Chinese Input Method Editor

What is an IME?

An IME (Input Method Editor) is an application that provides the ability to enter thousands of different characters used in East Asian written languages without requiring special keyboards. A Chinese (Simplified) IME converts keystrokes into Chinese characters.

There are two versions of Miscrosoft IME. One is Microsoft IME, also known as MSPY (Microsoft Pinyin) that is used on Chinese Windows, pupular in China. The other is Global IME, which is supposed to be used with Windows OS in other languages, in our case here, English Windows.The Microsoft Global IME for Chinese (Simplified) is an ActiveX-based IME that enables the input of Chinese (Simplified) characters in supporting applications (such as Internet Explorer and Outlook Express). Windows 2000 and Windows XP should have already included Global IME and language packages. To activate it, you go to Reginal Options in the Control Panel and add the input function of simplified Chinese there.

For Windows ME users and Windows 2000 or XP who don't have the language pack already on their hard drive, the Global IME must be downloaded from Microsoft site, for free:

1. Click the following to go to the download site

2. Choose Global IME 5.02 for Chinese with Language Pack

3. Locate the downloaded file from your hard drive and install it on to your computer.

4. Start using it as you did at the CLS lab.

Note

Microsoft Global Chinese (Simplified) IME is currently supported in html text input areas of Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater, Outlook Express and Outlook (version 98 or greater). The Microsoft Global Chinese (Simplified) IME will not be enabled nor its icon visible in the multilanguage taskbar menu when the cursor is placed in non-supporting areas or applications. That means if you use Windows Me, you need Microsft Office 2000 or XP to activate the IME for word processing. For example, you need to open a Word document before you are able to choose the Chinese IME. If you open a Microsoft Works document, the Chinese IME is not available.

Unless under Windows 2000, Chinese characters have to be cut from Word and pasted into Excel or PowerPoint. The best font for IME is probably Arial Unicode MS.