Free Online Tools for Typing Chinese There are a few web sites that allow you to type Chinese without any Chinese software installation. All you need to do is to enter the pinyin spelling of a word and then just choose the corresponding character(s) from a list that pops up. Then you can save (copy/paste) your text onto your local computer or drive. Try these great web tools at:
Windows XP (or a later edition) has a very powerful built-in Chinese program that allows you to do Chinese word processing with MS applications (e.g. in Word, Excell, PowerPoint, FrontPage) and other Windows compatible programs (e.g. Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash). With this program activated, you can also view and type Chinese on a web page or in your email. Follow
these steps:
II. Settings A. The
Quanpin Method a. With a Word doc open, select CH from the language bar, and click on the icon next to CH to choose the Quanpin input method. (A control center should appear on the bottom left of the screen.) b. Box 1 (with a Windows icon) toggles language modes between Chinese and English (A for English); Box 2 indicates the current method (Quanpin); Box 3 should remain in a half-moon shape, or the English words will be loosened; Box 4 is toggle between English and Chinese punctuation marks (e.g. Chinese period is a tiny circle instead of a solid dot). Box 5 is for soft keyboards for pinyin or other symbols (right-click to see options), and should be closed when typing (click on the box to open or close). c. With Box 1 on Chinese mode, test the set up by typing the following: 中国 (=zhongguo/China) , 我 (= wo/I, me) , 你(=ni /you), 一 (=yi /one), 二(=er/two), 三(= san/three) 路 (=lu/road) 鱼 (=yu/fish) 住(=zhu/live) 女 (=nü/woman) 绿 (=lü/green) Note: Enter v for ü (when ü is preceded by L or N) , e.g. nv for nü (女), lv for lü (绿), etc.
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By default this method displays simplified characters with the sentence mode (i.e. you cannot see the characters until you finish a sentence). For the learner of Chinese the best mode is the Word Mode, which allows the user to see the character choices right after a pinyin item is entered. To change the sentence mode to the word mode, do the following: On the language bar, click on Context menu>Properties; then choose Word mode; and then Row or List style (either will be fine depending on your preference); click OK.
2. Toggle between Simplified and Traditional Characters
3. Correcting a wrong character When you spot a wrong character, you can make corrections either by deleting and retyping that character, or by using the Correction button to display a list of candidates with the same sound. To put the Correction button on the language bar, click on Options (a little triangle at the end of the language bar). Then select Correction. Try typing a few characters in your Word document. Select one character, then click on Correction. If you have other questions, use the MS IME Help button (a question mark displayed on the language bar or from the Options list.)
Using Other Input Methods (Taiwan, HK, Singarpore) If you prefer an input method other than pinyin or developed by Taiwan, Hong Kong or Singarport, you can also activate the program from the Settings. For example:
After setting up your PC for typing Chinese as described above, you can basically type Chinese in your email system. However, Chinese characters sometimes might not be displayed properly--whether from your own typing or from a received message. For example, your email window seems to display characters perfectly but the recipient's doesn't. Or the other way around: you may receive a message with strange symbols or numbers or even unusual Chinese characters that you don't understand. There are several factors that may cause wrong character display or viewing. One of them has to do with your own Internet settings. To minimize display problems, you should set your Internet View/Encoding option to Unicode (UTF-8).
If you need
assistance, please contact the following student helper: |
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