Japanese Typing Problems (Microsoft Word)

[palpatine]

This is what Japanese looks like when I type it now.
rあmいるもmおrおmありkいrおmおkいrいsあま

As you can see, "ra" doesn't come out correctly at the beginning of the line, "ru" and "mo" are OK, and then everything stops working for a while until "ma" at the end. The only characters that come out correctly on a consistent basis are vowels. This only happens in Word (new and updated). Not in Excel. Not in any other program.

Does anyone know why this happens, and do you have any suggestions for how to fix it?

 

[GGJstudios]

I'd check which font you're using. Also, there's a possibility that the font is corrupted or incomplete. You might try searching to see if you can re-download the font. Also, have you used any apps such as Xslimmer or Monolingual to remove languages?

 

[palpatine]

I'd check which font you're using. Also, there's a possibility that the font is corrupted or incomplete. You might try searching to see if you can re-download the font. Also, have you used any apps such as Xslimmer or Monolingual to remove languages?

Thanks for the diagnosis. I don't think it is the font, though. I didn't change anything as I was typing that line. The fonts work fine in every other program. I haven't used those apps. Just in case, I changed the font and this is what happened:
まままmあ
The first three "ma" characters are just fine, and then suddenly it stops working. If there was some kind of pattern, it would make sense, but I see no pattern. It started doing this yesterday in the middle of a document.

 

[Mal]

Thanks for the diagnosis. I don't think it is the font, though. I didn't change anything as I was typing that line. The fonts work fine in every other program. I haven't used those apps. Just in case, I changed the font and this is what happened:
まままmあ
The first three "ma" characters are just fine, and then suddenly it stops working. If there was some kind of pattern, it would make sense, but I see no pattern. It started doing this yesterday in the middle of a document.

I just tested in Word on my MacBook, and I didn't see that behavior. Does it appear in any other apps, or only in Word?

Also, do you have any apps such as TextExpander installed which might be intercepting keystrokes?

jW

 

[davidlv]

See this for the reason and the fix (update to 14.11)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2538309/ja
Also see this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1136842/

 

[palpatine]

See this for the reason and the fix (update to 14.11)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2538309/ja
Also see this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1136842/

Thanks so much. That fixed it!
まままま
のののの

I just tested in Word on my MacBook, and I didn't see that behavior. Does it appear in any other apps, or only in Word?

Also, do you have any apps such as TextExpander installed which might be intercepting keystrokes?

jW

Nope. It turns out that there was a service pack update that screwed up everything. In the hours I spent trying to figure out what happened, it turns out there was a totally unintuitive fix for it. Microsoft has dropped even further in my estimation

 

[GGJstudios]

Microsoft has dropped even further in my estimation

Was that even possible?

Glad you got it worked out!

 

[palpatine]

Was that even possible?

Glad you got it worked out!

lol. thanks

i am actually not particularly anti-microsoft or anything, most days, but these kinds of shenanigans really make me angry. what a collosal waste of time, and it was all because they didn't have adequate quality control. if i were a software engineer there i'd be ashamed that i made a product unusable like this. totally unacceptable, and if apple ever develops a word processor that can render text vertically, i'll say goodbye to microsoft.

 

[davidlv]

Thanks so much. That fixed it!
Nope. It turns out that there was a service pack update that screwed up everything. In the hours I spent trying to figure out what happened, it turns out there was a totally unintuitive fix for it. Microsoft has dropped even further in my estimation

Just to clarify things for anyone interested, the issue was fixed in the Japanese version with the update to version 14.11 (and 14.1.2), but it was not fixed in the English 14.11 version or 14.1.2. In the English version the "totally unintuitive fix" is, you have to customize the formatting toolbar, and drag the "Style" box out of the toolbar. Since there is a fix available for the Japanese version, it seems the "interoffice" communication between the engineers in Japan and the States is not functioning well. Typical MS situation?
In regard to a word processor that can render text vertically, have you tried the demo of Nisus Writer Pro?
Nisus used to be very popular in Japan back in the OS 8 and 9 days, and the new update has had some very good reviews. Haven't had time to look into it myself.

 

[SaSaSushi]

How strange, I'm running US English Word 14.1.2 and have never experienced this issue. I didn't have the Formatting Toolbar enabled but enabling it didn't cause the problem to occur either.

 

[davidlv]

How strange, I'm running US English Word 14.1.2 and have never experienced this issue. I didn't have the Formatting Toolbar enabled but enabling it didn't cause the problem to occur either.

Not sure we are talking about the same toolbar. Not having the English installed now, I am not sure what the thing is called - IIRC, it is under the View Menu > Toolbars > Formatting toolbar. In Japanese, the toolbar that is the source of the issue is the 表示＞ツールバー＞書式設定＞and you use the User Customization menu (ツールバー/メニューのユーザー設定...) to drag the "Style" box off the menu. That fixes the issue in the English versions 14.01 and up.
If your 14.1.2 installation is working with Japanese as is, you are the exception, first I've heard of, and a lucky one indeed.
As far as I know this issue waas only seen in Word.