Nexus 7: How the new Japanese model switches between English and Japanese keyboards

[Mtjoyc3]

Re: How the new Japanese model switches between English and Japanese keyboards

Finally, I have a question to complete the Japanese input experience. I want to be able to easily enter kanji with hand writing. Often I want to input a kanji character but don't know the reading. So hiragana input doesn't help and I need to hand write it. Here's what I do now: open the WWJDIC for Android app, select handwriting (the pencil icon), write the kanji, click to get the possible matches, select the kanji I'm looking for, select copy, and then return to the app and paste. This seems a few steps too many. I'm looking for a more direct approach to entering kanji. Thanks for any suggestions anyone has for this.

What I do is swap between the google english, google japanese, and google chinese for handwriting. All it takes is holding down the space to change the input method. Select "Chinese Zhuyin" and one of those keyboards has a handwriting section where you can draw the kanji. Then just click the globe within that keyboard and change your input back to japanese. You don't have to copy or paste the kanji it stays within the typebox when you change inputs. It's called "google zhuyin" and it's in the playstore.

 

[lamune132]

Re: How the new Japanese model switches between English and Japanese keyboards

Hi douglerner,

I'm able to switch from the iWNN IME Japanese keyboard to the Google English keyboard using the globe button but I'm not able to go from English to Japanese without going into settings because there is no globe button on the Google keyboard. How do you switch from English to Japanese?

 

[Teradomari]

You have to enable the Language switch key for both languages. It's easy to find the setting in the iWinn IME settings because it's right at the top of the settings list. But for the default English keyboard it's hidden in the "Advanced settings - Options for experts". You have to be an expert to get your phone working the way you want. (笑)
Settings --> Language & input --> Google Keyboard settings --> scroll all the way to bottom to find Advanced settings --> enable Language switch key and Switch to other input methods
After enabling those you should be able to tap once on the globe icon on any keyboard to cycle through to other enabled input methods.

 

[Teradomari]

Re: How the new Japanese model switches between English and Japanese keyboards

The only minor problem I encounter is that iWnn IME will occasionally crash. It hasn't happened enough that I've been able to isolate a specific reason. I can't reproduce the crash at will. It happens when I'm using iWnn IME in the WWJDIC for Android app. But I can't say for certain if that's the only app it crashes in. I'll have to see how it goes now that I've uninstalled the other Japanese keyboards.

It appears that this problem was a bug that has been fixed. Whether it was a bug in WWWJDIC or iWinn IME I don't know. But now when I use WWWJDIC the keyboard gets switched to English even if I previously had the keyboard set to Japanese. Then I just tap the globe icon and I'm back in Japanese. This is far better than having the keyboard crash.

 

[Teradomari]

Re: How the new Japanese model switches between English and Japanese keyboards

What I do is swap between the google english, google japanese, and google chinese for handwriting. All it takes is holding down the space to change the input method. Select "Chinese Zhuyin" and one of those keyboards has a handwriting section where you can draw the kanji. Then just click the globe within that keyboard and change your input back to japanese. You don't have to copy or paste the kanji it stays within the typebox when you change inputs. It's called "google zhuyin" and it's in the playstore.

Thanks for the suggestion. That works to a point. I immediately found that I can only enter Chinese characters. In many cases the Japanese character has been simplified.
氣=気 The latter, Japanese character is not in the list of proposed characters. I've only just installed the Google Zhuyin app so perhaps it's user error and I just haven't figured out how to use the software correctly yet. I suppose I'll find out as I use it more.
Using a Chinese keyboard to input Japanese is not ideal. I'm looking at some other apps that might provide the functionality I'm looking for and will report back. But I hope this functionality is included in future releases of the default Japanese apps from Google and the makers of iWinn.

 

[John Dyson1]

Wow. This is just what I needed. Thanks for posting the solution. John

 

[navi_reversed]

I tried Installing this app, when change the keyboard type to japanese, it says that I've change to Japanese keyboard, but the the keyboard it's showing is not in hiragana or katakana, instead it's a romaji just like the English keyboard,
I hope someone can understand what I mean,
It's not showing the hiragana or katakana letter, no matter I've switched it to japanese keyboard type, I don't know what's the problem here

 

[Martin JDT]

Quite a few posts in this thread are indeed helpful.My thanks to the authors.

 

[glasspanic]

After coming back to it much later, I've figured it out

Wnn Keyboard Lab - it's now version 2.5 or so

- Go to Input Languages and have only Japanese selected under Active Input Methods

- In Display section tick "Display language switch key" and "Switch to other input methods". Now untick "Half alphabet keyboard" (down the bottom - as instructed by Doug) - you need to do this after ticking the first two (which become unselectable upon unticking "Half alphabet keyboard")

- Now you automatically get hiragana input when you switch to the keyboard, and have the globe button to switch back to your normal keyboard


Thanks again Doug!

 

[Jack Tellner]

Does anyone know how to put dakuon (ones with tenten), handakuon (ones with °), and katakana?