User's Guide For Traditional Chinese Input Methods

[  Chinese Version  ]




Table of Contents:

I.  Introduction

II.  Input Window Areas

Preedit Area
Status Area
Lookup Choice Area
Auxiliary Window


III.  Basic Functions For Traditional Chinese Input Methods

1.  Opening and Closing Input Methods
2.  Selecting An Input Method
3.  Switching Input Methods Roundly
4.  Switching Between Half_width Character Mode and  Full_width Character Mode
5.  Switching Between Chinese Punctuation Mode and English Punctuation Mode
IV.  Utilities For Traditional Chinese Input Methods
1.  Selecting  the Utility Menu
2.  Input Method Selection Tool
3.  Input Method Options Setting Tool
4.  Lookup Table
Lookup table with native encoding
Lookup table with UNICODE encoding
Lookup table for special characters
5.  Virtual Keyboard
PC Keyboard
TsangChien Keyboard
Array Keyboard
DaYi Keyboard
ChuYin Keyboard
I-Tien Keyboard
Boshiamy Keyboard
ChienI Keyboard
6.  User Define Charater(UDC)
7.  Input Method Help


V.  Function Specfication for Traditional Chinese Input Methods

1.  ASCII Input Mode
2.  TsangChieh Input Mode
3.  Array Input Mode
4.  ChuYin Input Mode
5.  Boshiamy Input Mode
6.  ChienI Input Mode
7.  I-Tien Input Mode
8.  DaYi Input Mode
9.  TeleCode Input Mode
10.  English_Chinese Input Mode
11.  NeiMa Input Mode
12.  NewChuYin Input Mode


VI.  CodeTable Input Method Interface

1.  Introduction
2.  Creating a Codetable
3.  Convert the codetable text file to binary format
4.  Convert the binary codetable file to text format
5.  Creating a new codetable input method

 
 

I.  Introduction

Solaris 9 provides more friendly and extensible input methods and management tools for Chinese Solaris users, including Mainland China, HongKong and Taiwan users. Also an Input method auxiliary window has been developed which supports the following new functions and utilities: Two kinds of input methods are supported: Input methods with auxiliary window support all the Traditional Chinese locales:  In all Traditional Chinese locales, the following input methods are supported:
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 II.  Input Window Areas

Four separate areas of an application subwindow are involved in entering characters. These areas are typically displayed, named, and used as follows:

  Preedit Area: Highlighted (such as inverse video or underlined) entry display area.
  Status Area:   Indicating the current input/conversion mode.
  Lookup Choice Area: Displaying multiple character choices.
  Auxiliary Windows:   Utilities for input method management.

input window areas

 Preedit Area

The highlighted preedit area (for example, reverse video and underlined) displays characters as they are typed or converted. It displays text characters before they are converted to Traditional Chinese characters or symbols and put into the applications.

 Status Area

The status area shows which input conversion mode is in effect. In the above example, it is located in the lower left corner of the window margin.

 Lookup Choice Area

The lookup choice area displays multiple Traditional Chinese or special symbol character choices available for conversion of the character(s)/radical(s) in the preedit area. In the above example, it is a pop-up.

 Auxiliary Windows

The auxiliary windows provide tools and  utilities to manage input methods or to make the input easier.
 
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III. Basic Functions For Traditional Chinese Input Methods

     1. Opening and Closing Input Methods

     Type [Control+Spacebar] to open the input methods, An auxiliary window appears as below:

Input bar

     Type [Control+Spacebar] again to close the input method, the auxiliary bar disappears.
 
 
 

    2.  Selecting An Input Method

    In the Chinese status window,  type Function key " F2 " to switch to the first  input method, " F3 " to the second input method,  " F4 " to the third input method,  and so on.
    Or click the input method selection button on the auxiliary bar to display the input method selection menu as below:

Input method list menu

   And select the input method you want to use.

 

   3.  Toggling Between Input Methods

    In Chinese status window, Type [Control+Escape ] to toggle between input methods.
 
