If you want to create a slightly different Phonetic layout, then instead of creating your own layout 'from scratch', it would be much faster and safer to install mine first and then modify it.

It will also help to avoid problems if your system is Windows 2000/XP and newer - Windows does not let you easily modify its native keyboard layout file kbdru.dll: in my layout instruction I deliberately decided do not touch Windows-own layout file kbdru. Instead I create my own with a different name and then register it as a keyboard layout for "Russian" language.

Below are the images of my Phonetic layouts - see for yourself if it's Ok for you or not (in the 2nd part of this page I explain how to modify my layout).

I offer three variants, where last two differ only in the location of Russian letter 'zh':
one has Russian 'zh' assigned to 'v' and another has it assigned to 'w':

Variant 1. "Student" layout

Variant 2. "YaWert" layout

Variant 3. "YaZHert" layout

Symbol 'number' - № - that a Standard Russian layout has, can be obtained on Phonetic layout, too - via a combination of buttons: Ctrl/Alt/5.
Symbol currency Euro - via a combination of buttons Ctrl/Alt/E.

Reminder: the installation instruction for my layout is given in the "Typing Russian on any keyboard: standard and phonetic layout" section of my site "Cyrillic (Russian): instructions for Windows and Internet".

If you are not satisfied with neither of the variants shown above:

Modification of Phonetic Russian layout

The rules are different for different Windows versions -
  (a) 95/98/ME; (b) 2000/NT; (c) XP and newer (2003, Vista, Windows 7,8)
so choose yours by clicking on the corresponding link below.

Note: for XP/2003 only. If you activated Phnonetic layout for XP or Windows 2003 by reading my instructions before February 2007, that is, you manually copied kbd1251y.dll file to needed folder instead of running automatic installation of Phonetic layout, then you must Modify it also using "old" method", that is, do NOT click on "XP and newer" link below, but click on 2000/NT link below:
it's still that "old" way of modification there (for layouts installed by "old" method).

• Windows 95/98/ME

• Windows 2000/NT 4.0

• Windows 7,8,10,11 and Windows XP/2003, Vista

Modification of Phonetic Russian layout under Windows 95/98/ME

You need to download a freeware layout editor Janko's Keyboard Generator and install it.
Then find kbd1251y.KBD in c:\Windows\System and copy it to the folder where layout editor has been installed.

Call the editor and open that keyboard layout file in it.
Do needed modifications and exist the editor. Now copy modified kbd1251y.KBD from the editor's folder back to c:\Windows\System overriding old file.

Modification of Phonetic Russian layout under Windows 2000 and NT 4.0

 
If - after you install my phonetic layout (that is, layout file kbd1251y is already registered in the system as "Russian") - you decide that you want to change a location for some Russian letters, then read below how you do it.

Note. After you modify the layout, you can bring modified file kbd1251y to other computers and install there phonetic layout by following my original instruction - same steps just with modified file.

Here are the steps to modify my phonetic layout:

• Install shareware program (not mine!) "Keyboard Layout Manager" (KLM):
  • Go to one of their sites (whichever works):
    http://www.klm32.com/index.html or http://solair.eunet.yu/~minya/Programs/klm/klm.html
  • Go to the "Download" page
  • Download their "Medium" version (archive file klmmedium.zip) - lighter versions cannot do the work we need and heavier versions don't add anything we need for our work (and also may be unstable). "Medium" is perfect for our purposes.
  • Extract files from archive klmmedium.zip and execute the installer - klmmedium.exe

• Call KLM program - Start/Programs/Keyboard Layout Manager

• It will show you a list of layouts. Place cursor on "RU" (Russian) and click on "EDIT".

• KLM will show you my phonetic layout and also one more window - "Character Map".

• Now you can take Russian letters from "Character Map" and place then onto my layout, i.e. modify my layout - first click on a letter on my layout to be overridden; then find needed letter in "Character Map" window and click on it to place it onto the layout picture. Repeat so for each letter you want to re-position.

• Click "OK".
  KLM may show you a warning message but don't even read it, just click on "OK" - I don't touch Microsoft layout file kbdru, so there is nothing to worry about.

• Then the program will ask you to re-start the system. You need to agree - click on "Yes".
  If the program does not ask for that, you still need to perform the re-start or at least Log-off and then Log-on again.

After the re-start, your variant of Russian phonetic layout will be in effect.

