Foreign Language Utilities in the Student Computing Labs

Classroom and Lab Computing (CLC), part of Information Technology Services, is committed to providing a wide range of software applications for all needs, including utilities for typing in foreign languages. Listed below are some common issues in foreign language computing and information on how to access the utilities on both the Windows and Macintosh platforms in CLC's University Park Student Computing Labs.

Typing Accent Marks and Foreign Symbols

Windows

• Use a numeric ALT key code (e.g., ALT+0128 is the euro (€) symbol).

Additional codes can be found by going to http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/ and clicking the "By Language" link at the top.

These codes only work if entered using the numeric keypad. Users with a laptop keyboard may need to use an alternate method.

• Insert symbols with the "Character Map" utility. This also lets you insert symbols from other languages not covered in the ALT codes listed above.

1. To open the Character Map, go to the Start menu, then select All Programs » Accessories » System Tools » Character Map.
2. Highlight the character you need to insert. Click Select, then Copy.
3. Switch to the document you are working with, then go to the Edit menu and select Paste to complete the insertion.

• Activate and use the "U.S. International Keyboard." This allows you to use "hot keys" such as the single quote key to insert an acute (´) accent.

See instructions posted on http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/keyboards/winkey.html#international.

Macintosh

Macintosh OS X has an extended range of available international utilities. Here are some options:

• If you are working with a Western European language like Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, or a Scandinavian language, then you can use one of the Option codes such as Option+1 for the upside down exclamation point (¡).

See a list of codes at http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codemac.html.

• If you are working with a Central European language, then you can activate the "U.S. Extended Keyboard" keyboard and use a series of extended codes such as Option+V for Czech caron.

See keyboard activation instructions at http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codemac.html#osx.

See a list of codes at http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codemac.html#osx.

• To insert a character from any script, use the Character Palette from Macintosh OS X. In Word, this can be accessed by going to the Insert menu, then selecting Symbol.

Palette activation instructions: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/keyboards/charpalosx.html

Global Writer Foreign Language Word Processor (Windows Only)

An international word processor called "Global Writer" has been installed in the Student Computing Lab Windows machines. It supports a wide variety of scripts and languages and allows text to be exported as a PDF, Unicode text, or HTML.

To use this program:

1. Log in to a Student Computing Lab Windows machine with your Penn State Access Account userid and password.
2. Move your cursor to the Start menu, then select All Programs » International Language Support » Unitype Global Writer.
3. In the new document, change the language from English to the target language in the upper left pull-down menu. This will cause the keyboard utility to switch languages and you will be able to type in the correct script.
4. The default keyboard layout is generally a QWERTY keyboard in which non-English letters are matched to the equivalent English letter on the U.S. keyboard. To use a native script keyboard layout, select an alternate layout in the upper right pull-down menu.
5. If you need to see how characters are mapped onto the the keyboard layout, go to the View menu and select Keyboard.

Typing East Asian Languages

Both Microsoft and Apple provide utilities which allow users to type East Asian languages, either phonetically by inputting a syllable or by selecting the appropriate character strokes.

Windows

http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/keyboards/winkey.html#eastasia

Microsoft includes a number of "Input Locales" or virtual "keyboards" which allow you to type in other scripts besides that of English.

In the Student Computing Labs

1. Log in to a Student Computing Lab Windows machine with your Penn State Access Account userid and password.
2. Go to the Start menu, then select International Language Support » Microsoft Office 2003 » Microsoft Office Asian Character Input Support. This will upload the East Asian utilities into your profile.

To activate the utilities from the Control Panel

1. Go to Settings » Control Panels » Regional and Language Options.
2. In the Regional Options window, click on the Language tab on the top.
3. Click the Details button to open the Settings window.
4. Click on the Language Bar button at the bottom to open the Language Bar Settings window.
5. Check the option Show the Language bar on the desktop, then click OK to close the window and return to the Settings window.
6. In the Settings window, click on the Add button to open the Add Input Locale window.
7. From the Input locale pull-down list, select a language and country corresponding to the language keyboard you wish to activate.
8. Click the Properties button on the right to adjust input menus as needed.
9. In the Settings window, you should see the new language or keyboard listed in the Input language menu.
10. Click OK to close the Regional Options windows.

Note: If you close a window without clicking OK, none of the settings will be changed.

