Typing in Chinese

[Guest guest]

Phil,

 

> Undoubtedly, we need a comprehensive database of Chinese Medical

> Terminology. That database should have at least three copyable fields:

> Hanzi characters, Pinyin (accented or unaccented) term and English

> term.

 

A very large compilation is available as a download that can be burned

to CD from Nigel's site at Chang Gung Medical College:

 

http://memo.cgu.edu.tw/wiseman/WebPublished.htm

 

It is not necessary to copy characters from a database to use them.

The XP edition of the M$ OS contains the Chinese language fonts and

" Input Method Editors " and can be installed at initial OS load or via

the " Regional Settings " dialogs in the control pannel. It is much

easier and faster to simply type the characters into a " word " file

using IME's than to copy-and-paste from a database. At any rate, you

would need to have the appropriate font installed.

 

Older versions of M$ OS can follow these instructions. Viewing and

editing Chinese text in MS Word 2000 (and up) on older operating

systems requires downloading a package of fonts and input editors from

Microsoft. There maybe newer editions of these install files than

those mentioned following, however, the procedure should be the same.

 

Global IME is a Microsoft program that makes it possible to view and

edit Chinese characters on an English- language system. Once

installed, the program is accessed through a menu in the taskbar

whenever any of the supported programs- Word 2000, Internet Explorer

4.1 (or higher, or Outlook) - is active. Using it is as simple as

selecting from that menu the language you wish to use. You can type

English and Chinese characters in the same document.

 

Requirements-

 

Processor: 386 required, 486 recommended

 

Operating System: Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0

 

Memory Requirements: 8MB RAM

 

Disk Space Required to Run Global IME 5.0:

* 8.2 MB for Chinese (Traditional)

* 4.5 MB for Chinese (Simplified)

 

Disk Space Required for Installation:

* 10-12 MB for Chinese (Traditional)

* 6.5-12 MB for Chinese (Simplified)

 

Installation-

 

To install Global IME with Traditional Chinese:

Double click the file named MSIME5TC.exe; the file will install

automatically.

Restart the computer when prompted.

 

To install Global IME with Simplified Chinese:

Double click the file named MSIME5SC.exe; the file will install

automatically.

Restart the computer when prompted.

 

Usage-

 

To use Global IME, enter one of the supported applications and select

from the menu the language you desire. If you plan to share a file

you have written using Chinese characters, the person viewing the file

need not have Global IME installed to view the file, only to edit it.

Also, the file must be saved in .doc format and be opened in one of

the supporting programs for it to be viewed properly (i.e. not .txt or

rich-text, etc.)

 

The fonts provided with these IME's are a very decent UNICODE

implementation. While all of the medical characters found in major

Chinese-langauge Chinese medical dictionaries will not be avaiable,

most will be available, this should be a problem only with less-used

characters. Our experience is that typesetting from files based on

the M$ implementation can occassionally produce unexpected results

such as " ghost " lines in characters and some malformation of

emboldened characters in headings. This is unlikely to be a problem

with laser printed files.

 

It is likely that an electronic implementation of the " Practical

Dictionary of " will be available on Pleco and Wenlin

this year. Nonetheless, people will want to properly set their OS

for Chinese.

 

Bob