Important! If you used the above instructions to have your own layout, but then for some reason decide to uninstall KLM editor:
you need to know that KLM - during its uninstallation process - erases that file and replaces it with the original one, thus you can loose all your modifications!
To avoid that, you need to follow these steps:

1. Find your current keyboard layout file (one you used in KLM to modify)
   For example, assume that you modified my layout file kbd1251y.dll under Windows 2000, thus you have now modified kbd1251y.dll - it's in the System32 sub-folder of your main Windows folder
   (which is C:\WinNT).

   Copy that file to some other folder, say, C:\Temp.

2. You can uninstall KLM editor now
3. Copy that file (which you stored aside) back to System32 sub-folder.
   Using the example given is Step 1:
   copy kbd1251y.dll from C:\Temp to C:\WinNT\System32 and confirm when system asks your permission to override the existing file in that System32 folder.
4. Log-off and then Log-in to Windows again.

This is the end of the instruction for Window 2000 and NT 4.0.

Modification of Phonetic Russian layout under Windows 7/8/10/11, XP/2003, Vista:
free keyboard layout editor from Microsoft - MSKLC
(Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator)

By the way, it's what I used to create my layouts . Microsoft MSKLC not only allows a user to create a new custom layout, but also creates installation package (those files inside .zip you download when you use my layouts), that is, installation of my layout is a Microsoft program, not mine.

Note. This layout editor - MSKLC (current version is 1.4) does not work under Windows 8.0, but looks like it already works under 8.1. In any case, people reported that custom layouts made with MSKLC under Windows 7 or XP work just fine under Windows 8.
So you could - under Windows 7/XP - modify one of my phonetic layouts and re-position some letters (it's much easier than making your own layout from scratch), and then bring this new layout to Windows 8.

Step 1. It is not needed for Vista and Windows 7 and newer (the software is already there) but is needed for XP/2003:
you need to install first "oriented for end user (not developer) MS .NET package".
It takes 5 minutes under XP, here is the place to download: MS .NET and then install it.

Step 2. Now, modification of my Phonetic Russian layout:

• download free (for single user) keyboard layout editor MSKLC provided by Microsoft:
  • Microsoft page to download MSKLC - MSKLC 1.4 (Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator)

• Call MSKLC

  Note. If you call MSKLC but there is nothing on the screen: it's a known error (probably already fixed) which exists when your screen resolution (DPI) is too high - 120 - and you need to lower it to 96. It can be done in Control Panel: click on "Display" icon then choose "Settings" tab. There click on "Advanced" button and you'll see "DPI setting" in "General" tab.
  If you ran into such situation then please see Two messages from the lead developer of MSKLC.

• In the MSKLC menu choose File/"Load Existing Keyboard". Find my layout in the list, say if you have my variant 1, then choose "Russian Phonetic YaWert - WinRus.com"

• Now you can re-arrange Russian letters, for instance, you can interchange Russian 'ч/Ч' and 'ь/Ь':
  • click on 'ч'. Now you need to type it over with 'ь':
    • If you have Russian keyboard installed on your computer - Standard one or my Phonetic - then switch keyboard to "RU" and type 'ь'.
      
    • Or you can do it another way - call your browser and go to my Virtual Keyboard page http://Kbd.WinRus.com.
      Choose a layout you know best - one of Standard layouts or one of Phonetic layouts - and then input 'ь' either by mouse or using regular keyboard.
      Copy that letter to MSKLC window. Ok, 'ч' is replaced now with 'ь'!

  • Now do the same for the upper-case letters - by placing a check-mark into the "Shift" field at the left - click on 'Ч' and replace it with 'Ь'.
  • Do the same for 'ь/Ь' - replace with 'ч/Ч' respectively.

• When you are done with modifications, go to File/"Save Source File As" - MSKLC does not let you change existing layout file (DLL), it offers you to create a .KLC file and later build DLL layout file from it.
  So give some name to that .KLC file and store it somewhere.
  Now you have new layout on screen as well as in that new .KLC file.

• Pay attention to the option at the bottom of MSKLC screen - it specifies the Path to the program's working folder where it builds layout DLL. You can change that Path if you wish.

  Now go to Project/"Build DLL and Setup package" - MSKLC starts building layout DLL and installation package

• When it's done you have - in that MSKLC working folder - all the files of installation package, same type as my package which you downloaded while installing my Phonetic keyboard layout.

  Now you should remove my Phonetic layout and install yours:

  • go to the folder where you have my installation package and click there on setup.exe. It will offer you "Remove" my layout or "Repair" it. Choose "Remove"
  • now go to the folder where MSKLC has just built layout DLL and installation files for you. Click on setup.exe. When the installation is done you'd have your Phonetic layout working as "RU".