Japanese Language Kit: Selecting The Kana Keyboard

Reference is made to a Kana Keyboard in the Japanese Language Kit Input Method Guide (copyright 1993; pages 10, 50 and 51 for example), and in the Installation and User's Manual (copyright 1995; page 12 for example). Some customers find it unclear whether the documentation refers to an actual hardware keyboard, distinct from the Apple keyboard, or to a specific setting within the JLK. The Kana Keyboard is selected within the Kotoeri (Japanese Input Method) preferences dialog, not from within the Keyboard control panel, or the Keyboard menu.

Because the menus and preference settings for the JLK are in Japanese, it may be difficult for a non-Japanese speaker to identify the appropriate selections to make. The steps below will identify the appropriate selections with graphical clues that allow a non-Japanese speaker to correctly select the Kana Keyboard and thereby enable one-keystroke Katakana input.

To select the Kana Keyboard, so that a user may enter Katakana characters with one keystroke (entering characters which match the keyboard labels provided with the JLK), follow these steps:

Step One: Switching to the Japanese Input Method




Figure 1: The Keyboard menu.

Select the Kotoeri input method from the Keyboard menu in the upper right corner of the menubar, just to the left of the Applications menu. The Keyboard menu icon is a blue diamond when a US input method is selected. The icon for the Kotoeri input method is a red circle with a 6-color Apple logo over it.

Note: If you are trying to change input methods while in the Finder, and the Kotoeri input method is dimmed in the Keyboard menu, you must set your Views Font to Osaka. For more information, see the following Tech Info Library article:

Article 17999: "Japanese Language Kit: Common Troubleshooting Steps"

Step Two: Opening the Kotoeri Preferences Window




Figure 2: The Pencil menu.

When the Kotoeri input method has been selected, a Pencil menu appears just to the left of the Keyboard menu (its icon in the menubar is a pencil). Select the Preferences option from the Pencil menu. The Preferences option can be identified in the menu by its keyboard shortcut, option-shift-U. You can also click the Preferences button in the Kotoeri input method palette.

Step Three: Changing the Keyboard Input Setting




Figure 3: Keyboard Layout pop-up menu.

The Keyboard Layout pop-up menu is above the Punctuation pop-up menu (both menus are directly above the OK and Cancel buttons, which are in a recognizably standard position within the window). The Keyboard Layout pop-up menu contains two options. The first option, which is the default, is for Roman input. The second option is for Kana input. Select this option. Press the Return key on your keyboard or click the button with the black ring around it to exit the Preferences window and save the new setting.

Step Four: Using the Kana Input Method




Figure 4: Window with palette.

Open the SimpleText Japanese application, or another WorldScript compliant application, switch to the Kotoeri input method, select the Katakana button on the Kotoeri palette, and type several keys. Each keystroke will result in a Japanese katakana character being displayed on the screen, which should correspond to the keyboard labels that were included with the JLK. This behavior is different from the default input method for the JLK, in which a sequence of keystrokes generates a series of Roman letters on the screen, which are converted to Kana as you type.

For a description of the terms Kanji and Kana, see the following Tech Info Library article:

Article 3199: "Japanese Language Kit: Definition of Kanji, Kana, and Romaji"