Change the keyboard layout on login after sleep

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rryk

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I have several keyboard layouts installed: English, German, Ukrainian and Russian. My password is mostly in english, but also contains a symbol "[". Whenever I close the lid of my computer and then open it after some time, I get a login screen which prompts me to type a password. I have noticed that keyboard layout that is selected for typing a password is the one which was selected before sleeping.

I have already ran into trouble when having German as active layout, because instead of getting "[" character I get German "ü". That time I have managed my way out by trying to type in the login name field and finding out that Alt+5 actually generates "[" character on German layout. However, yesterday night I have left my computer with Russian layout active. There was no way for me to type my English-based password using Russian layout, so the only thing I could do is to hold power button to shutdown the Mac and restart it. Luckily after restart Mac always resets the layout to English. There are no buttons at login screen except OK and Cancel. Normal shortcut (Alt+Space) that I have configured to change layouts don't work either.

Is there a way to see which layout is being used at the moment (something like a layout name or flag in the corner) and change it at the login screen after sleeping?
 
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Why not change your admin password to one that all keyboards will accept?
Or turn off "Require password to wake this computer..."
 
Your first suggestion only leaves numbers and possibly few special characters, which is not that secure. Second suggestion is even worse. I often leave my laptop in public places and I want it to be protected from unauthorized access, since I have some sensitive encrypted and personal data on it. Nevertheless thanks for answering ;)
 
Hello, is anybody there with actual intelligence?
Why are you leaving your laptop in public places _and_ are worried about a password that is 'not that secure'?
The best security is physical security, so I will suggest that you take care of that first. Keep your laptop under your control - are you the only user?
At least log out, or shut down, when you leave your laptop... How challenging is this?
Or, don't let your laptop sleep...

Another possibility is to use an Applescript that will run a logout script that switches to your standard keyboard layout when logging out.
 
I leave it in public places safe enough so nobody will steal or break it, but people might want to play a trick on me or just look at my emails. I want to prevent this, yet I don't want to bring my laptop to the toilet with me :). Also logging out for 5 minutes while I am out of my desk is kinda troublesome, since I will have to save all my stuff, log out, log in and restore all the work, which can easily take me another 5 minutes if not more.

The suggestion with AppleScript sound reasonable, even though I don't think an average user will be able to write one. Even as an experienced programmer (not in AppleScript though) I have several questions. Can I trigger script automatically before logout or should I use the script to do the logout? Which application should I talk to to change keyboard layout?

Thanks again. Still can't believe that there is not built-in functionality for this. This is kinda basic thing that must be in every system. Even buggy Windows has it.
 
Then, turn off "Require password to wake this computer..."
You're either concerned about access, or you're not.

You can also set 10.6 to provide a time delay before simple sleeping needs a password, so if you are only gone for 5 minutes, no password is required.
The first pillar of computer security is not a password - it's physical security. If you don't want others to have access to your Mac, then secure it. Your concerns about the data on the computer should out-weigh any concerns about convenience.
You could even switch to a different 'dummy' user on your system, which wouldn't necessarily mean logging out of your main user account.
 
Windows makes it both convenient and secure. Is that so hard to add a layout change button into login dialog box? The system should work as the user want it, not vice versa.
 
rryk said:
Your first suggestion only leaves numbers and possibly few special characters, which is not that secure.
Click to expand...

I just used 1Password to generate this password - LebJyffZwT2QkG6BeU - which the program calls fantastic. If you want, I'll make another and send it to you by PM.

Password security has nothing to do with special characters.
 
Of course, you can add Select Input to your login window.
System Preferences/Accounts, click on the padlock to unlock that pane. Click on Login Options, then click "Show Input menu on Login Window"
That might not work in the password entry window when waking up, but you can try that.

The main point is that you don't want a 'hard' password - you want one that works with all your keyboard layouts, and that's the challenging step. Even a simple password might prevent the casual 'joker' from continuing after he sees that password screen.

Does the choice in Login Options work for you?
 
Frankly I just have found this solution myself right before reading your answer. Thank you anyway. This does really work and also for login window which appears after wake-up. Basically this answers my question fully.
 
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