Running Localized Sessions
You can customize the desktop user interface in many different languages.
Various elements such as screens, default languages, fonts, input (keyboard)
methods, and icons can be changed. In addition, the menus, online help, and
error messages can be localized and are available in multiple languages.
language-specificsessionssessionlanguage-specific
Default Language at Login
The messages and menus in the initial login window are displayed in
the default language. If the default language has not been set up, the messages
and menus are displayed using a generic “C” locale environment.
You can change the language from the Options menu in the login screen.
Logging In to a Language-Specific Session
language-specificlogin
logging into language-specific session
login, language-specific
Logging in to a specific language through the desktop is easy. However,
specific hardware requirements such as keyboards and printers may be required
to make the localized session more usable. These requirements vary by language,
character set, and country. Software and fonts can further increase the effective
localization of your system. To log in to a language-specific session:
Use the Options menu in the login screen to select
a language.
The list of languages includes all the supported languages.
Log in normally with your name and password.
Creating or Editing a Language-Specific File
language-specificdata
You can create, edit, and print language-specific files. You can also
give files language-specific names. However, for system administration files
that are shared across a network, the file names should just contain ASCII
characters. Different systems on the network might be using different locales.
If you have logged in to the desktop in a specific language, all applications
will be invoked using that language. However, you can still invoke an application
with another language.
If you want to create a file with a different language, invoke a new
instance of Text Editor specifying your desired language.
To Create or Edit a Language-Specific File
creatingfile with language-specific characters
editingfile with language-specific characters
fileswith language-specific characters[files
language-specificcharacters in file
To create or edit a language-specific file, you can
either start the Text Editor with the language directly
or you can set
the LANG
environment variable prior to starting the Editor.
To start the Text Editor with the language directly, invoke the
dtpad command with the language
specified for the -xnllanguage
option. For example:
/usr/dt/bin/dtpad -xnllanguage Japanese_localename
To set LANG before invoking
the Editor, perform the following steps:
In a Terminal window, set the LANG environment
variable to the desired language. For example, to set the locale to Japanese,
you can type:Terminalsetting language throughLANG environment variable
LANG=Japanese_localename
where Japanese_localename
specifies the Japanese character set. Refer to your specific
platform to determine the value for Japanese_localename.
In the same window, invoke the Text Editor ( dtpad) under the desired language by typing:Text Editorstarting with specific languagestartingText Editorwith specific languagelanguage-specificText Editor
/usr/dt/bin/dtpad &
You can now enter Japanese characters if the locale specific files have
been installed. You can also use the Text Editor session to edit a previously
created Japanese file.
See
for an example of specifying a font set.
Using a Language-Specific Terminal Emulator
The following example uses dtterm and
will start a Japanese terminal emulator. It assumes that the default
language is not Japanese, that you are using the Korn shell, and that
the locale specific files have been installed.
terminal emulatorlanguage-specific
language-specificterminal emulator
startingterminal emulator with specific language
From a command line in a Korn shell Terminal window type:
LANG=Japanese_localename dtterm
where Japanese_localename
specifies the Japanese character set. Refer to your specific
platform to determine the value for Japanese_localename.
Specifying Fonts
fontsinternationalizing
internationalizationand fonts
The user usually changes fonts using Style Manager, which in turn restarts
Workspace Manager, resetting the desktop fonts. You can also customize fonts
at the command line or in resource files. In an internationalized environment,
the user must specify fonts that are independent of the code set. This is
necessary because the specification can be used under various locales with
different code sets than the character set (charset)
of the font. Therefore, all font lists should be specified with
a font set.
Font Specification
A font specification within a fontlist can be
either an X Logical Function Description (XLFD) name or an alias for the
XLFD name. For example, the following are valid font specifications for
a 14-point font:
font specification
XLFD
-dt-interface system-medium-r-normal-serif-*-*-*-*-p-*-iso8859-1
Or, -*-r-*-14-*iso8859-1
Font Set Specification
The font set specification within a fontlist is a list of XLFD names
or their aliases (sometimes called a base name list).
