Polish (Programmers)
Keyboards sold in Poland are US-shaped (ANSI) boards with US legends, and Windows’ default Polish layout, Polish (Programmers), keeps every US key where it is. The Polish letters come from AltGr, the right Alt key: AltGr with a, c, e, l, n, o, s gives ą ć ę ł ń ó ś, AltGr+X gives ź and AltGr+Z gives ż. The picture draws each Polish letter at the bottom right of its key, as many Polish keycaps do.
The tilde key is a dead key in this layout: press , then a letter, for a Polish letter as well ( then a gives ą); press ~ then Space for the tilde itself. The table under this text lists the keys that differ from US.
Polish (214)
The older Polish (214) layout is a QWERTZ typewriter layout with ą ć ę ł ń ó ś ź ż on their own keys and Z and Y swapped. It’s still in Windows, but hardly any keyboards print it. If your letters come out with Z and Y swapped or accented letters appear on the number row, the computer is set to Polish (214).
Switching layouts
- Windows: Settings, Time & language, Language & region, Add a language, Polski; its keyboard is Polish (Programmers). Switch with Win+Space.
- macOS: System Settings, Keyboard, Text Input, Edit, +, Polish – Pro, which works the same way with Option.
- Linux (GNOME): Settings, Keyboard, Input Sources, +, Polish.
The Polish (Programmers) keys at a glance
These keys differ from a US keyboard. The browser code is the name the key sends in the event log, taken from the US key in the same place. AltGr is the right Alt key; on Windows, Ctrl+Alt does the same. Keys marked "dead" type nothing on their own: press one, then a letter, for an accented letter (or Space for the mark itself).
| Key | Shift | AltGr | Browser code | US keyboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E | ę | KeyE | E | |
| U | € | KeyU | U | |
| O | ó | KeyO | O | |
| A | ą | KeyA | A | |
| S | ś | KeyS | S | |
| L | ł | KeyL | L | |
| Z | ż | KeyZ | Z | |
| X | ź | KeyX | X | |
| C | ć | KeyC | C | |
| N | ń | KeyN | N |