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I use Japanese and English (on rare occasions German). When I switch keyboards (command-space) from English <--> Japanese the language does not change. However, Japanese (English) editing only works properly under NWX2.5 when text is specifically designated as Japanese (English).

Is this an issue for other languages (esp. Chinese, Korean Hanja) that use two-stage keyboard input? It matters because if I forget to specify the language I often lose part of what I input when I try to convert hiragana to characters.

Note this seems to be an issue with earlier versions of NWX -- I'd forgotten that I put in a style that included language as a fix. But it would be much nicer if the keyboard coordinated with the language.

I'm not experiencing this problem under the 2.5 sneak peek on my system. 1 GHz G4 PowerBook, 768 MB, Mac OS X 10.3.9. I tried a couple of things to see whether I could reproduce it but failed.

--Craig

I tried unchecking the "Switch keyboard layouts when language changes" option, and it seems to work but I only played with it for a minute. I'd never have checked for that if I'd not been told that others got it to work. But I won't be fully convinced until I play around with it a bit more. Since I'm off to Japan in June, I do have a few letters that I ought to write...

Nevertheless, switching the keyboard does not switch the language. It would be nice if that happened.

I don't have a solution. Just some questions.

1. Could there be a setting in System Preferences that needs to be changed? I looked but don't see an obvious candidate. You might try the International pane, Input Menu tab, Options button, and check "Try to match keyboard with text." I doubt that's it, though.

2. Have you specified a language as part of a style you are using? I doubt this should override the command-space choice you make, but it might be worth checking.

3. Do you have the same problem in TextEdit or other applications?

4. I was going to mention the trick you already tried.

5. Have you examined the settings for Japanese and English in NWE's Preferences - Languages pane? For Japanese I have Language: Japanese; Based on: Japanese (not editable); Spelling: Disabled; Keyboard: ROMAJI; Secondary Font: Hiragino Mincho Pro... Both options are unchecked.

I'm guessing blindly here, but I hope something you or I do proves helpful.

--Craig

Currently there is no way for the language in Nisus Writer Express to automatically change when the system keyboard layout changes. You can only sync the other way around (eg: the keyboard layout will change when you switch your language in Express).

I realize this policy may be a hassle for those of you who are in the habit of using the keyboard menu (the little flag in the menubar at the top of the screen), or command-space. But perhaps if I explained the logic of our decision, the omission would make more sense.

First, there is not necessarily a distinct language for every keyboard layout. You can type French words just the same using either the US or French keyboard layouts (QWERTY vs AZERTY I believe). Second, we wanted to get users in the habit of marking text in the proper language. That way we can use the corresponding dictionary, word counting, etc for the language.

What is the primary reason you use the keyboard layout menu instead of our language menu (the little flag at the bottom of every document, or the popup menu in the Language palette)? Is it just the lack of being able to use command-space to switch keyboards quickly?

Pardon me, economics. I have been posting in ignorance. I didn't realize until I read Martin's message that I haven't been switching languages within NWE. I didn't pay attention to the language tag at the bottom of the document window. Yet I haven't experienced any problems.

To answer Martin's question:

martin wrote:What is the primary reason you use the keyboard layout menu instead of our language menu (the little flag at the bottom of every document, or the popup menu in the Language palette)? Is it just the lack of being able to use command-space to switch keyboards quickly?

First answer: Ignorance and Inobservance. I'm so used to command-space that I didn't realize I was missing anything.

Second answer: Habit. Command-space has become second nature.

Third answer: Keyboard Separation Anxiety. I like to keep my hands on the keyboard when I'm typing. I'd much rather use a keyboard shortcut than reach for the mouse. The problem is that I can't assign a menu key to a language. I just tried. No languages show up in the Format > Languages pane in Preferences - Menu Keys window.

Fourth answer: Sloth. Setting up the language with the correct keyboard, then setting up a style (or set of styles) that specify that language, then giving the (or each) style a keyboard shortcut takes a bit of thought and effort. And since the command-space approach seems to work (though you can probably explain why it's not the ideal solution), I still haven't made the effort.

Is there something wrong with my NWE that I can't assign a menu key to a language?

--Craig

cchapin wrote:Is there something wrong with my NWE that I can't assign a menu key to a language?

Indeed there is. You should be able to assign a keyboard shortcut to a language, but it appears a bug crept in somewhere around 2.0. I've added this bug to the list of things to fix for 2.5. Until then, sorry, but I think it will not be possible to assign a shortcut to a language unless you are comfortable editing our preference plist file (not recommended).

I also think being able to toggle languages via command-space in Express may be a good idea. I'll note it as a feature request.

I do have one for style Japanese, and could (do?) have it selected by a keystroke (I too am a keyboard person).

To reiterate, particularly for a document in mixed languages, it's a nuisance to switch language separate from switching keyboards. Equally, it's not clear to me that I could automate via styles without have duplicates of each style that I use, one for Japanese and one for English. (I suspect that few users have more than two languages in a document ... but then again, users of Nisus are not a random draw of the computer-using population.)

So thanks, please put it in as a feature request. Multilingual users were a large proportion of the Nisus Classic population, weren't they?