Microsoft Visual Keyboard Program

[RDN]

I've just found a Microsoft Visual Keyboard program which can be used to type Thai characters.

Here is a picture of it in use:

This program has two distinct advantages over the "On-Screen Keyboard" that comes with XP:

1. You can make it as big as you like

2. Hovering the mouse cursor over a letter causes the name of the letter to be displayed.

You can get it here (at the top right):

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...&displaylang=EN

[bina]

hey thats great... i'll finally learn the names of everything... maybe u should pin it ??? much better then the other virutal keyboard...

[thanchart]

I've just found a Microsoft Visual Keyboard program which can be used to type Thai characters.

I can't believe it does not work for MSN Messenger!

[Superfly]

Does this also work if you have Office 2003 installed? I tried to download it and got an error message saying that I needed Office 2000 software installed before I could install the keyboard software.

[danbkk1]

This is just great even for the native speaker. A big Thank You

[kikiat]

I've just found a Microsoft Visual Keyboard program which can be used to type Thai characters.

I can't believe it does not work for MSN Messenger!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

สวัสดีครับ

This one may be more interesting for you:

Was learning Thai. But I did not have any Thai keyboard.

So I developed my own virtual Thai keyboard. I think this one is more powerful than some other on-line Java keyboards: it can work off-line and can type directly in the current application without copying and pasting. Besides it can work directly with most softwares like Word or even with MSN MESSENGER (! !).

I made it available at:

VirtualThaiKeypad

(http://membres.lycos.fr/thaimog/)

ลานะครับ

http://www.thailandguidebook.com/cgi-bin/f...t=ST;f=3;t=7540

[awarrumbungle]

does it exist for mac?

[Andrew Mac]

does it exist for mac?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm not sure if you're asking specifically about the virtual keyboard mentioned in the post above yours, or just about any kind of virtual keyboard, so I'm sorry if this isn't exactly the information you wanted.

If you are using OS X, then you'll be glad to know that a keyboard viewer has always been there, built right into the system, and available for any application (though there may still be a few old programs that may not accept Thai characters). The following hints work under 10.4, but they're pretty similar in earlier versions -- except for the very first version (10.0), which had the keyboard viewer but didn't have Thai support built-in at that stage.

Anyway, to get what you want, just open System Preferences, and go to the "Input Menu" tab. Make sure that there is a check mark next to "Character Palette", "Keyboard Viewer" and "Thai".

Also make sure that the option to "Show input menu in menu bar" is turned on.

If you've done all this, you should then see these three items appear in a little menu appear in your title bar, marked with a flag appropriate to your current input menu. You'll be able to then select Thai as the input menu, and type away in Thai. If you can't remember where the characters are, you can also use either the character palette or the keyboard viewer to choose and enter the characters you want.

I hope this is of some help. By the way, I can't honestly remember what I used to do about this issue before OS X came around. But if you're not using OS X, and are still back on OS 9, then may I suggest that you really think very seriously about upgrading? It's well worth it.

If you need any extra help, please feel free to send me a PM and I'll try to explain things a bit better :-)

โชคดีนะครับ

Edited October 4, 2005 by Andrew Mac

[kikiat]

VirtualThaiKeypad is no more: long life to uniKode for Thai !

uniKode for Thai

is a really powerful application.

It can work directly with most XP softwares:

For example you're typing in your text-editor. You choosed the red color and a certain font. Just click on the Thai symbols of uniKode and the Thai symbols will appear in red as you wished it in the text-editor!

No need of a boring copy-paste and free of a useless second text-form manipulation !

Besides it's really user-friendly and the Thai symbols are big enough to be read by anyone -even by farangs -.

So if you're looking for a powerfull virtual Thai keyboard able to work directly with most XP softwares -even with MSN- let's try uniKode for Thai !

uniKode for Thai : virtual Thai keyboard

[RDN]

VirtualThaiKeypad is no more: long life to uniKode for Thai !

uniKode for Thai

is a really powerful application.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It does look good, but unfortunately I can't get it to download. Anyone else have any success?

[kikiat]

[it does look good, but unfortunately I can't get it to download. Anyone else have any success?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe the server was down when you tried.

I just checked the download. And it's definitely working.

Anyway I put uniKode for Thai

in attachment in this thread.

For the other softwares let's try again (from an other computer if need be).

Let's try this powerful Virtual Thai keyboard !

บาย บาย

[kikiat]

I forgot to mention in this thread that the dotnet Framework is required to make uniKode work.

