Japanese Reconversion

Overview

Japanese reconversion provides a function to convert a Kanji character string into another Kanji character string by presuming the original reading of the Kanji character string.

You normally input Kanji characters by entering Kana characters and converting them into Kanji characters with Kana Kanji conversion engine. In general, the conversion engine offers some candidates of Kanji string, and then you choose desired one. However, you might accidentally choose undesirable one for some reason like cat's interruption. In that case, Japanese reconversion is useful. Japanese reconversion future will show those candidates again when a user pushes HENKAN key. It avoids the painful operation like; you delete the undesirable Kanji string, re-entires the same Kana characters and converts them again.

Most Windows applications support Japanese reconversion by default because they are constructed based on each GUI library like MFC that originally supports Japanese reconversion. OpenOffice.org has its own GUI library called VCL to provide platform independent GUI toolkit for developers who work on the upper application layers. However, VCL didn't support Japanese reconversion before OOo 3.1.

This article aims to provide information about Japanese reconversion support status of OpenOffice.org. Unfortunately this functionality can't work out only with code changes in VCL. Cross-sectional code changes are required. Development for Japanese reconversion is progressiong in parallel in several projects. That is why current development status of Japanese reconversion are gathered into this page. This might help us overlook the overall status of Japanese reconversion support on OpenOffice.org.

Additionaly, this page also provides some hints to start Japanese reconversion for people who don't input Japanese.

Development status

Japanese reconversion is currently available in some limited areas. See the following tables below to know whether you can use reconverision feature on your favorite application.

Area	Issue #	Target
Fundamental support (VCL)	i72022, i94441	3.1
SVX (for code sharing)	i100138	3.2
Text box	i72022	3.1
Writer body	i93924	3.1
Notes in Writer	i94374	3.1
Multiline text box	(To be filed)	(Not supported)
Impress/Draw	i100138	3.2
Calc	(To be filed)	(Not supported)
Vista support	i94762	3.1
Support for old ATOK	(To be filed)	(Not supported)
Bug fix for reconversion of long string	i97850	3.2
Note in Writer (revise)	i101419	3.2
Outline in Impress	(To be filed)	(Not supported)

Note that this feature doesn't cause any appearent changes of UI.

Supported environment

	Windows XP	Windows Vista
MS-IME 2007	OK	OK
MS-IME 2003	OK	-
MS-IME 2002	OK	-
ATOK 2009	OK	-
ATOK 2008	OK	-
ATOK 17	Failed	-

How to use

First of all, you have to have MS-IME or another Kana-Kanji conversion engine installed and activated. Additionally, if you do not have Japanese keyboard, you have to assign a key combination to reconversion with the property editor of MS-IME like the following image;

Then, the assigned key combination emits the reconversion message in Writer window. If you have any text in your documents and the cursor is in it, the candidate window emerges, or in other words, the reconversion starts.

See also

• A message posted to sw@dev that describes why people in Japan use reconversion and gives some hints about how developers can realize reconversion in your own GUI library or application.
• IMR_RECONVERTSTRING on MSDN