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Japanese OS Design Development (Windows CE 5.0)

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For Japanese, Windows CE offers a choice of two Input Method Editors (IME) and five Input Methods (IM). All Japanese IMs are implemented as Component Object Model (COM) components and exposed through the input panel component. The Japanese IM implementation in Windows CE consists of two parts: the Software-based Input Panel subsystem and the IMs. The input panel is responsible for converting non-keyboard input into a keyboard event.

The following table shows the three IMEs that are included in Windows CE for the Japanese locale.

IME Description
Pocket IME Compact and customizable. A default and two optional lexical databases are provided, as is a sample customizable UI.
IME 3.1 Provides samples skins and allows you to customize the IME toolbar, candidate window and default composition window. The property dialog boxes, dictionary tool dialog boxes, and the system tray icon support are separated, allowing you to select specific UI functionality for your OS design. Supports portrait and landscape orientation.
TESTIME Basic; use to create your own IME.

For more information about how to customize the Japanese Pocket IME, see Japanese Pocket IME.

For more information about how to customize the Japanese IME 3.1, see Japanese IME 3.1.

The Japanese Edit Control functionality in Windows CE allows OEMs to configure editing functionality for an Input Method Editor (IME). Unlike in previous versions of the operating system, where the default level was set to level 3, in Windows CE .NET 4.0 and later the default level of the Japanese Edit Control is set to level 2. OEMs can change the level of Japanese Edit Control functionality by setting a registry key. For more information, see Japanese Edit Control.

In addition to three IMEs, Windows CE supports a hardware keyboard for a Japanese build, which is a U.S. keyboard with ALT+" equal to VK_KANJI. PWindows CE also provides eight Input Methods (IM) for the Japanese locale. The following table describes the available IMs.

IM Description
Bushu-kensaku A search by radical engine that enables complex Kanji character selection based on radicals. UI is provided as a sample for customization.
Soukakusu-kensaku A search by stroke engine that enables complex Kanji character selection based on character strokes. UI is provided as a sample for customization.
Microsoft Kana An on-screen keyboard that enables input of Hiragana and Katakana directly. This IM is provided as sample code.
Microsoft Roma An on-screen keyboard that enables input of the Western alphabet. This IM is provided as sample code.
Multibox A sample UI for Japanese handwriting input that works with IME 3.1 and with Pocket IME. The source code is located in %_WINCEROOT%\Public\Common\Sdk\Samples\Multibox.
All Character IM A sample IM that enables character input based on a comprehensive character list.
Character Auto Complete (CAC) A sample UI that works with the handwriting recognition engine. This IM automatically updates a list of possible character candidates with each character stroke that the user draws.
Handwriting Recognizer Engine (HWX) A handwriting recognition engine for supporting user-drawn ideographs and characters. You can use the Multibox and CAC IM samples to develop an IM for this engine, or create an entirely new UI.

Choosing the date format, gg yy/MM/dd, in Windows CE results in an Era symbol and a Gregorian calendar year. To display the Era calendar year, which displays years from the current emperor's accession, you must use the gg ee/MM/dd format.

OS Design Information

The following table shows operating system design information for Japanese.

Concept Description
Dependencies The Japanese IMs that use a soft keyboard (mskana and msroma) require the Software-based Input Panel Driver Catalog item.
Hardware considerations The Japanese IMs that use a soft keyboard require a touch screen.

Modules and Components

The following table shows the components and modules that implement Japanese.

Item Module Component
Japanese All Character List msallchar None
Japanese IME 3.1 imjp31 None
Japanese on-screen keyboard for Katakana mskana None
Japanese on-screen keyboard for western alphabet msroma None
Japanese Pocket IME imejpp None
Japanese Search by Radical IM msradlist None
Japanese Search by Stroke IM msstrklist None
Japanese TESTIME testime None
Multibox (HWX Sample UI) multibox None
Character Auto Complete (HWX Sample) cacjpn None

Japanese Implementation Considerations

The following table shows the Sysgen variables for Japanese.

Sysgen variable Description
SYSGEN_AGFA_FONT When this variable is set, Agfa AC3 Font Compression is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_FONTS_MSGOTHIC When this variable is set, the MS Gothic & MS PGothic & MS UI Gothic font set is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_FONTS_MSGOTHIC_1_50 When this variable is set, the MS Gothic & MS PGothic & MS UI Gothic font set (Subset 1_50) is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_FONTS_MSGOTHIC_1_60 When this variable is set, the MS Gothic & MS PGothic & MS UI Gothic font set (Subset 1_60) is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_FONTS_MSGOTHIC_1_80 When this variable is set, the MS Gothic & MS PGothic & MS UI Gothic font set (Subset 1_80) is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_FONTS_MSGOTHIC_1_70 When this variable is set, the MS Gothic & MS PGothic & MS UI Gothic font set (Subset 1_70) is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_FONTS_MSGOTHIC30 When this variable is set, the MS Gothic & MS PGothic font set (Subset 30) is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_FONTS_MSGOTHIC30_1_19 When this variable is set, the MS Gothic & MS PGothic font set (Subset 30_1_1_19) is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_FONTS_MSMINCHO When this variable is set, the MS Mincho & MS PMincho font set is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IMEJPN When this variable is set, IME 3.1 is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IMEJPN_DB_COMPACT When this variable is set, the compact database for IME 3.1 is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IMEJPN_DB_STANDARD When this variable is set, the standard database for IME 3.1 is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IMEJPN_DICTIONARY_TOOL When this variable is set, the dictionary tool for IME 3.1 is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IMEJPN_PROPERTY When this variable is set, the property dialog box for IME 3.1 is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IMEJPN_ADVANCED_SETTING When this variable is set, the advanced settings dialog box for IME 3.1 is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IMEJPN_SYSTRAY When this variable is set, system tray icon support for IME 3.1 is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_PIME When this variable is set, Japanese Pocket IME is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_PIME_NAME_PLACE_DATA When this variable is set, the name and place database for Japanese Pocket IME is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_PIME_SUPPLEMENTAL_DATA When this variable is set, the supplemental database for Japanese Pocket IME is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_TESTIME When this variable is set, the Japanese Test IME is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IM_ALLCHAR When this variable is set, the All Characters List IM is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_HWX When this variable is set, the Handwriting Recognizer Engine (HWX) is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_CACJPN When this variable is set, the Character Auto Complete sample UI that works with the handwriting recognizer engine is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_MULTIBOX When this variable is set, the Multibox sample UI for Japanese handwriting input that works with IME 3.1 and with Pocket IME is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IM_KANA When this variable is set, the Kana Soft Keyboard, an on-screen keyboard that enables input of Hiragana and Katakana directly, is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IM_ROMA When this variable is set, the Romaji/English Soft Keyboard, an on-screen keyboard that enables input of the Western alphabet, is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IM_RADICAL When this variable is set, the Search by Radical IM is included in the run-time image.
SYSGEN_IM_STROKE When this variable is set, the Search by Stroke IM is included in the run-time image.

Application Development Topics

Using the IImeIPoint2 Interface

Japanese Edit Control

Japanese Registry Settings

Japanese Samples

See Also

Japanese | Japanese Input Methods | Japanese IME 3.1 | Japanese Pocket IME

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