As indicated on uniKode website you may download the dotnet framework at:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...3a3&displaylang

ลานะครับ

[RDN]

[it does look good, but unfortunately I can't get it to download. Anyone else have any success?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe the server was down when you tried.

I just checked the download. And it's definitely working.

Anyway I put uniKode for Thai

in attachment in this thread.

For the other softwares let's try again (from an other computer if need be).

Let's try this powerful Virtual Thai keyboard !

บาย บาย

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, the web site download still fails for me - I get about 30 or 40k and then Windows says it's all downloaded but it hasn't and the zip file won't open.

But never mind - mai pen rai - I downloaded your attachment and I'm playing with it now. It looks like an excellent tool and because the consonants are in order - unlike on a Thai keyboard - it's a good way to learn them.

I have three minor questions:

1. After the 44 consonants you show the vowel characters, and you show (as vowel number 2) the "mai han aa gaat" symbol [ ั], but you don't give it that name when the mouse hovers over it.

2. After the vowels you show the four tone marks and then the other symbols: mai-dtai-koo, garan and then mai-yamok. However, you call the "garan" symbol "mai-tahn-dtah-kaht". I haven't seen this name before for that symbol.

3. Lastly, the symbol you use on the keyboard for the garan is very different from that symbol that is produced: [ ์]. Can you say why?

Thanks again for product.

[kikiat]

Hi RDN,

Some answers to your questions:

1/ uniKode was first built for my own learning. So i designed it to match my learning book: Easy Thai, An introduction to Thai Language. I followed its phonetics system. For the vowels i just found it easier to remember the sounds they give than their names. But in a next version I'll update the tooltips and put the real name also.

2/ ก์ mai thantakhat, karan indicates silent letter

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_alphabet#Diacritics)

So two names for the same symbol.

3/ actually the symbol garan on screen is not so different from the one it produces: it's just a police size question. On uniKode the symbols were purposely set at a size of 24 and in bold moreover (easier for a farang ). Try to change the size of the symbol and you'll see.

Just for information:

I'm thinking to add a plugin to this keyboard. It would be a kind of dictionary the user may update. This dictionary would be used like the auto-word-completing system you have on your mobile. Well we'll see...

[RDN]

Hi RDN,

Some answers to your questions:

1/ uniKode was first built for my own learning. So i designed it to match my learning book: Easy Thai, An introduction to Thai Language. I followed its phonetics system. For the vowels i just found it easier to remember the sounds they give than their names. But in a next version I'll update the tooltips and put the real name also.

2/ �์ mai thantakhat, karan indicates silent letter

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_alphabet#Diacritics)

So two names for the same symbol.

3/ actually the symbol garan on screen is not so different from the one it produces: it's just a police size question. On uniKode the symbols were purposely set at a size of 24 and in bold moreover (easier for a farang ). Try to change the size of the symbol and you'll see.

Just for information:

I'm thinking to add a plugin to this keyboard. It would be a kind of dictionary the user may update. This dictionary would be used like the auto-word-completing system you have on your mobile. Well we'll see...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for your reply and the answers you have given. However, I still think the garan on your keyboard is quite a bit different from the symbol it produces: vs. but I think it's probably because I am not used to the symbols that I need them to be exactly the same for me to be able to recognise them. It's similar to not being able to read someone's handwriting because the "style" of their characters is not what I am used to.

Thanks again for for the product.

[meadish_sweetball]

สวัสดีครับ

If you're looking for a powerful user-friendly virtual Thai keyboard

stop seraching: uniKode for Thai by MOG Software is the one you need !

It can work directly with most XP softwares:

For example you're typing in your text-editor. You choosed the red color and a certain font. Just click on the Thai symbols of uniKode and the Thai symbols will appear in red as you wished it in the text-editor!

No need of a boring copy-paste and free of a useless second text-form manipulation !

Besides it's really user-friendly and the Thai symbols are big enough to be read by anyone -even by farangs -.

So if you're looking for a powerful virtual Thai keyboard able to work directly with most XP softwares -even with MSN- let's try uniKode for Thai !

(you may download it with the attachment to this post)

Bye,

Kikiat

[trader1]

Nice software, thanks

[JohnGotti]

wont work anymore?

[agent69]

that's neat. I don't have a Thai keyboard and haven't typed Thai for ages. Had to look up the images of Thai keyboard layout from time to time.

Thanks.