts) use a different non-Unicode encoding and won't work directly with our test.

Windows 10 / 11

  1. Open Settings → Time & Language → Language & Region.
  2. Click Add a language → search for हिन्दी (Hindi) → install.
  3. Click the new Hindi entry → Options → under "Keyboards," Add a keyboard → select Hindi (Inscript) or Hindi Traditional (Mangal).
  4. Press Win + Space to cycle between English and Hindi layouts. The current layout shows in the system tray.

macOS

  1. Open System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources.
  2. Click the + button → choose Hindi in the left column.
  3. Pick Devanagari - QWERTY for an Inscript-equivalent layout, or Devanagari for the standard one.
  4. Add it. Switch via Control + Space or the menu-bar input switcher.

Linux (GNOME)

  1. Open Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources.
  2. Click + → Hindi → select Hindi (Inscript).
  3. Switch with Super + Space.
  4. If you don't see Hindi listed, install the package ibus-m17n or fcitx5-m17n first and log out/in.

Tamil

Three popular Tamil layouts exist: Tamil99 (modern standard), Inscript(government default), and Bamini (legacy, non-Unicode — won't work with Typetera). For TNPSC exam prep we recommend Tamil99 or Tamil Inscript.

Windows 10 / 11

  1. Open Settings → Time & Language → Language & Region.
  2. Add a language → தமிழ் (Tamil).
  3. Click Tamil → Options → Add a keyboard → choose Tamil 99 or Tamil Phonetic.
  4. Win + Space to switch.

macOS

  1. System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → +.
  2. Pick Tamil → Tamil 99 or Tamil - Anjal (phonetic).
  3. Switch with Control + Space.

Linux (GNOME)

  1. Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → +.
  2. Choose Tamil → Tamil (Tamil99).
  3. If unavailable, install ibus-m17n first.

Telugu

Telugu Inscript is the standard Unicode layout. APPSC and other AP/Telangana government typing exams use Inscript. Avoid legacy fonts like Anu.

Windows 10 / 11

  1. Settings → Time & Language → Language & Region → Add a language.
  2. Search తెలుగు (Telugu) → install.
  3. Click Telugu → Options → Add a keyboard → Telugu.
  4. Win + Space to switch.

macOS

  1. System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → +.
  2. Pick Telugu → Telugu - QWERTY (Inscript-equivalent) or Telugu.
  3. Switch with Control + Space.

Linux (GNOME)

  1. Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → +.
  2. Choose Telugu → Telugu (Inscript).

Spanish, French, Portuguese

These all use Latin script with diacritics (ñ, é, à, ç, ã, õ, etc). Most operating systems ship the required layouts pre-installed — you just need to enable them.

Windows 10 / 11

  1. Settings → Time & Language → Language & Region → Add a language.
  2. For Spanish: Español (España) or Español (México) — both use ISO layout with ñ next to L.
  3. For French: Français (France) — uses AZERTY by default. Accents on top-row number keys with Shift.
  4. For Portuguese: Português (Brasil) for ABNT2 (most common, has ç and tilde dead-keys) or Português (Portugal) for European Portuguese.
  5. Win + Space to switch.

macOS

  1. System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → +.
  2. Spanish: Spanish - ISO. French: French - PC (closest to AZERTY) or French. Portuguese: Portuguese - Brazilian (ABNT2) or Portuguese - Brazilian (Pró).
  3. If you don't want to switch layouts, you can also use U.S. International - PC, which gives you all common diacritics via dead-keys (e.g. ' then e = é).

Linux (GNOME)

  1. Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → +.
  2. Spanish: Spanish. French: French. Portuguese: Portuguese (Brazil) or Portuguese.
  3. Super + Space to switch.

Confirm your layout works

Once you've added a layout, go back to the typing test for your language. The check banner at the top will ask you to type one character (क for Hindi, க for Tamil, క for Telugu, ñ for Spanish, é for French, ã for Portuguese). If the character comes through correctly, you're all set — Typetera will remember your confirmation on this device and won't ask again.

If the character comes through as something else (typically the Latin letter under the same physical key), your layout isn't active. Most operating systems require you to press a switch shortcut (Win + Space, Control + Space, or Super + Space) every time you open a new app. Make sure the system input indicator shows the right script before starting a timed test.

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