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Ask Dr. International
Column #16
Dr. International has received many questions about developing software that can handle multi–lingual data and changing codepages on older versions of Microsoft Windows. So here are some replies that will hopefully answer your questions. They are divided in to 2 sections:
Support in consumer Windows – Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows ME.
On This Page
 | Handling Multilingual Data & Changing Codepages on older versions of Microsoft Windows |
| Support in Windows NT 4.0 |
Handling Multilingual Data & Changing Codepages on older versions of Microsoft Windows
Support in Consumer Windows 9x:
Can consumer Windows handle multi–lingual data?
The short answer is no. Windows 95/98/98SE/ME use ANSI code pages that can only be loaded for one language group at a time. However, through Internet Explorer 5.5 and later, or Microsoft Office 2000 and XP, you can add fonts and, in some cases, IMEs that allow display of multi–lingual web pages and completing web forms, and displaying and editing documents containing different languages in Office. However, this support is not available to all applications running on your system.
To make your application and data operable and accessible in different languages, be sure to write your program to support Unicode and make it run on the new Windows XP. No more struggling with OEM/ANSI code pages! Windows XP fully supports Unicode and allows users to edit content in any language and to work in any given language. For a complete list of international–specific benefits of Windows XP, see:
http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/handson/dev/winxpintl.mspx
What are the languages supported in consumer Windows?
The first release of English (US) Windows 95 only included support for the Western Europe and US language group. Versions of consumer Windows after Windows 95 OSR–2 included Pan–European Support – i.e., they support the following European language groups:
1. | Western Europe and United States (included on all editions of Windows and cannot be removed) |
2. | Baltic |
3. | Central Europe |
4. | Cyrillic |
5. | Greek |
6. | Turkic |
Localized consumer Windows based on European languages (e.g., French, Spanish, Swedish, Russian) have the same support as the English version.
Other languages of consumer Windows (e.g., Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Japanese, Korean) support the language group it was built for, plus the Western Europe and United States language group. So a Japanese version of Windows 98 Second Edition only supports Japanese and English input and display, and cannot support Russian or Greek.
For a List of Language Group IDs and supported locales, see
http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/reference/win2k/setup/localsupport.mspx
Can you change the codepage/system locale on Windows 95?
No.
Can you change the codepage/system locale on Windows 98/ME?
No.
To add keyboard support, go to Keyboard in Control Panel, and select the keyboard you want to add. You will be prompted to insert your consumer Windows CD.
Can you add East Asian or Complex Script language groups to consumer Windows?
No. You need a separate version of Windows built for the specific language you want.
Support in Windows NT 4.0
Can Windows NT handle multi–lingual data?
Yes, if the application you are using can handle data in Unicode – for example MS Office 2000 and XP.
How do you change the system locale?
The steps to change the system locale are:
1. | Go to Regional Settings in Control Panel. |
2. | Select the locale from the drop–down list on the Regional Settings tab. |
3. | Check the box beside "Set as system default locale" |
4. | Click Apply, then OK. Your NT4 CD may be required to load the codepage associated with the desired system locale. |
5. | Reboot system. |
If you just click Apply/OK without checking the box, you just change the user locale which modifies the format of time/date/currency in your applications.
Can I add additional code pages to Windows NT?
The answer is yes. To try it out for yourself, See Knowledge Base Article Q177561.
By default, each language version of NT4 can support codepages covered by language groups as follows:
| KEY: |  = No Support – none without add–ons  = Codepage encoding only. No font or keyboard/IME provided  = Full Support – codepage, keyboard, and font |
| NT4 Version | Pan-European | Japanese | Korean | Simplified Chinese | Traditional Chinese | Arabic | Hebrew | Thai |
English (US) |  |  | | | | | | |
European languages | | | | | | | | |
Japanese | | |  | | | | | |
Korean | | | | | | | | |
Simplified Chinese | | | | | | | | |
Traditional Chinese | | | | | | | | |
Arabic Enabled | | | | | | | | |
Hebrew Enabled | | | | | | | | |
Thai Enabled | | | | | | | | |
Where can I find additional IMEs, and fonts to support languages that I don't have?
For Chinese, Japanese and Korean IMEs and fonts, check out Global IME 5.02.
If you already have Microsoft Office, check the Office Proofing Tools included with you Office CDs for fonts and IME.
What does the Doctor recommend when developing world–ready applications?
To make your application and data operable and accessible in different languages, the Doctor recommends writing your program to support Unicode and to run on the new Windows XP. No more struggling with OEM/ANSI code pages! Windows XP fully supports Unicode, over 60 scripts and over 120 languages. It allows users to edit content in and work in these supported languages. For a complete list of international–specific benefits of Windows XP, see:
http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/handson/dev/winxpintl.mspx
See you next time!
Dr. International
Windows international Division