FAQ

Question: Windows 8?

Answer: Windows 8 are the biggest mistake of Microsoft since the beginning of Windows development and as such they are not officially supported. Especially because Microsoft's own tool - Microsoft Keyboard Layout Editor is not supported on Windows 8.

Anyway it seems it's possible to install custom keyboard layout even on the damn Windows 8:

• First, if you have already installed the layout uninstall it using Control panel | Programs and Features
• Add some system supported layout for the same language you will later install custom layout. I.e. if you wanna install Russian Phonetic Keyboard add Standard Russian layout first.
• Go to Control panel | Language
• Click Add a language
• Find the language you want and doubleclick it
• Install the custom keyboard layout using the setup.exe file.
• Custom keyboard layout can now be activated the standard way (depends on your keyboard layout switching options). If you have Language bar turned on, you can find it there as well.
• If you don't want the standard layout you've installed in step 2 you can remove it.
• I recommend to restart Windows 8 first.
• Go to Control panel | Language
• Find the language the keyboard is installed for and click Options
• Find the standard layout and click Remove Custom keyboard layouts should work in Metro mode as well. Disclaimer: Custom keyboard layout will not work on ARM because 1) There is no ARM compiler in Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator and 2) All software on ARM version of Windows 8 is censored and must be first approved by Big Brother Microsoft.

Question: Windows 10

As Windows 10 are slightly better than Windows 8, there are reports from users that installation works the same way as on Windows 7 (not tested myself).