Instructions for viewing and writing Hanzi (Chinese characters) on a Windows XP OS: 1. First open the Control Panel dialog box by clicking on the Start button, and then click on Control Panel. By default the Control Panel is in the new Category View. If that is the case, click on Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options under Pick a Category. If not, you can either click on Switch to Category View to bring it up, or work in the Classic View (in that case just double click on the Regional and Language Options icon to open the Regional and Language Options dialog box.). 2. The Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options opens. Click on Regional and Language Options
3. This brings up the Regional and Language Options dialog box. Once you see this, Click on the Languages tab.
4. You are now under the Languages tab for the Regional and Language Options dialog box.
Check the box for Install East Asian Languages under Supplemental language support. Then click Apply and OK. 5. Once the language files have been installed, click on the Details... button under Text services and input languages while you are still under the Languages tab for the Regional and Language Options dialog box.
6. This takes you to the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box.
While in this dialog box, click on the Add button under Installed services. 7. After you have clicked the Add... button under Installed services, you get the Add Input Language dialogue box. Choose Chinese (PRC) from the drop-down list under Input Language (you may need to scroll up some),
8. Check the Keyboard Layout / IME button, and then pick Chinese (Simplified) - Microsoft Pinyin IME 3.0. Then click OK. 9. You are now back to the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box. Note that under Chinese (PRC) /Keyboard, Chinese (Simplified) - Microsoft Pinyin IME 3.0 is now listed. Click Apply and then OK.
10. After you have installed Chinese (Simplified) - Microsoft Pinyin IME 3.0, you may want to fine tune its properties. To do this, first select Chinese (Simplified) - Microsoft Pinyin IME 3.0 under Installed services in the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box by clicking on and highlighting it. Then click on Properties to bring up the Properties dialog box for Microsoft Pinyin 3.0.
Experienced users will want to pick and choose their options. For new users, it is strongly recommended that the default options be left in place, EXCEPT if you are just starting under Conversion mode, select the Word radio button. (this will allow you to select characters one syllable at a time. If you want to enter sentences rather than words at a time, you can stay with the default Sentence, but for starters, we recommend you select Word) 11. After you finished installing Chinese (Simplified) - Microsoft Pinyin IME 3.0, you should see a floating language bar near the top of the screen. If instead of the floating language bar, you see a language button on the taskbar on the bottom of the screen, click on the button to bring up a list of languages installed, and then click on Show the Language bar to bring it up.
Once the language bar is up, click on it to bring up a list of languages installed, and select Simplified Chinese (PRC) by clicking on it. The Chinese language bar comes up. If it s not already selected, select Chinese [Simplified] Microsoft Pinyin IME 3.0. 12. Now test to see if you have installed the language correctly and enabled your PC to type in Chinese characters. Make sure that in the language bar, Chinese [Simplified] Microsoft Pinyin IME 3.0 is selected. Then open up a new document, and try the following: 13. Type wo, and you get a prompt line interface popping up and offering a number of choices for wo. More choices are available by clicking on the button to the far right. In this case we want the first choice. If it is highlighted, just hit enter, and the highlighted character will get typed. Alternatively, hit 1 to select it, and you have: 14. Type shi, and the prompt line interface pops up again: Type 1 to select the first choice. 15. Then type zhong, and you have:
Type 2 to select the 2nd choice offered. Note that some of the choices are compounds anticipating the user's possible future input. 16. Note the dotted underline below, indicating that this is a provisional selection. Hit the return key to accept it, since that is what you want. Then type ren: 17. Type 1 to select the first option. Hit the return key to accept the choice. Then type a period, and you are done. 18. Now you can view and enter characters in your course, or on separate documents!