Japanese writing characters

[RubyRose]

Okay, I'm seeing some Japanese Hiragana, and Katakana symbols in a post made by Lucius

http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=40927

and I'm wondering how you went about putting such symbols into your posts.

Any particular websites or software.

Thanks.

[nighstar]

no software required.

to type in japanese (and any other language on windows) go to

START < Settings < Control Panel < Regional Options (that's what it's called on Win2000.... might be something a little different on another OS)

Go to the Input Locales tab and select ADD... from which u can select any language that u'd like

- you can also set the default language/keyboard to type in by selecting the language from your added list and clicking [set as default]

at the bottom you can Enable your language imput options in you taskbar for easy access and switching between languages and keyboard settings. i highly recommend selecting this unless you dont want anything added to your taskbar.

when done with all that, click [apply] then [OK] and the indicator should be added to your taskbar (you may have to restart).

click the indicator and select the language that you'd like to type in from the dropdown window

note: to type in japanese in windows you dont need to know the japanese keyboard layout, you just type the word(s) in romaji and it'll automaticly change it for you :] (beware that that's not always the case with other languages though) since kanji's a bit tricky, you have to make sure it changes to the particular kanji you want. if it doesn't, when the word you want to change is highlighted, arrow down and you'll be given a selection of variations to choose from.

^^;; i hope i explained all that well enough for it to be understood... lol

がんばって、ね!

[RubyRose]

Thanks, I found it alright, only Japanese isn't listed in the list of language choices :(

[nighstar]

x,x hmm.... what does the Regional < Input tab (or whatever it may be called for you) show on your computer....? o.o and what OS are you using? ^^;

[Yooneko]

You may have to download the Windows Japanese IME (Input Method Editor) or something -- you can download it from the microsoft site, I think. I haven't done it in a long time and don't remember the process anymore.

がんばってね！

[RubyRose]

The operating system I have is Windows XP, Home version. It's shows all sorts of languages, except J seems to have been conveniently forgotten. lol. Except they have Japan listed as a location, it doesn't make sense why they wouldn't have Japanese listed as a language.

I'm currently downloading some language packs from the microsoft website.

[nighstar]

yeah, funny how Microsoft likes to conveniently "forget" things, huh.... lol

a language pack, or just the Japanese IME like Yooneko said should solve the problem, though. ^_^;

[RubyRose]

Yeah. Anyway I'll get it all (there's two components to download) downloaded tonight, and I'll install it all tomorrow, after work, and then I'll be up and running japanese wise ... hehehe

[Saiya]

I'm using XP...and I can't find it on mine either :( Where do I go to download?

[Yooneko]

Here's guide that should lead you step by step through the process of installing Japanese or Global IME:

http://www.declan-software.com/japanese_ime/

I tried to link to the microsoft page directly, but the link was too long and got cut off here. At any rate, a simple search of -- global ime microsoft japanese -- on google brings the correct page up as the first link.

Hope that helps.


I'm using XP...and I can't find it on mine either :( Where do I go to download?

[Kes]

IIRC, you might also have on your XP computer something called the "East Asian Language Pack", which you might need to extract before you'll have the option to type in Japanese, Korean, etc.


The other alternative for kanji and the like is to cheat, go to an online kanji dictionary, and copy/paste it (just make sure you disable smilies first ^_^).


Good luck.

[RubyRose]

Thanks

[Lucius]

I just found this thread on accident....hmmmm. LOL. Anyway, I will try to figure out what program I use and let everyone know....Okay? I'm so excited that so many people are interested in Japanese. BTW, I use XP and I think the only other way is to use the IME thing and that costs a lot of money. Anyway, my way is free....I'll figure it out and repost. See ya. :huddle: またね。

[Saiya]

Oh, I have that downloaded already. Now... how do I type in Japanese using it? ^^;;;;

[Yooneko]

If you've already installed IME (it's free by the way -- though it did use to cost a pretty penny), you should have a language bar -- if it's minimized, it should be on your task bar with all the little icons (on mine, these are on the right hand side of the start up bar along the bottom of my screen) -- it probably just says EN. If it's not minimized, it's floating around on your desktop somewhere. Click on that to open it up and you can switch back and forth between Japanese IME and English -- Once you've switched to Japanese, click on the cursor where you want to write, then go to the language bar to select your input method. If you are working with JapaneseIME from your taskbar, then you should have several new graphics appear on the bottom. To switch between "direct input" (English characters) and katakana, hiragana (full and half width for both), click on the A to bring up a menu.

If you don't have the EN or JP icon on your taskbar, or floating around on your desktop, but you've installed it, I don't know what to tell you. I would try looking at my computers settings in the control panel. (By the way, I use XP, so if you are on an earlier system, it may be slightly different. Though I'm pretty sure it was the same on 2000.)

[Lucius]

Try this site. This program might be good.
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~grosenth/jwpce.html