Specifications
The Japanese Hiragana keyboard labels are printed on clear Lexan® so the original key legend shows through; this allows you to add Japanese Hiragana labels to your existing keyboard so that it becomes a bilingual keyboard (Japanese Hiragana) and the original language of your keyboard). The labels are available in blue letters on clear labels (for beige and light colored keyboards) and white letters on clear labels (for dark colored keyboards). There is no Microsoft standard keyboard layout for the Japanese Hiragana language. The user will have to provide their own keyboard drivers, fonts, and/or appropriate software to type in this language.
Japanese Hiragana labels are a very economical option for creating a bilingual Japanese Hiragana keyboard. The language labels use an easy peel-and-stick method to install. They will not damage the original keyboard key. The letters are printed on the underside of the Japanese Hiragana labels so that the lettering will not wear out. This affords you with many years of durable use.
DataCal language labels are designed to fit desktop and laptop computer keyboards.
Alternative Language Support
If your version of Windows does not support the language you need, there are a number of alternatives you may explore:
Alternative Keyboard Layout Sources
Many international languages require a specialized keyboard layout to be able to type. If Windows does not include the keyboard layout you need (or if you would like to create your own keyboard layout), you can consider these alternatives:
Tavultesoft Keyman. The Keyman application is similar to Parawin in that it allows the user to create new keyboard layouts and edit keyboard layouts in Windows. The product is free for personal use or personal educational use. The product does not include keyboard layouts or fonts necessary to type in a language. There are numerous keyboard layouts for many languages that you can download from various web sites at http://www.tavultesoft.com/keyman/downloads/keyboards/search.php. You must also download the appropriate fonts needed for the language you wish to use. This product does not support right-to-left text entry as required in Arabic, Hebrew and other complex scripting languages.
Microsoft Keyboard Editor (Windows 2000/XP). The Microsoft Keyboard Editor allows the user to create new keyboard layouts and edit existing layouts in Windows 2000 and XP. You can download this product for free at the following web page: http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/tools/msklc.mspx
Microsoft Global IME (Input Method Editor). Microsoft offers a number of IME's (Input Method Editors) that allow the user to type in complex scripting languages, such as Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc. You can get more information about these products and download them for free at the following web sites:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/recommended/ime/default.mspx
For information on how to enable right-to-left text entry in Word 2002 in Windows ME/98/NT, see this information article from Microsoft: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;311019
Font Sources
Many of the keyboard layout solutions above do not include the fonts necessary to type in a language. You can either purchase fonts separately or download freeware or shareware fonts from a variety of Internet sources. Some of the more extensive font collections are listed below:
FontSeek. http://www.fontseek.com/fonts.html
Freelang.net. http://www.freelang.net/fonts/
