Issue with Switching Input languages with Japanese IME on Windows 7

Question

I've set up windows to select my standard Keyboard Layout when I press CTRL + SHIFT + 1

While I use around 5 languages I've usually never had the need to change Layout settings with one exception: Japanese IME.

Once I switch to Japanese IME with CTRL + SHIFT + 2 there is no way to switch back to my default keyboard layout. It works with any other ordinary Keyboard layout.

There is a toggle hotkey left ALT + SHIFT which still works as expected, but I would prefer to have it disabled to avoid accidentally switching while using other hotkeys that involve said keys.

Does anyone have a hunch as to what might be wrong?

Answer 1

Ctrl+ combination does not work in Japanese layout in hiragana mode and it's known bug of Japanese software for years. It presents even in Windows 10. There is no known workaround without 3rd part software.

I made workaround using free AutoHotKey software using this script

#NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
; #Warn  ; Enable warnings to assist with detecting common errors.
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.

^1::LangSwitch(0)
^2::LangSwitch(1)
^3::LangSwitch(2)

LangSwitch( langIndex=0 )
{
    HKLnum:=DllCall("GetKeyboardLayoutList","uint",0,"uint",0)
    VarSetCapacity( HKLlist, HKLnum*4, 0 )
    DllCall("GetKeyboardLayoutList","uint",HKLnum,"uint",&HKLlist)
    HKL:=NumGet( HKLlist, langIndex*4 )

    ControlGetFocus,ctl,A
    SendMessage,0x50,0,HKL,%ctl%,A ;WM_INPUTLANGCHANGEREQUEST
}

Where ^1::LangSwitch(0) is Ctrl+1 for language with index 0 in your list of languages.