Pinyinput - Type Pinyin with Tone Marks

[flip]

My apologies - the fault is my learning, not your software. Many thanks.

[imron]

Not to worry, I didn't really know the rules either until I started writing pinyinput.

[xiaolang]

On http://www.wohok.com/mandarin/tools/pinyin.php you can find a similar tool online. That way no installation is needed which might be perfect for people who don't use it that frequently or want to use it on the go, have a look!

[ilotu]

Hi imron,

I have some trouble after I installed Pinyinput on Windows 8 machine.

After installing Pinyinput, no input language added after it can be removed. I have added for test Mongolian and Corsican, and both have their Remove link greyed out. Those input languages, added later, can’t be removed even after I uninstalled Pinyinput and then restarted the computer.

It is only a guess but I think that the problem is only in Windows 8 because I can see that the Input Languages section in Control Panel looks, and perhaps behaves, a bit different than in the previous Windows versions.

Do you have any idea what I could try to do in order to fix the problem?

[imron]

Hi ilotu,

It seems strange that this would happen. I will investigate it a let you know what I find. Can you please post a screenshot of the Input Languages dialog on your machine?

[ilotu]

Hi imron,

I've made two screenshots:

- the input languages list

- and this one, with "Remove" language link greyed out

[imron]

Hi ilotu,

This behaviour is not caused by Pinyinput or anything Pinyinput has done, but it is actually the defined behaviour of Windows 8!

Personally, I think they've made this dialog far more confusing than it used to be, but then the same is true for many other areas of Windows 8. Anyway, unlike previous versions, they've decided to group all language related settings together, so actually the first screenshot is not the 'input languages list' but your 'languages' list, comprising not just of input related information but potentially also date/time formatting, display language and so on. The order of this list is important as it can (but does not necessarily) affect which display language Windows chooses to use for a given application.

Anyway, from the first screenshot, the reason 'Remove' is disabled is because the top item in the list is your 'primary' language and it cannot be removed. If you want to remove that language you need to move it down away from the top position and then remove it.

Also, each language, at a minimum, needs to have at least one input method/keyboard layout associated with it (it can have more than one e.g. with Chinese you might have Google's Pinyin method, Pinyinput and a Wubi input method, but it needs to have at least one), and this is what is causing the confusion on the second dialog.

This is because on your computer Corsu, Mongolian and Chinese Simplified (China) currently only have 1 input method associated with them, and therefore you cannot remove the only input method they have.

For example, with Chinese Simplified (China), you currently only have the Microsoft Fast Pinyin IME there. If you wanted to remove that you would first need to add some other IME or keyboard layout to Chinese SImplified (China) IME and then you could remove Microsoft Fast Pinyin. If you didn't want any Chinese Simplified (China) input languages, then the only way to do this is to remove the entire language from the first dialog (the same is true if you wish to remove Corsu or Mongolian).

As mentioned earlier, this is nothing to do with Pinyinput, but just how Windows 8 works.

[ilotu]

Yes, the fact that the "Remove" link is disabled on the "Language details" dialog when there is just one input method was very confusing to me.

And on the other screen, "Language list", I failed to see that near the top there is a "Remove" button before I read your explanation in the last post. I am used to context menus, I guess, and there is no context menu options for the individual items in the language list.

Everything is fine now, this clearly was not an issue with Pinyinput. I reinstalled it and intend to use it in the future. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out this part of the Windows 8 UI by myself.

Thank you for your help.

[imron]

No problem

[hoshinoumi]

Amazing!!! Thank you for taking your time to make this, it is very helpful!

[imron]

Glad you like it.

[Ruben von Zwack]

I have finally gotten round to install it, and want to say a massive xiè xiè ! You have no idea just how much easier this makes my life. Oh wait, you probably do...

Speaking of which - is there a keyboard shortcut to alternate between pinyinput and my default keyboard setting (German or English)?

I know, stretching your hand out to the computer mouse is no big deal, but I just love shortcuts. And when you type a lot, every little movement you can save is like pure bliss.

[roddy]

Control Panel > Region and Language > Keyboards and Languages > Change Keyboards > Advanced Key Settings

That's on Win7.

[Ruben von Zwack]

Brilliant, thanks!

[imron]

Alt-Shift changes the keyboard language

Ctrl-shift changes the keyboard layout within the current language.

Depending on how you have Pinyinput configured, one of those should work.

And when you type a lot, every little movement you can save is like pure bliss.

If you haven't already, you should learn Vim.

[Ruben von Zwack]

I had a long good look at that website but am too daft to even understand what Vim does

[imron]

Vim is a text editor, designed for efficiency and to be controlled completely via the keyboard.

If you don't find yourself editing text often, you might also consider something like Vimperator, which is an extension that provides Vim-like key bindings for Firefox, allowing you to do web-browsing and navigation completely from the keyboard with no mouse involved.

[StormerJack]

Do i need to put spaces after each word ? e.g. i tried to type ta jiao "name" but it just stuck it all together, with the microsoft pinyin it spaced it automatic

[Ruben von Zwack]

Thanks! Indeed I need to edit dozens of pages of text daily for my job, sounds good

[imron]

Do i need to put spaces after each word ?

Yes, you need to manually add spaces anywhere you want a space.