In 10.4 this hint is not so relevant, due to the "Show Input menu in login window" option in the Accounts preference pane (and i think it sticks with the last-used option).

I never used 10.3, but I know that in 10.2 and earlier you could run Preferences as root ("sudo open /Applications/System\ Preferences.app/Contents/MacOS/System\ Preferences"), set the keyboard layout there, and that would become the default keyboard layout.

I also used to change the "Appearance" of windows from aqua to graphite in this way, so that I would know if a window is owned by root. (I think that was an old hint here).

It also looks like these days you can give a password to the root account (thereby enabling it) if you visit the "Accounts" preference pane while System Preferences is open as 'root', although we all know that's a Bad Thing to do.

This may be a good idea for a local computer, but for a remote server (especially one that may have to be controlled even sporadically by the tech guy at the colocation facility), you can run into problems setting the input menu to anything but the standard. For example, if you attempt to log in via ARD using Chicken of the VNC, your local Dvorak will be re-Dvorakized by the server, and you will not be able to gain access. If I remember correctly, setting your local machine to U.S. still doesn't work, so you are left with connecting with the machine via SSL in Terminal.app.

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Greg Raven
Apple Valley, CA

This tip in very valuable. It's not only about the login menu. All the new users are created with dvorak. It also sometimes shows up at authentication menu for new users even after keyboard layout is changed. So thank you, this is a tip I've been waiting for months.

This hint should be applicable also to those of us who have our own keyboard layouts, that must be installed after the Setup Assistant conversation is finished and one gains access to the file system.

The original hint worked for me, to the point of *initial* keyboard layout (that is, the keyboard layout which gets selected upon login). Setting the keyboard layout in the login window did not affect even the initial keyboard layout when logged in.

Now, *initial* is not good enough, for as soon as I select, for example, one of the time fields for an iCal event, the keyboard layout goes Swedish Pro (which was the layout I first chose when installing the OS). I must then manually switch back, which of course is extremely irritating. Since the layout typically changes without notice, I often type a few wrong charaters before I realize I have to switch back.

Does someone know how to really-really change the default keyboard layout? or why my layout may not be not good enough for editing event times?