My basic question is... which one do I install, or maybe which ones? Is there one set that recognizes both traditional and simplified characters?

I have a tablet and want to use it to practice handwriting directly into Windows applications, but the ZH set doesn't seem to recognize simplified characters, and CH doesn't seem to recognize traditional ones.

I'm just getting started w/Mandarin, so treat me like a complete neophyte. Any help appreciated!

hey jcdoss,

I use Windows 7 too. The language pack translates your entire OS into Chinese, i.e., it gives you a Chinese version of Windows. Menus, popup windows, etc.--all in Mandarin. If you have Windows 7 Ultimate, you can download language packs through Windows Update.

As a beginning student that's probably not what you want. My guess is you want to type and handwrite in Chinese. You do this by adding a keyboard, which you can do in any version of Windows.

Go to your Control Panel. Under the

I assume you're talking about the ability to use Chinese keyboards. There are separate language packs for Simplified and Tradition If you already have the language pack installed, then you should be able to display fonts without difficulty.

If you want your OS in Mandarin, you need to download the appropriate Language pack from Windows Update. You can only do this i

Didn't mean to send that, can't edit my post. Hang on.

jcdoss,

Disregard my post above. I reread your post--you want the Windows 7 tablet to recognize your handwriting, right?

Windows has separate Language Packs for Simplified and Traditional Chinese. If you want to write in both Simplified and Traditional using the Tablet Input panel, you'll need both installed. The CH on your Windows taskbar indicates Simplified. ZH is for Traditional. Windows treats them as separate languages you switch between.

In tablet mode, you can switch languages by selecting the desired language on your Windows toolbar, or on the Tablet Input panel. When in keyboard mode, hit LeftShift/Alt together to rapidly switch.

There are other IMEs that combine Simplified and Traditional, or feature the ability to toggle between the two. Google Pinyin and Sogou are two of the big ones. I use Google Pinyin myself, but I only type in Simplified. I've read that Sogou has better support for traditional characters.

Hope this helps. Let me know if that answers your question...

Sogou is good. It does support traditional characters. It's got a feature for typing characters with repeated elements, for example type xixi for 囍 or shishi for 祘.

Thanks guys... Murray you answered my question. I have no idea what Sogou is, so I'll have to do some more playing around. I've been studying Japanese for about 18 months, and I'd like to pick up some Mandarin too. I know so little about the language though it's hard to even ask the right questions!

Thanks again!