 
 

   4.  Switching Between Half_width Character Mode and  Full_width Character Mode

    In Chinese status window, Type [Shift+Spacebar ] to switch between Half_width Character Mode and Full_width Character Mode, or click the Half_width/Full_width button on the auxiliary bar.

The input method system is in  Full_width Character Mode when the button appears as below:
FullWidth Mode
 And the input method system is in Half_width Character Mode when the button appears as below:
HalfWidth Mode
 

    When in Full_width mode,  the Full_width character of the input key will be committed to applications.

    For example:   Inputting 'a' when in Full_width mode, the fullwidth character of 'a' will be committed to the application as shown below:

Commit Fullwidth Character
 

 

   5.  Switching Between Chinese Punctuation Mode and English Punctuation Mode

    In Chinese status window, type [Control+. ] to switch between Chinese Punctuation Mode and English Punctuation Mode,
    or click the Chinese/English Punctuation Button on the auxiliary bar to switch modes.

The input method system is in Chinese Punctuation Mode when the button appears as below:

Chinese Punctuation Mode ,
   and he input method system is in English Punctuation Mode when the button appears as below:
English Punctuation Mode .

    When typing a punctuation key in Chinese Punctuation mode,  the corresponding Chinese punctuation character will be committed to the application.

    For example:  when you type "$" in Chinese Punctuation mode,  the Traditional Chinese currency symbol character "NT$" will be committed to application as shown below:

Chinese Punctuation Mode

The punctuation keys include these characters:      , . / <> :;'"\$!^&_-

And the mapping between English and Chinese punctuation is as follows:

Chinese Punctuation Map
 
 

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IV. Utilities For Traditional Chinese Input Methods

Solaris 9 provides some auxiliary tools or utilities to help user to manage input methods, to set the properties of the input methods, and to ease the input of special characters etc.

The following tools are supported:

1.  Selecting  the Utility Menu

 Click the utility button utilities menu button  on the auxiliary bar to display the utilities menu as below:

Utilities Menu

And select one of the input method tools from the menu. 


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2. Input Method Selection Tool

 The input method selection tool allows you to select a list of input methods. You can also set the default input method and the sequence of the input methods.

Click the input method selection item from the utilities menu, and the input method selection panel appears as below:

input method selection

After selecting some input methods and clicking "OK" or "Apply", the setting will be activated.  The first  input method selected becomes the default input method.
Press [Control+Spacebar] in the application window to activate Chinese input, the default input method will be selected as the current input method.

Press "F2" to switch to the first selected input method,  "F3" to switch to the second selected one, "F4" to switch to the third selected one,  and so on.
 
 

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3. Input Method Options Setting Tool

Click the input method options setting item from the utilities menu, and the input method options setting panel appears as follows:

Option Setting

With the options setting tool, you can set input method options.  After setting the options in this panel, then clicking "OK" or "Apply", the setting is activated.

For input methods based on code table structure, there are 4 options that can be set as described below:

                This option can help user to learn the input method,  for example, viewing the external codes of a Chinese character in that input method.
 

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4. Lookup Table

      The lookup table tools can be used to search for an input Chinese characters.  You can select a Chinese character, then double click it, or click the "OK" button to commit the selected character.

      Three kinds of lookup tables are provided:

     In zh_TW/zh_TW.EUC locale,   lookup table with EUC_TW encoding is provided,  and in zh_TW.BIG5 locale,  lookup table with BIG5 encoding is provided, In zh_HK.BIG5HK locale, lookup table with BIG5_HKSCS encoding is provided.

    The lookup table panel with native encoding looks appears as below:

EUC_TW Lookup Table
 

    The lookup table panel with UNICODE encoding appears as below:

Unicode Lookup Table
 

       The lookup panel for special  characters , such as Greek characters, Mathematic symbols, etc, appears as below:

Special Symbols Lookup Table
 
 

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5. Virtual Keyboard

  Virtual Keyboard tools can be used as a lookup utilities to simplify the input of some special symbols, It can also be used to display the keyboard mapping of input methods that are based on radicals, such as TsangChien input methods, which is a typical input method based on Chinese radicals.
 

