Windows 11 ARM custom keyboard layout not working in specific text fields

Question

I'm using Windows 11 ARM64 on a Surface Pro. 11 I want to use a custom keyboard layout (Dvorak), that I've edited with Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator. Most of the time it works, but I've noticed that there are some specific text fields where I believe the american default keyboard layout gets used (even though I don't have it installed). Some text fields where this happens are:

• Search bar in the start menu
• Search bar in the microsoft store
• Search chats bar in the whatsapp windows application
• Search bar in the Drawboard PDF application
• (e.g. NOT anything from the office suite)
• (e.g. NOT spotify)
• ...

It's important to note that i don't have any of these problems on my x86 Surface pro 8. Also, the official keyboard layouts from the settings don't have this problem, but there is no german dvorak layout. This is annoying, since a have to mentally switch keyboard layout when searching in the start menu for example, and I'm not accustomed to the american keyboard layout. Is there a way to fix this?

Answer 1

Dear Christian Rupp,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A.

This is a fascinating and frustrating problem, and your detailed description is excellent. You've correctly identified the key variables: the ARM64 architecture, the custom keyboard layout, and the specific type of text fields where it fails.

The root cause of this issue is almost certainly a compatibility problem between the very old Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator (MSKLC), modern Windows applications (UWP/XAML-based), and the Windows on ARM architecture.

The most reliable fix is to stop using MSKLC and switch to a modern tool like EPKL (eDEX-UI's Portable Keyboard Layout) or KbdEdit (a paid, commercial alternative to MSKLC) to rebuild your layout. This addresses the root architectural incompatibility.

I hope this could help. If you have any further issues, please let me know.

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