Switch between Keyboards

1. Make sure a Language Bar is visible on the top of your desktop. It will probably be set to "EN" for English. If there is none visible, then follow the instructions for activating the Language Bar.
2. Open an application such as a word processor, HTML editor, spreadsheet or any other application in which you need to input text.
3. Select the appropriate language from the Language Bar pull-down menu. If the language you want is not in the menu, then you need to activate that keyboard as detailed in the instructions in the previous section.
4. Begin typing in your document.

At Home

You may need to install the East Asian and Complex Script keyboards from the Windows XP System Disk.

1. Go to the Start menu, then Control Panel. Open Regional and Language Options.
2. Click the Language tab in the Regional Options Windows. Check options for "Complex Scripts" and "East Asian" Languages.
3. You will be asked to insert the Windows XP CD-ROM so the utilities can be installed.
4. After the utilities have been installed, follow the instructions for activating and switching keyboards given in the lab instructions.

Macintosh

In the Labs

1. Open a software application such as a word processor, spreadsheet or any other application in which you need to enter text.
2. On the upper right portion of the screen, click on the American flag icon. Use the pull-down menu to select a script or language.
3. The keyboard will be switched and an appropriate font will be selected within the application. A flag icon corresponding to the keyboard will be displayed on the upper right.
4. To switch back to the U.S. keyboard or to some other keyboard, click on the flag icon on the upper right and select a keyboard from the pull-down menu.
5. If a desired language is not available in the list, try activating it from the International System Preferences. See instructions in the "At Home" section below.

At Home

1. To activate the keyboards you wish to use, go to the Apple menu (upper left) and select System Preferences.
2. Click on the International icon.
3. Click the Input Menu tab, check the keyboard for the language you need to use, then close the window.
4. You should now see a U.S. flag icon in the upper right of your screen. Follow the instructions given above for "In the Labs" to switch keyboards.

Typing Other Scripts

Windows

Follow the instructions in the "East Asian Languages" section to activate the Language Bar and keyboard from the Control Panel. After that you will be able to use the keyboard to type the script in most software packages.

Macintosh

Follow the instructions in the "East Asian Languages" section to activate the keyboard from the System Preferences. After that you will be able to use the keyboard to type the script in many software packages.

Special Utilities for Russian

Both Windows and Macintosh machines have a "transliteration" or "QWERTY" version of the Cyrillic keyboard which allows users to type the English equivalent of a letter to get the corresponding Cyrillic letter (e.g., English "D" for Cyrillic _).

Windows

1. Go to the "East Asian Keyboards" section and follow steps 1 to 7 of activating a keyboard.
2. After adding Russian to the Input menu, click the Properties button and select Russian ASDF as the keyboard.

Macintosh

In the Student Computing Labs

1. Open any software. Go to the flag icon in the upper right and select Translit, Russian-Phonetic, or Bulgarian-Phonetic.
2. Home users can activate Russian-Phonetic or Bulgarian Phonetic via the International System Preferences (see instructions in the East Asian Languages section).

Special Utilities for Polytonic (Ancient Greek)

Both Windows and Macintosh machines have a special version of the Greek keyboard which allows users to type all characters and accents for ancient Greek.

Windows

1. Go to the "East Asian Keyboards" section and follow steps 1 to 7 of activating a keyboard.
2. After adding Russian to the Input menu, click the Properties button and select Greek Polytonic as the keyboard.

Macintosh

1. Open any software. Go to the flag icon in the upper right and select Greek Polytonic.
2. Home users can activate Russian-Phonetic or Bulgarian Phonetic via the International System Preferences (see instructions in the East Asian Languages section).

Note: This option may not be available in older versions of Microsoft Office or some graphics packages.

Phonetics Fonts

Both Windows and Macintosh machines in Student Computing Labs include the following fonts with phonetic symbols.

• SIL IPA 93 font
• SIL IPA keyboard for Windows (under Start » International Language Support)
• TITUS Cyberbit-Unicode font with phonetics, Greek, and Roman

To insert the symbols

• Windows users can use the "Character Map" utility ("Typing Accents" section), the "SIL IPA 93 keyboard," or the phonetics keyboard in Global Writer.
• Macintosh users can use the "Character Palette" utility ("Typing Accents" section) with the TITUS Cyberbit font or a series of custom Shift and Option codes with the SIL IPA 93 font.

Need Additional Software

Instructors and departments can contact Classroom and Lab Computing at http://clc.its.psu.edu/Contacts/SoftwareRequest/default.aspx if additional utilities and software packages are needed.