    The Traditional Chinese Environment supports the following virtual keyboards:

The virtual keyboards support to input characters by clicking the corresponding buttons on the virtual keyboard.    The PC Virtual Keyboard appears as below:

PC virtual keyboard
 

  When in TsangChieh input method, you can click the keyboard button on the auxiliary bar and select the TsangChieh keyboard item. The TsangChieh keyboard appears as below:

TsangChieh virtual keyboard
 

   When in Array input method, you can click the keyboard button on the auxiliary bar and select the Array keyboard item. The Array keyboard appears as below:

array virtual keyboard
 

   When in DaYi input method, you can click the keyboard button on the auxiliary bar and select the DaYi keyboard item. The DaYi keyboard appears as below:

DaYi virtual keyboard
 

   When in ChuYin input method, you can click the keyboard button on the auxiliary bar and select the ChuYin keyboard item. The ChuYin keyboard appears as below:

ChuYin virtual keyboard
 

   When in I-Tien input method, you can click the keyboard button on the auxiliary bar and select the I-Tien keyboard item. The I-Tien keyboard appears as below:

I-Tien virtual keyboard
 

   When in Boshiamy input method, you can click the keyboard button on the auxiliary barand select the Boshiamy keyboard item. The Boshiamy keyboard appears as below:

boshiamy virtual keyboard
 

   When in ChienI input method, you can click the keyboard button on the auxiliary barand select the ChienI keyboard item. The ChienI keyboard appears as below:

ChienI virtual keyboard
 
 

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6. User Define Charater(UDC)

 The UDC editor tool allows you to draw and save new characters, After ascribing the character to an input method, it can be input and displayed in an application.

Click the user define character item from the utilities menu to invoke the UDC tool, which appears as below:

UDC
 
 

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7. Input Method Help

     Select the input method help item from the utilities menu, a bowser such as Netscape or HotJava will appear and display the help information for the input methods.
 
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V. Function Specfication for Traditional Chinese Input Methods

The following input and conversion modes are available for entering ASCII/English and Chinese characters: Press [Control+spcaebar] to toggle Chinese input conversion on or off.
Press [Control+Escape] to toggle through different Chinese input modes.
 

 1.  ASCII Input Mode

Each application starts in ASCII input mode, which you can toggle on or off by pressing [Control+Spacebar ]. You can also use this mode to type ASCII characters, as shown below:

Input ASCII code

ASCII status is displayed in the window's status area when in ASCII input mode, when ASCII input mode is off, ther current conversion mode symbol appears.
  


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2. TsangChieh Input Mode

TsangChieh conversion works on the radicals that compose Chinese characters. Each Chinese character has a keystroke sequence made of the radicals that compose it. A TsangChieh keystroke sequence often uniquely defines a Chinese character, but sometimes selection from multiple choices is required.

TsangChieh conversion mode can also be used to type the characters in the Chinese National Standard 11643. To type characters in this mode, press Z followed by the three-letter code assigned to the symbol by the standard.

If more than one character matches the keystroke sequence, you can type a period (.) or [Control+N ] or  [ PageDown ] key to display the next pages of candidates,  and type a comma(,) or [ Control+P] or  [PageUp ] key to display the previous page of candidates. You can select a Chinese character you want by typing the corresponding number label key.

The keyboard mapping of TsangChieh input mode appears as below:

TsangChieh virtual keyboard
 

This section describes how to use the TsangChieh input method to input Chinese characters.

 (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

 (2). Press  F2 to turn on TsangChieh input mode, or click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select TsangChieh input method.  the status area shows that TsangChieh input mode is on, as below:

TsangChien Status

 (3).   Type ir.

  The TsangChieh input converter finds six matching characters and a lookup choice appears as below:

input with TsangChien

 (4).  Type number key to select the appropriate character. such as '1' to select the first candidate. The application appears as below:

input with TsangChien
 
 

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3. Array Input Mode

Array input method works on the radicals that compose Chinese characters. It contains 260 radicals and allocates them on the keyboard in ten columns and three rows. To used this input method effectively, you need to memorize only ten basic keystrokes. All radicals are naturally allocated on the keyboard by the basic keystrokes.

