memoir

In this tutorial I demonstrate how to set up and use Japanese text input on Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid):

Setup

• open a terminal and type in

sudo apt-get install uim-applet-gnome uim-xim uim-anthy uim-gtk2.0 im-switch

• still in the terminal, run

im-switch -s uim

• right-click on the panel and choose "Add to panel..."
• choose "Input Method Indicator"
• right-click on the uim applet and choose "Preference"
• adjust these settings:
  • Global Settings:
    • check "Specify default IM"
    • edit the toggle keys to your liking
    • as "Alternative input method" choose "Anthy"
    • optionally change the "Input method toggle key" to your liking
  • Anthy:
    • as "Default input mode" choose "Hiragana"
• before uim works in all apllications, you will probably have to restart your computer

Usage

• click on the uim applet and choose "Anthy" or press the key comination you chose earlier (this will only work in a text input field) (this will not change your keyboard layout like it would on Windows; all characters will be in their usual places)
• type the Japanese text as you would in romaji, paying attention to some special sequences (s. examples below)
• after a word, press the space bar to to go through the possible kanji and Enter to accept (you can also do this after typing the whole sentence, moving between the words with the arrow keys; to extend the selection, press Shift and the arrow keys)
• to switch to katakana, press Shift+F7; to switch back to hiragana, press Shift+F6
• to convert a word you just typed to katakana, press F7; to convert it back to hiragana, press F6
• some examples:
  • for たなか type tanaka
  • し can be typed as shi or si, つ as tsu or tu, etc.
    
  • for ん type nn
    • for こんにちは type konnnichiha (konnichiha would produce こんいちは)
    • for きんようび type kinnyoubi (kinyoubi would produce きにょうび)
  • ti will produce ち; for てぃ type texi or teli
    • for パーティー　type pa-texi- or pa-teli-
• to switch back to your default input language, click on the uim applet and choose "Direct" or, again, press the key combination you chose as "Input method toggle key"