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Jinput

 

Running Jinput

If you have installed the Win32 quick-start package, you can run Jinput just by invoking its shortcut.

Otherwise, if you have your own JDK/JRE, the command to invoke Jinput is:

> java Jinput

If you do not want to run Jinput from the command prompt, you can create a shortcut in Windows with the command line:

<JRE-JDK-PATH>\bin\javaw Jinput

Using javaw instead of java prevents the console window from popping up together with Jinput when you double-click on the icon.

Configuration

If you are running Jinput using JDK/JRE, it must be invoked in the bin\ directory which contains the two dictionary files hanyu.dic and chinese.dic. The configuration file jinput.ini is also stored in this directory. This file is a plain text file that you can modify using any text editor.

Basics

The Pinyin Input window is where you input pinyin separated by spaces. The numbers 1 - 4 are used to denoted the 4 tones, while 5 denotes the light tone. However, you can choose to include or omit the tones as and when you like.

For example, you can type: han4 yu3 pin1 yin1
or: han yu pin yin
or: han4 yu pin yin1

When you click on the Convert button, Jinput will still be able to give you the correct answer in the Chinese Output window:

Note that the symbol ü (as in for ) should be entered as uu (eg. luu)

Fuzzy Match

Fuzzy Match is a useful feature for people who are not so adept at pinyin. For example, I frequently cannot decide between yin and ying, or ci and chi. Fuzzy Match helps tremendously in such situations.

When Fuzzy Match is turned on, Jinput automatically considers all the possible alternatives to a pinyin by:

  • considering C, S, Z with CH, SH, ZH and vice versa.
  • considering AN, EN, IN with ANG, ENG, ING and vice versa.

For example, if you type can, alternatives such as cang, chan and chang will all be considered.

Error Correction

Due to the complexity of the Chinese language, Jinput will make mistakes from time to time. Under experimental conditions, it has been found that Jinput will make 1 mistake for every 10 characters. This is equivalent to an accuracy of about 90%.

To correct a character that has been converted wrongly, you can click on that character in the Chinese Output window. The offending character will be highlighted, and the alternatives will be presented in the Alternatives window. This list of alternatives has already been pruned based on context information so that you have less to choose from. To proceed, just click on the desired character, and the offending character will be replaced immediately.

If you find that the pruning has eliminated the actual word you want from the list of alternatives, you can isolate the word with the vertical bar (|) so that the alternatives for that particular word are not pruned.

For example, if you type:
han4 yu3 |pin1| yin1
the alternatives for pin1 will not be pruned.

Adding common name/phrase to the user dictionary

To make it more convenient to enter commonly-used names or phrase, Jinput allows you to add them to a user dictionary and reference them with a unique key. To do this, make sure you have the name/phrase you want in the Chinese Output window. Then, click on the Add to dictionary button. You will be prompted to enter the key. Choose a short, easy-to-remember key. The key/phrase pair will then be added to the user dictionary.

For example, since I used (Jinput's Chinese name) very often, I can add it to my user dictionary.

Screenshot - Add to dictionary

That way, I can use it anywhere in the Pinyin Input window. For example, if I type:

jinput shi4 yi1 tao4 ping1 yin1 shu1 ru4 xi4 tong3

I will get:

Chinese sentence

A valid key is one that does not already exist in the user dictionary. It must also not be a valid pinyin. Finally, it must not contain any separator such as space, comma or period. Key matching is case-insensitive.

Transferring Characters to Applications

The recognized Chinese characters in the Chinese Output window can be easily transferred to your applications via the clipboard. When you click on the Copy to clipboard button, the contents of the Chinese Output window will be transferred to the system clipboard. You can then use the standard Paste mechanism to transfer these characters to your application.

The coding used to transfer the Chinese characters to the system clipboard can be selected using Settings... Chinese Code.... A total of three different codes are supported. They are:

  • GB
  • BIG5
  • Unicode

BIG5 is only partially supported. Simplified characters which are different from their traditional counterpart will not be converted properly.

Unicode characters are transferred to the clipboard using the Java notation \uxxxx. This feature is great for embedding Chinese characters into your Java source code. In fact, the Chinese language user interface for Jinput was developed this way.

Changing Look and Feel

One of the coolest feature of JFC is the ability to change Look and Feel (LAF) on the fly. JFC 1.1 currently supports three LAF:

  • Metal
  • Motif
  • Windows

You can use Settings... Look and Feel... to change the LAF of Jinput. When additional LAFs are added to newer versions of JFC, Jinput should be able to support them automatically.

Saving Settings

You can save your current settings by choosing Settings... Save. This will save the following attributes permanently into jinput.ini:

  • Look and feel
  • UI language
  • Chinese code type
  • Fuzzy match status