If more than one character matches the keystroke sequence, you can type a greater symbol (>) or [Control+N ] or  [ PageDown] key to display the next pages of candidates,  and type a less symbol (<) or [Control+P ] or  [ PageUp ] key to display the previous page of candidates. You can select a Chinese character you want by typing the corresponding uppercase letter label key.

The keyboard mapping of Array input mode appears as below:

Array virtual keyboard
 

This section describes how to use the Array input method to input Chinese characters.

  (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

  (2). Press  F3 to turn on Array input mode, or click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select Array input method.  the status area shows that Array input mode is on, as below:

Array status

  (3). Input 'x'.

    The Array input converter finds several matching characters,  a lookup choice appears as below:

input with Array

 (4). Type [Shift + a]  to select the first candidate.

    The radical is converted and the correct character appears in the application as below.

input with Array
 
 

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4. ChuYin Input Mode

ChuYin is another common input method.  This mode applies the Chinese phonetic symbols to the phonetics of Mandarin Chinese. When a typed sequence of phonetics uniquely matches a Chinese character, the phonetics are automatically converted and the character is displayed. However, if more than one character could represent the phonetics, a lookup selection area appears showing you the available choices. Several pages of lookup choices may be available for some phonetic sequences.

If more than one character matches the keystroke sequence, you can type a greater symbol (>) or [Control+N ] or  [ PageDown] key to display the next pages of candidates,  and type a less symbol (<) or [Control+P ] or  [ PageUp ] key to display the previous page of candidates. You can select a Chinese character you want by typing the corresponding uppercase letter label key.

The keyboard mapping of ChuYin input mode appears as below:

ChuYin virtual keyboard
 

This section describes how to use the ChuYin input method to input Chinese characters.

 (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

 (2). Press  F4 to turn on ChuYin input mode, or click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select ChuYin input method.  the status area shows that ChuYin input mode is on, as below:

ChuYin Status

 (3). Type w96 .

   The ChuYin input converter finds several matching characters and a lookup choice appears as below:

Input with ChuYin

 (4). Press [Shift + a ] to commit the first candidate. The application appears as below:

Input With ChuYin
 
 

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5. Boshiamy Input Mode

Boshiamy input method works on the radicals that compose Chinese characters. The radicals in this mode are easy to memorize by their shape, sound, or meaning. For effective use of this mode, memorize the rules: "Cut off long" and "Patch up short."

If more than one character matches the radical sequence, you can type a period (.) or [Control+N] or  [ PageDown ] key to display the next pages of candidates,  and type a comma(,) or [ Control+P] or  [PageUp ] key to display the previous page of candidates. You can select a Chinese character you want by typing the corresponding number label key.

The keyboard mapping of Boshiamy input mode appears as below:

boshiamy virtual keyboard
 

This section describes how to use the Boshiamy input method to input Chinese characters.

  (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

  (2). Press  F5 to turn on Boshiamy input mode, or click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select  Boshiamy input method.  the status area shows that Boshiamy input mode is on, as below:

Boshiamy mode

  (3).  Type  radicals:  uoo . Press the Spacebar key.

      The input converter finds five matching characters and a lookup choice appears as below:

Boshiamy input

(4).  Type number key to select the appropriate character. such as '1' to select the first candidate.

input with boshiamy

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6.  ChienI Input Mode

ChienI mode is a simplification of TsangChieh. Only the first and last keystrokes of the TsangChieh sequence for the target Chinese character make up the ChienI mode input. This usually displays a lookup selection of Chinese characters, as shown in the following two-character input example.

If more than one character matches the keystroke sequence, you can type a period (.) or [Control+N ] or  [ PageDown ] key to display the next pages of candidates,  and type a comma(,) or [ Control+P] or  [PageUp ] key to display the previous page of candidates. You can select a Chinese character you want by typing the corresponding number label key.

The keyboard mapping of ChienI input mode appears as below:

ChienI virtual keyboard
 

This section describes how to use the ChienI  input method to input Chinese characters.

