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[Chris21]

I have tech problem for the tech wizzes out there. I have an English OS but my keyboard is Japanese. I'd like to be able to toggle between English typing and Japanese typing. How do I set that up? From what I've found on the net, I need IME... I downloaded it. But beyond that, I'm stumped. (my system is Windows XP, I've downloaded all of the Japanese language packs from windows, and I've changed the regional settings in the control panel).

Any advice??

[JimDunlop2]

The keyboard itself is rather irrelevant to the whole affair. You can just as easily type in Japanese using an English keyboard or vice-versa, in English using a Japanese keyboard.

IME (as far as I know) should be a standard part of WinXP and doesn't need to be downloaded (although some people may need to install it using their original Windows XP install disc)...

After you've gone into your Regional settings, you only need to make sure you have the following:

[JP] Japanese keyboard (using Input Method Editor IME)
[EN] English

All the others are just that -- options and you don't really need them.

Then, let's say you are in MS-Word and you want to write a letter in Japanese. Just hit [ALT] + [SHIFT] and that should cause the [EN] icon on your taskbar to change to [JP]. At this point, you may have to right-click on this icon and select "Show language bar". On the language bar, you have to select "Hiragana" or the appropriate alphabet and off you go. Then, you can change hiragana to kanji by using the space bar (as usual).

The inverse applies if you are in Japanese mode and want to switch into English. Just hit Alt+Shift.

I recommend NOT making your default language Japanese OR making Windows's default non-Unicode language Japanese. If you do this, system messages, errors, and many programs which normally come up in English will start coming up in Japanese... It can really muck up your system.

I hope that helps.

[Chris21]

Thanks, Jim! Much appreciated!

I'll give it a try when I get home.

[VanKen]

[Chris21]

Thanks! I'll check that, too.

[J.]

and you have a desktop, just change to an English keyboard and use the onscreen keypad on the Language bar to type in Japanese (after making sure you have the Japanese fonts installed.) This only is practical if you don't type a lot in Japanese, though.

No way could I get Windows XP ( English) to recognize my Japanese keyboard; some of the keys and symbols were switched around or absent. When I asked them about it they said it was not supported, same old, same old. Anyway, hope you have better luck.