Input menu not available on my MacBook screen

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Level 1

8 points

Input menu not available on my MacBook screen

I don't have an icon for the input menu at the top right of my screen. I need this to access "ABC-Extended" and to access macrons. I have Sonoma 14.5 and a new Mac Air M2. The input menu seems to have been pushed out of the line of icons. What I have in Safari at the top of the screen is the following "Safari, File, Edit, View, History, Bookmarks, Window, Help, an icon for binoculars [I don't know what that's for], a circle with a person in it (login window?), battery power, wifi connection, search, launch icon (?), Siri, analog date and time." Can anyone help me recover input menu?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Air 15″

Posted on Jul 3, 2024 7:44 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Phil0124

Community+ 2026

Level 10

219,404 points

Jul 3, 2024 8:09 AM in response to smillerjapan

Go to System Settings ➜ Keyboard ➜ Text Input ➜ Input Sources ➜ [Edit], and make sure "Show Input Menu in Menu Bar" is turned on.

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Answer 2

Jul 3, 2024 10:56 AM in response to smillerjapan

You should not need to restart the computer, no.

If you only have one input language the icon will not appear. You need to have at least 2 for it to show up.

You won't see it if you only have ABC - Extended selected but nothing else.

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Answer 3

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,484 points

Jul 3, 2024 11:41 AM in response to smillerjapan

smillerjapan wrote:

The three input sources I have are "Japanese - Romaji," "Maori" (to make certain symbols not available to me), and "ABC-Extended."

Doesn't ABC Extended cover everything that Maori has? In any case, the input menu should show with any two of those input sources on the list.

You can also change between them using Caps Lock or Control Space if you check the right things in settings.

How do you capture the menu bar alone? My screenshot does not include the menu bar.

You should be able to select it using Command Shift 4.

Does removing an existing item from the menu bar perhaps let the input mehu in?

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Answer 4

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,484 points

Jul 3, 2024 10:44 AM in response to smillerjapan

What other keyboard/input source do you have active besides abc extended?

Please post a screen shot of your menu bar.

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Answer 5

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,484 points

Jul 3, 2024 12:49 PM in response to smillerjapan

smillerjapan wrote:

I thought the same thing about deleting an icon on the menu bar, but I don't know how to do that.

System Settings > Control Center

No, ABC Extended does not cover everything, unfortunately. That's why I needed Maori.

Could you give an example?

I tried Command Shift 4, but I didn't get a screen shot. Not sure why.

After doing that , you need to use the mouse to select the area of the screen you want to save.

To switch keyboards with caps lock, go to system settings > keyboard > text input > edit > Use Caps Lock to Switch...

To switch keyboards with Fn/Globe, go to system settings > keyboard > Press Fn Key to

To switch keyboards via control space or control option space, go to system settings > keyboard > keyboard shortcuts > input sources

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Answer 6

smillerjapan Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 3, 2024 11:19 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

The three input sources I have are "Japanese - Romaji," "Maori" (to make certain symbols not available to me), and "ABC-Extended."

How do you capture the menu bar alone? My screenshot does not include the menu bar.

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Answer 7

smillerjapan Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 3, 2024 11:20 AM in response to smillerjapan

The three input sources I have are "Japanese - Romaji," "Maori" (to make certain symbols not available to me), and "ABC-Extended."

How do you capture the menu bar alone? My screenshot does not include the menu bar.

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Answer 8

smillerjapan Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 3, 2024 12:12 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

I thought the same thing about deleting an icon on the menu bar, but I don't know how to do that.

No, ABC Extended does not cover everything, unfortunately. That's why I needed Maori.

I tried Command Shift 4, but I didn't get a screen shot. Not sure why.

For now, I'm just going to hold the letter over which I want the macron and then choose the correct character. It's clumsy from my point of view, but it's the only thing that works.

Thanks, Tom!

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Answer 9

smillerjapan Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 3, 2024 8:48 AM in response to Phil0124

Thank you for your reply. However, I did this when I selected "ABC-Extended" and it did not show up at the top of my screen. Any idea why?

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Answer 10

Jul 3, 2024 10:08 AM in response to smillerjapan

If it shows up now, then it suggests you did not actually turn on the option before. It won't turn on on its own, you have to manually flip the switch.

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