 (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

 (2). Press  F6 to turn on ChienI input mode, or click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select ChienI input method.  the status area shows that ChienI input mode is on, as below:

ChienI status

 (3).  Type ak.

  The input converter finds several matching characters and a lookup choice appears as below:

input with ChienI

 (4). Type number key to select the appropriate character. such as '1' to select the first candidate. The application appears as below:

input with ChienI
 
 

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7. I-Tien Input Mode

I-Tien input mode maps Chinese phonetics to the keyboard according to the sound of each Roman keyboard characters.

If more than one character matches the keystroke sequence, you can type a greater symbol (>) or [Control+N ] or  [ PageDown] key to display the next pages of candidates,  and type a less symbol (<) or [Control+P ] or  [ PageUp ] key to display the previous page of candidates. You can select a Chinese character you want by typing the corresponding uppercase letter label key.

The keyboard mapping of I-Tien input mode appears as below:

I_Tien virtual keyboard
 

This section describes how to use the I-Tien input mode to input Chinese characters.

 (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

 (2). Press  F7 to turn on I-Tien input mode, or click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select I-Tien input method.  the status area shows that I-Tien input mode is on, as below:

I_Tien input status

  (3).  Type the sets of radicals:  dx83 ,  as below

input character with I_Tien

  (4). Press the Spacebar and the I-Tien input converter finds only one matching characters and commits it to the application, as below:

input with I_Tien

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8.  DaYi Input Mode

Similiar to the TsangChieh input mode, DaYi conversion works on the radicals that compose Chinese characters.  The keystroke sequence of the DaYi input mode completely follows the Chinese writing sequence, and only a few rules need to be memorized.

If more than one character matches the keystroke sequence, you can type a greater symbol (>) or [Control+N ] or  [ PageDown] key to display the next pages of candidates,  and type a less symbol (<) or [Control+P ] or  [ PageUp ] key to display the previous page of candidates. You can select a Chinese character you want by typing the corresponding number label key.

The keyboard mapping of DaYi input mode appears as below:

DaYi virtual keyboard
 

This section describes how to use the DaYi input mode to input Chinese characters.

 (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

 (2). Press  F8 to turn on DaYi input mode, or click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select DaYi input method.  the status area shows that DaYi input mode is on, as below:

DaYi Input Status

  (3).  Type the sets of radicals: ;o    Press  Spacebar.

      The DaYi input converter finds six matching characters and a lookup choices appears as below:

Input character with DaYi

 (4).  Type number key to select the appropriate character. such as '1' to select the first candidate. The application appears as below:

input character with DaYi 


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9. TeleCode Input Mode

Telecode conversion uses the old four-digit codes used by the Taiwan Telephone & Telegragh Bureau. These codes uniquely identify 16356 Chinese characters that are organized into two planes: plane 1 numbered from 0000 to 8045, and plane 2 numbered from .0000 to .8489.

This section describes how to use the Telecode input mode to input Chinese characters.

 (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

 (2). Press  F12 to turn on Telecode input mode, or click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select Telecode input method.  the status area shows that Telecode input mode is on, as below:

TeleCode status

 (3).  Type the four digits of code:  3456,  as below:

input with TeleCode

 (4). Press the Spacebar and the Telcode input converter finds only one matching characters and commits it to the application as below:

input with TeleCode
 
 

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10. English_Chinese Input Mode

The English_Chinese input method requires up to fifteen keystrokes to type each Chinese word. An English word maps several Chinese phrases. The lookup area list the Chinese phrases that match the English word, and each Chinese phrase follow with the English word.

If more than one Chinese phrase matches the English word, you can type a period (.) or [Control+N ] or  [PageDown ] key to display the next pages of candidates,  and type a comma(,) or [ Control+P] or  [PageUp ] key to display the previous page of candidates. You can select the Chinese phrase you want by typing the corresponding number label key.

The following figures shows how to use this input method to type the character representing the Engilsh word " hello ". The word requires four keystrokes.

