On a Windows PC, we can install layouts for multiple keyboards based on their languages. For example, we can have a keyboard layout for the French language and another for the English language. Windows gives us the ability to switch from one language to another using the hotkey Alt+Tab. We can also choose to switch the languages for the keyboard using the language toolbar by accessing its shortcut from the notification area.
While Windows does display the language selected for the typing through your keyboard, it shown only a very small icon in the notification bar. And sometimes Windows hides even the icons from the notification area if they have not been used for some time. Without knowing which language keyboard layout is being used at the current time, we can spend a lot of time typing something only to realize that we were typing with the wrong language.
One freeware tool called Layout Indicator can change this. When run, Layout Indicator displays the currently selected keyboard layout visually in many ways. First of all the language is displayed on the desktop itself with small letters. And if you miss these large letters, then it also places the language icon next to the cursor. Wherever you move the mouse pointer, you will know which language layout is being selected.
Finally, if you miss both the big letters near the notification area and the small icon attached to the mouse cursor, then it also changes the taskbar color. The changed color of the taskbar indicates the keyboard layout being selected at the present time.
While it is a small tool, Layout Indicator can save our valuable time when typing using several keyboard layouts on the same PC. It is a portable application and does not leave anything behind on your PC.
You can download Layout Indicator from https://sourceforge.net/projects/layout-indicator/.