The names are separated by semi-colons, and any blank space before or after
the semi-colon is ignored. Pattern- matching (wildcard) characters can be
specified to help shorten XLFD names.
font set specification
base name font list
A font set specification is determined by the locale that is running.
For example, the Japanese locale defines three fonts (character sets) necessary
to display all of its characters. The following example identifies the set
of Mincho fonts needed.
Sample name list with character
set:
-dt-interface system-medium-r-normal-serif-*-*-*-*-p-*-14;
-dt-mincho-medium-r-normal--14-*-*-m-*-jisx0201.1976-0;
-dt-mincho-medium-r-normal--28-*-*-*-m-*-jisx0208.1983-0:
Sample single pattern name without character set:
-dt-*-medium-*-24-*-m-*:
The preceding two cases can be used with a Japanese locale as long as
there are fonts that match the base name list.
Changing Fonts
You can change the fonts of dtterm
by using either of the following methods:
Specifying fonts from the command
line
Specifying fonts within a resource file
To Specify Fonts from the Command Line
To change the fonts for the menu from the command line, type:
fontsspecifying from the command line
dtterm -xrm '*fontList: fontset'
where fontset is a font set specification. A font
set specification can be specified by a full X Logical Font Description (XLFD)
name list, a simple XLFD pattern, or an alias name. Note that a font set
specification is determined by the locale that is running.
Examples
To use a larger font except for the menu font, type:
dtterm -xrm '*fontList:-dt-interface user-medium-r-normal-l*-*-*-*:'
To use a smaller font except for the menu font, type:
dtterm -xrm '*fontList:-dt-interface user-medium-r-normal-s*-*-*-*:'
These specifications will work for any locale.fontsspecifying from the command line <$endrange>
To Specify Fonts within a Resource File
While it is possible to set fonts by editing application resource files in the
/usr/dt/app-defaults/language
directory, this practice is not recommended. Such files are automatically
overwritten at each new installation. Rather, you should set fonts by adding
the resources to your personal
HomeDirectory/.Xdefaults file.
Choosing Your Input Method and Keyboard
Each locale has a single default input method associated with it. If
the user does nothing, this default is selected. Because there may be many
input methods installed at any one time, the following sections explain how
various input methods are selected on behalf of the user.
In addition to using resources to set the input method and the input method
style for preediting, you can use the Style Manager's Intl'
(Internationalization) control to set these values interactively.
For details, refer to the CDE Advanced User's
and System Administrator's Guide.
Using Input Method Modifiers
When there is more than one input
method for a locale, use the XmNinputMethod
resource to identify the one you would like used. This is done by specifying
a modifier. The modifier must be of the following
form, where modifier is the name used to
uniquely identify the input method:
input method for locales
inputMethod :@im=modifier
The modifier string specified in the XmNinputMethod resource is used to choose which input method
is used.
Alternatively, set the XMODIFIERS environment variable. The syntax
is the same as for the XmNinputMethod resource, but values
are not. Values for XMODIFIERS are vendor specific.XMODIFIERS environment variable<Filename | Command>XmNinputMethod <Default Para Font> resource
Specifying the Input Method Style
The input method style determines how pre-editing will occur. It is
controlled by the XmNpreeditType
resource. The syntax, possible values, and default value type of the XmNpreeditType resource are:
XmNpreeditType
Syntaxvalue[,value,....]
Possible values
OverTheSpot, OffTheSpot, OnTheSpot, Root, None
Default value
OnTheSpot, OverTheSpot, OffTheSpot, Root
The string list, separated by a comma, specifies the priority order
for this resource. The first value supported by the input method is used.
For more information, see the Internationalization Programmer's
Guide.input method for locales <$endrange>
Changing the X Keyboard Map at the Server
If the keymaps currently used by the X server do not match the physical
keyboard on the system, you can change them manually by using the
xmodmap command or a vendor keyboard mapping utility.
For information on the xmodmap command, type
man xmodmap.
keymaps, changing
xmodmap