 (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

 (2). Click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select English_Chinese input method.  the status area shows that English_Chinese input mode is on, as below:

English_Chinese status

(3).Type hello,  as follows:

input with English_Chinese

 (4). Type number key to select the appropriate character, such as ' 1' to select the first candidate. the application appears as below:

input with English_Chinese

  (5). Wild characters ( *  or   ? ) can be used to search in the dictionary,  '*'   stands for one or several letters, and ? represents only one letter. For example, to search all English words which end with ' lution ', you can input  '*lution'  and the lookup choices appears as below:

English_Chinese Wild character

Or to search all English words which begin with  'c' , and only three letters, you can input  'c?? ' , the lookup choices appears as below:

English_Chinese wild character
  


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11. NeiMa Input Mode

In zh_TW.EUC locale, EUC_TW NeiMa Code input method is available. in zh_TW.BIG5 locale, BIG5 NeiMa input method is available, in zh_HK.BIG5HK locale  BIG5+HKSCS input method is available. NeiMa input method uses the internal code to input Chinese characters.  Each Chinese character or symbol is identified by a four or eight hexadecimal digital internal code.

This section describes how to use the BIG5 internal codes to input Chinese characters and symbols in zh_TW.BIG5 and zh_TW.UTF-8 locale.

 (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

 (2). Click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select BIG5 NeiMa input method.  the status area shows that BIG5 NeiMa input mode is on, as below:

Big5Code Status

  (3). Press the first three of the four keys that represent a character, For example, b968, as below:

input with BIG5Code

 (4). Type the fourth key. The character automatically is committed to the application, as below:

input with BIG5Code
 
 

This section describes how to use the BIG5HK internal codes to input Chinese characters and symbols in zh_HK.BIG5HK and zh_HK.UTF-8 locale.

 (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

 (2). Click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select BIG5HK NeiMa input method.  the status area shows that BIG5HK NeiMa input mode is on, as below:

Big5Code Status

  (3). Press the first three of the four keys that represent a character, For example, 8941, as below:

input with BIG5Code

 (4). Type the fourth key. The character automatically is committed to the application, as below:

input with BIG5Code
 

This section describes how to use the EUC_TW internal codes to input Chinese characters and symbols in zh_TW and zh_TW.EUC locale.

 (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

 (2). Click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select EUC NeiMa input method.  the status area shows that EUC_TW NeiMa input mode is on, as below:

EUCCode Status

 (3). To input a Chinese character with 4 byte of EUC_TW internal code, For example, 0xf0b7.

     Press the first three keys, as below:

input with EUCCode

 (4). Type the fourth key. The character automatically is committed to the application, as below:

input with BIG5Code

 (5). To input a Chinese character with 8 byte of EUC_TW internal code, For example, 0x8ea2a1a1:

     Press the first seven keys, as below:

input EUC_TW 8_byte character

 (6). Type the last key '1', then the character is committed to the application, as below:

input EUC_TW 8_byte character
 

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12. NewChuYin Input Mode


This section describes the features in the New ChuYin input methods, and how to use some of the features in Traditional Chinese locales, including zh_TW.EUC/zh_TW.BIG5/zh_TW.UTF8/zh_HK.BIG5HK/zh_HK.UTF-8.

The New ChuYin provide the following new features:

The following mapping table shows the mappings between ChuYin, PinYin and ChuYin keystroke. New ChuYin input method support ChuYin mode and PinYin mode. In ChuYin mode, you can use ChuYin phonetics to input Chinese characters. and when in PinYin mode, the Mainland PinYin phonetics are used.

ChuYin Map

The following section contains instructions on how to use the New ChuYin input method to input Chinese characters and symbols.

 (1). Open a new Terminal, type [ Control+Spacebar ] to turn on Chinese input conversion.

 (2). Click the Input method selection button on the auxiliary window and select New ChuYin input method.  the status area shows that NewChuYin input mode is on, as below:

ChuYin Status

    Or if other input method is used , you can press [Control + Escape] several times to switch to NewChuYin input method.
 

 (3). Input Chinese single character.

