dotSwitcher

If you use multiple keyboard layouts when writing in different languages, switching between them can be quite tedious, even though the process is fairly quick. There is always room for improvement, though, as this application proves.

dotSwitcher is a small, open-source program that enables you to cycle between all your available keyboard layouts with a single hotkey. Moreover, it can convert the last word you have typed automatically, saving you even more time.

The application is very simple to set up, as you are pretty much ready to go after launching it for the first time. The default binding for cycling between layouts is the Pause key, but you can change it to anything else from the application’s settings.

Because you don’t need to go through an installation process, the program is very easy to deploy. It is not fully portable, though, as your settings are saved in the user folder.

As long as the application is running, you can press the configured hotkey at any time to cycle between layouts, and the program will automatically convert the last word to be typed as well.

You can specify whether or not dotSwitcher should be launched at system startup, and the program can even be hidden from the system tray if you want it to run only in the background.

We did not run into any problems while testing dotSwitcher, but it is worth noting that the software has not been updated for some time, and the selection conversion feature does not seem to be functional, as the hotkey field is grayed out.

On the whole, this utility does its job very well, as it provides you with a quick and convenient way to switch between keyboard layouts. It is very unobtrusive and can be set up in no time at all.