"Five strokes" Chinese character input method

[zhwj]

How do you uninstall these IMEs? I could not find any uninstall routine. Good thing I use Norton GoBack!

Not too sure myself. Even with IMEs that offer uninstall routines, I still find that they show up in the selection list. I must have six or seven "uninstalled" IMEs still available.

Can you tell me what this section is for?

I'm running Simplified Chinese XP, and I don't see the MSPY as an option; all I have is [无]. This must be related to the default system encoding somehow.

What it's supposed to do is act as a learning aid. If you look at the help file, it'll show you that if you link an IME to another IME, it will throw up a bar that shows the code for each character in the second IME as you type in your first IME. So if you type, say, "昂" in Microsoft's 郑码 (which, incidentally, uses the same IME SDK), it'll tell you "jqb" if you've linked it to 念青.

So if you link to 念青 in your Cangjie settings, you should be able to type in Cangjie and learn the codes for Wubi. (Note: I can't get it to work, myself...)

[HSC]

zhwj,

Thanls for the explanation. It's ok if you/I can't get it to work. I'm just trying to familiarize myself with the Chinese terms. Sometimes I look at all the characters individually, in pairs, as a whole and just can't figure out what it's trying to say

Thanks again!

[Lugubert]

Version 2003 with extra goodies is here.

Thanks! I had installed the 2003 on my desktop PC, but couldn't find it any way I searched when trying to get it for my laptop as well.

I'm just a beginner, so I'm quite amazed that I managed to find the correct clicks from all those Chinese screens. Anyway, it seems to work alright.

Atitarev, for drawing simplifieds, I'm lucky enough to have bought Wenlin. Sometimes, it even recognizes my attempts. Disabling the correct stroke order option helps, though. For drawing, I haven't yet tried the IME 2003, but have previously resorted to the MS IME Japanese pad for traditionals and/or working via Wenlin... Quite a detour, but useful at the time.

Wubi or Cangjie will probably be useful for natives, but for me. Writing in pinyin and chosing from the suggestion box what I think is the correct shape is so far my one and only way.

[geraldc]

I'm borrowing a relatives mobile phone for a while, and it has wubi input, and it's actually very logical. I thought I was firmly in the pinyin camp, but a few minutes playing with wubi, and I'm almost a convert. Don't knock it until you've tried it!

[imron]

It's worth noting that there are 2 kinds of input methods called wubi. 五笔字型 and 五笔划 and though they are both based on character shape/strokes, there is a difference between the two.

The former is normally used on computers and you create characters by combining different shapes/radicals in more or less the same order that the character is written. The name 五笔 comes from the fact that the keyboard is split up into 5 different regions or "pens". Each pen has 5 keys, and there is a pen for shapes/radicals that start with horizontal strokes, vertical strokes, left-falling strokes, right-falling strokes and hook/misc strokes. More information can be found here.

The other 五笔 input method (五笔划) is used mostly on mobile phones and characters are put together by combining strokes in the same order that you'd write the character. It gets the name 五笔 because the 5 main stroke types (horizontal, vertical, left-falling, right-falling and hook) are each assigned a key. More information can be found here.

[atitarev]

Atitarev, for drawing simplifieds, I'm lucky enough to have bought Wenlin. Sometimes, it even recognizes my attempts. Disabling the correct stroke order option helps, though. For drawing, I haven't yet tried the IME 2003, but have previously resorted to the MS IME Japanese pad for traditionals and/or working via Wenlin... Quite a detour, but useful at the time.

Thanks, Lugubert, I haven't watched this thread, so nearly missed your post - my previous posts were months ago!

Note, that you can't get all traditional characters with the Japanese input (there are cases where all 3 are different) but I don't have issues drawing traditionals - I use IME pad in Chinese (Taiwan) IME for that. The issues I have with Microsoft IME's - not able to draw simplified characters, even after I downloaded version 2003.

I agree - Wenlin is a great tool.

[Lugubert]

Atitarev:

The issues I have with Microsoft IME's - not able to draw simplified characters, even after I downloaded version 2003.

A few minutes ago, I found this pdf file on CJK IME's. Might help. Anyway, I learned lots about settings and why I suddenly couldn't enter tone numbers...

[tsp_uk]

Could someone explain to me how this input method works? I understand that the keyboard is divided into 5 regions, horizontal, vertical, falling left, falling right and then the hooks. I've tried reading the website explaining all this but I keep getting very confused. For example if I wanted to type 一, I would press "g"　for number 2 I would press "f" but what If i wanted to type in the character "10"?

[imron]

There are a slightly different set of rules for typing characters whose entire shape is part of one of the main keys. The rule is to first type the key that has the shape, and then type the strokes of the key you want. So, because 十 is on the F key, and because it consists of the strokes 一 and 丨, you would type F G H. If you're having trouble understanding the explanation of Wubi, the best way to actually learn is to practise it. You'll soon see how it all fits together, and then you can go back to the explanation for those characters you have trouble with.

Also, I should point out that to type the character 二 it's not just F, you also have to use the same rule as above, so you would type: F G G, or just F G for short. F by itself types the 'main' shape for that key, which in this case would be 地.

[RiceHog]

Has anyone used a type of Wubi input method to produce "traditional" Chinese characters? If so, what is the name of it?

[imron]

Any Wubi input method that supports the latest wubi standard (18030) should be able to input traditional characters. Try having a look at the shun software or the zhineng input methods

[mph]

Has anyone used a type of Wubi input method to produce "traditional" Chinese characters? If so, what is the name of it?

I have observed lots of HK people using ChangJie input method for their traditional characters. Both the ChanJie and new ChangJie come standard with XP which is convenient.

At the moment I am using

1) the Microsoft pinyin method 2003 to input trad chars

2) Crystal touch 手寫板 if I don't know the pinyin

3) The Microsoft IME Pad occasionally.

but I am thinking of learning either wubi, ChangJie or New ChangJie to input trad characters.

Does anyone have advice about whether to learn wubi or ChangJie??

Also are there any ChangJie tutes available??

[tsp_uk]

Could you tell me the difference between the New Changjie and Chanjie?

[HSC]

atitarev, I am able to draw simplified characters, but you have to have Chinese (PRC) installed as the input language (then you have your keyboard layouts under this) as well as the Tablet PC Recognizer Pack. I have a Tablet PC, but I don't know if you can install this on a regular Windows XP.

Then when you switch from Chinese (Taiwan) to Chinese (PRC) you'll be able to write simplified characters.

... and speaking of Wubi, if Wubizixing used to come installed by default with the Chinese version of Windows, then it must have been quite popular. So how is it that I have never been able to find a Wubizixing keyboard? I've search online for one many times and have never seen a picture of it. I can easily find many Canjie and Dayi keyboards for sale, but not a trace of a Wubi keyboard! What's up with that?

When you buy a computer in China does it normally have the Wubi layout?