      For example: Single Chinese character

      Type key sequence "5j; " ,  the application appears as follow:

NewChuYin single

    Then type the tone "4 " , as below:

single

Notes:  If the tone of the Chinese character is "Tone 1",  you need NOT type [Spacebar ] for this  tone, the candidates which tone is "Tone 1" will be shown at the beginning of all candidates. [Spacebar] key is reserved for committing the first candidate.

  And then type [Shift+d ] to commit the forth candidate:

single
 

(4). Input Chinese phrases.

 For example: a example Chinese phrase ,

Type the key sequence "m06fm06", as below:

word

    Then press [Spacebar ] or [ Shift+a] to commit the candidate:

word
 

 (5). Define a new phrases.

      For example, to define a new phrase a new phrase .

       Notes:  the length of one user defined phrase is up to 8 Chinese character.

    Input key sequence "5jaj4x;3a83z/", as below:

phrase

   Since the first Chinese character isn't in the lookup window, type [Return] to change to single characters group.

phrase

   Type [Spacebar] to select the first Chinese character, and this character is displayed in Preedit area, as below:

phrase

 Since the second Chinese character we want is not in lookup window, press [ ] ] to search next pages:

phrase

Type [Spacebar] to select the second Chinese character we want:

phrase

Input the third, forth and fifth Chinese characters in the same way as above. The phrase will be
committed automatically after the last Chinese character is selected. as below:

phrase

Then this new phrase will be memorized by input method. When type "5jaj4x;3a83z/" again, the new phrase will be shown in the lookup window.

phrase
 
 

 (6). Adjust frequency of phrase and Chinese character automatically.

In New ChuYin input method, the selected candidate will be presented at the beginning of the candidates list so they can be found more readily.

Type "g4u", as below:

Notes: pay attention to the third candidate.

phrase

Select the third candidate:

phrase

Type "g4u" again.

frq

Now the phrase has been presented at the first one, because it has been selected before. So the candidates which is used frequently can be found more easily.
 

 (7).  Input with ChuYin consonant.

  Input consonant only, the related Chinese character candidates will also be listed.

  For example: to input phrase simple   .

  Type ChuYin consonant of these Chinese character only, which is "g1e1" :

simple input

The phrase is shown in the lookup window.
 
 

(8).  Edit preedit string.

The preedit area is editable like a text field.

The following table shows the definitions of the edit keys.
 
Key Definition
[a-z, 0-9, ,./;'-] ChuYin Keystroke
Home Moves to the start of the preedit line
End Moves to the end of the preedit line
Left Moves the caret in the preedit line to the left. If left is Hanzi, the original PinYin is recovered.
Right Moves the caret in the preedit line to the right.
Delete Deletes the PinYin character following the caret on the preedit line.
BackSpace Deletes the PinYin character preceding the caret on the preedit line.

 

 (9). Use page scroll keys

If there are many candidates that can't be shown in one page, page scroll keys can be used:
'[' and [Control+P] are used to scroll to previous page,
']' and [Control+N] are used to scroll to next pages.
 
 

(10).  Switch between PinYin and ChuYin mode

Press [Alt + 1] to switch between ChuYin mode and PinYin mode.
 

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VI. CodeTable Input Method Interface

1. Introduction

Solaris 9 provides a codetable input method interface which allows Chinese users to add new input methods based on codetable into their system.

2. Creating a Codetable

Codetable file with text format contains some function specific sections and a list of code-word mapping items.

Here is an example to specify the format of a codetable text file:

Codetable example
 

A codetable text file contains the following function specific sections:

 Each section is briefly specified as below:        This section describes some attribuates of the codetable, such as encoding, name, valid characters, the maximum number of codes for one input items, and wild characters.

       This section describes the following entry items:
                (1). "Name:"           specify the name of this codetable.
                (2). "Encode:"         specify the encoding of this codetable, can be UTF-8, GB, GB2312, GBK, GB18030, EUC_TW, BIG5, BIG5HK.
                (3). "WildChar:"     specify the wild characters for input codes. default values are '*' and '?'.
                (4). "UsedCodes:"  specify the valid characters to input.
                (5). "MaxCodes:"   specify the maximum number of input codes for one items.

