For those who have a Japanese kana/kanji input software: Which one do you use?

I tried to install J-star to type in Japanese kana and kanji on my computer, but the procedures were a hassle. What other software is available. I appreciate your advice.

Do you have a JP keyboard?

XP has it inside itself.
Go to "control panel" -to "Date, time, region, and languages" -to "regional languages' -Click on tab "languages" -Under "supplemental language support"Check the box "Instal files for East Asian Languages" -Under "text services and input languages" Hit button "Details" -Set default to English (if that's waht you want) -Click the "add button" -Under "input language" find Japanese -under"keyboard layout" keep the United States-Dvorak -Hit "ok"

It should show both English and Japanese each with keyboards under Japanese it shoul say "microsoft IME standard" & Microsoft Natural Input

Click on one of these keyboards and hit the button "properties"...here you can set up all the properties you want them to be like.

Back on the "text services and input languages" window: in "prefences" hit the "language Bar" button. make sure that both "desktop" and icons" boxes are checked.

Back in the "prferences" hit the "key settings" button. This sets up how you activate it.

This works in pretty much anything requiring text (I know because my wife always forgets to turn the damn thing off). It is very reliable, my wife can type extremely fast, and it very easy to use. Quite impressed with it since we've tried others that were a real pain. This one actually tries to "think" of what word you are trying to write.

Good luck

EdelBrock, I have done what you said. For some reason, I could access the Language Bar in the Text Input window. However, I can type in Japanese now in Microsoft Word and Notepad. By the way, the Japanese language toolbar comes up when I press Left Alt+ Shift.

いまかなと漢字のタイプをできます。

Is it normal to come across a Japanese word and go one by one, to change from hiragana, to katakana, to kanji through a scroll menu (the word is underlined)?

アドバイスをあげてどうもありがとう。

my wife uses it way more than i do, so I'll ask her when I get home after work.

Good to see that's it's up and running though.,

Am I the first person to read this thread and think 'Who cares?' or 'call a technical support guy who likes sapporo?'

Actually that's what I think about 3/4 of the posts posted on NOOL...but hey, what do I know?