 |  |
Configuring and Using International Features of Windows
Basic Concepts in International Setup
This document introduces some of the key concepts you'll need to understand as you configure the multilingual and international settings of the Windows XP Home and Professional Editions, the upcoming Windows .NET Server Family, and Windows 2000 family of operating systems.
Language Collections - New in Windows XPIn Windows XP, the 17 Language Groups that have been central to international support in Windows 2000 have been consolidated to 3 major Language Collections to simplify installation and improve user experience. They are as follows:
Language Collections offers expanded functionality over language groups. It allows the use of more locales and languages without the inconvenience of constantly adding/removing desired languages, thus improving multilingual computing and reducing IT support costs. For instance, a Japanese multinational with operations in Japan, China, and Korea whose staff needs to communicate with each other in one or more of these languages all the time would get all three of these languages right out of the box if they are running an East Asian version of Windows XP! For more information about Language Collections, see New Locale and Language Features in Windows XP. Note: When installing Windows XP using unattended setup, please continue using Windows 2000-style language group and locale ID values. Language GroupsLanguage groups are central to the international support provided in Windows 2000. There are 17 language group modules, each of which is a collection of all the files and settings necessary to support a given set of languages and locales. Some language groups -- such as Greek -- contain support for only one locale / language. Others, such as the Western Europe and US language group, provide support for many different languages and locales. Only the Western Europe and US language group is installed by default (the other modules can be installed according to demand). Language Groups determine which locales and languages can be used on a system. The appropriate language group must be installed before a language can be input, processed or displayed, and before locale settings can be specified. You can find a complete chart of the Windows 2000 language groups and the languages / locales they support in our List of Language Groups. LocalesIn Windows 2000, locales are settings which reflect languages and cultural conventions as they are used in different parts of the world -- "German_Swiss" perhaps, as opposed to "German_Standard". Several different kinds of locales are supported: User LocaleThe user locale is a per user setting which determines the formats used to display dates, times, currency, and numbers, and the sorting order of text. A user locale is specified for each and every account created on a machine. During unattended installations the user locale is specified as a four digit hexadecimal value: 0411 or 0c0a, for example. System LocaleThe system locale is a system-wide setting which affects all users of a machine. It determines which codepages and associated bitmap font files are used as defaults for the system. These codepages and fonts enable non-Unicode applications to run as they would on a system localized to the language of the system locale. ONLY non-Unicode applications are affected by this setting. During unattended installations the system locale is specified as a four digit hexadecimal value: 0411 or 0c0a, for example. Input LocaleInput locales are pairings of a language with an input method (which might be a particular keyboard layout, an Input Method Editor, or speech-to-text converter). An input locale decribes the language being entered, and how it is being entered. During unattended installations input locales are specified as a pairing of a four digit hexadecimal locale value with a keyboard layout: 0436:00000409, for example. User Interface (menus and dialogs) languagesWindows MUI includes user interface language (MUI) modules in addition to the standard Windows 2000 Language Group files. The MUI modules, one for each of the 33 user interface languages supported, contain the resources necessary to display the menus, dialogs and Help files of the system in the given language. Before a user interface language can be used the appropriate Language Group must be installed. See List of LangIDs for MUI for User Interface languages and their respective ID. ID valuesIn Windows 2000 and the Windows 2000 MUI all the Language Groups, locales and user interface languages are represented by ID numbers, rather than by names. When installing the system in unattended mode, you should refer to the ID for each entity. You can find lists of all the IDs supported in Windows 2000 linked to in the Related Links box at top of the page. Note: More detailed information about the various kinds of locale and the contents of Language Groups can be found in our Locales and Language Groups FAQ.
|
In This Article
|