           This section can be used to enter comments or information for explanation.           This section describes the prompt string of an input key. the prompt string will be displayed on the Preedit Area of the application software.          This section describes the key defination of some function keys, such as PageUP key to scroll up the candidate items, PageDown key to scroll down the candidate items, BackSpace Key to delete an input code, and ClearAll key to cancel the input keys.

          This section contains the following entry items:
                (1). "PageUp:"
                (2). "PageDown:"
                (3). "BackSpace:"
                (4). "ClearAll:"

         Notes:   '^' means [ Control ] key,  for example: '^N' means '[ Control+N ]' key.

         This section describes the options of the codetable input method. such as whether display help information for each candidate items, whether display the prompt string of the input key in preedit area, whether display the lookup candidates key by key or only display the lookup candidates when the Space key is pressed, whether commit the candidate when only one lookup result, and the select key mode: Number mode or Lower case mode or Upper case mode.

         This section contains the following entry items:

                (1). "HelpInfo_Mode:"       Values: "ON" or "OFF"
                (2). "KeyByKey_Mode:"    Values: "ON" or "OFF"
                (3). "KeyPrompt_Mode:"   Values: "ON" or "OFF"
                (4). "AutoSelect_Mode:"   Values: "ON" or "OFF"
                (5). "SelectKey_Mode:"    Values: "Number", "Lower" or "Upper"

         This section describes the input codes and their corresponding single Chinese characters. These Chinese characters must not be seperated by a Space key.

         The format of every line as follow:

                       keystroke_sequence  Characterlist

         Notes:  "CharacterList " means a list of Chinese characters with no Space seperated.

        This section describes the input codes and its corresponding phrase words. These Chinese phrase words must be seperated by Space key.

        The format of every line as follow:

                   keystroke_sequence  word1  word2 word3 ...
 
 
 

3. Convert the codetable text file to binary format

 The utility tools "txt2bin" can be used to convert a text codetable file to binary file that the codetable input method interface can recognize.

 the tool "txt2bin" is under directory: "/usr/lib/im/locale/zh_TW/common/"

 The command syntax is:

  # /usr/lib/im/locale/zh_TW/common/txt2bin    source_codetable_file    binary_codetable_file
 
 
 

4. Convert the binary codetable file to text format

 The utility tools "bin2txt" can be used to convert a binary codetable file to text format.

 the tool "bin2txt" is under directory: "/usr/lib/im/locale/zh_TW/common/"

 The command syntax is:

  # /usr/lib/im/locale/zh_TW/common/bin2txt    binary_codetable_file    source_codetable_file
 
 
 

5. Creating a new codetable input method

(1).   Create and edit codetable source file:

     Prepare the code table source file to present the new input method according the format as specified above.

(2).  Convert the source codetable file to binary format:

     Use the utility tool "txt2bin" to convert the prepared text codetable file to a binary file.

     The command syntax is:

     # /usr/lib/im/locale/zh_TW/common/txt2bin    source_codetable_file    binary_codetable_file

(3).  Copy the binary codetable file to path " /usr/lib/im/locale/zh_TW/common/data".

(4).  Add the codetable into the input method specification file "/usr/lib/im/locale/zh_TW/sysime.cfg ".

  After the binary codetable file is ready, Add the codetable file name into input method configure file:

       /usr/lib/im/locale/zh_TW/sysime.cfg

(5).  Restart the input method server (htt) and relogin to the system to enable the new input method.
   To restart the input method server (htt),  you need to run the following command as root:

   #  /etc/init.d/IIim stop
   #  /etc/init.d/IIim start

   Then your new input method is ready to use.
 
 

For example:  To add a new codetable input method named "new_codetable_im":
(1). First create a codetable format file named "new_codetable_im.txt",
(2). Use tool "txt2bin" to convert it to binary file " new_codetable_im. data",
(3). Then copy it to path "/usr/lib/im/locale/zh_TW/common/data ",
(4). Add the codetable name "new_codetable_im" into the input method configuration file: "/usr/lib/im/locale/zh_TW/sysime.cfg ".
(5). Restart input method server (htt).
 

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