Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit 2003
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2005
Pages: 338
Pages: 338
Windows XP Professional supports companies that need to allow users (employees or customers) to work in more than one language. Typically, these companies:
Operate internationally and must support different regional options, such as time zones, currencies, or date formats.
Have employees or customers who speak different languages, or require language-dependent keyboards or input devices.
Develop internal line-of-business applications that must run internationally or in more than one language.
Table 3-1 presents an overview of the most common problems that multilingual and international organizations face and outlines the possible solutions that you can apply to your Windows XP Professional deployment.
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Users need to edit documents that contain multiple languages. | All versions of Windows XP Professional contain support for editing documents in multiple languages. Some versions might require the installation of additional language collections. For advanced multilingual support, such as localized language user interface elements, dictionaries, and proofing tools, deploy Microsoft Windows XP Professional Multilingual User Interface Pack (MUI Pack) together with the Microsoft Office XP Multilingual User Interface Pack. |
| Regional offices need automatic operating system deployments with the correct language and regional options, such as the default input language, date, time, and currency formats. | Determine each office s language and regional needs to help reduce the number of unique setup scripts. For each unique setup script, specify the appropriate [RegionalSettings] values in the answer file; use new keywords to set the default standards and formats and input language/keyboard layout combination for the default user account for new users. |
| Roaming users need to log on anywhere in their native languages. | Consider using Windows XP Professional MUI Pack for desktops if roaming users must log on in a native language user interface. Use Active Directory directory service and Group Policy to publish MUI Pack language packages to users so that they can install the correct user interface language wherever they log on. |
| Multiple users need to log on to the same computer in different languages. | Consider using Windows XP Professional MUI Pack for desktops if users must log on in a native language user interface. Use Terminal Services Client to support different language sessions for different users sharing computers connected to a Microsoft Windows 2000 Server MultiLanguage Version based computer running Terminal Services. |
| Users need language-specific keyboards, Input Method Editors, or alternative input devices. | Windows XP Professional contains built-in support for a variety of keyboard layouts and input methods and devices. Install additional language collections and input languages as needed. Place the On-Screen Keyboard on desktops where the physical keyboard might not match the operating system language version in use. |
| Existing line-of-business applications must accommodate language and regional differences. | Ensure proper code page support for applications developed under older operating systems; test applications by changing the language for non-Unicode programs and default input languages. |
| Application developers want to create single code-based applications that run in the correct local language. | Deploy Windows XP Professional MUI Pack internationally as the desktop standard; develop applications in Unicode that support the multilingual user interface. Write applications that check for the default user interface language and follow world-ready software development guidelines. |
| Sites on the corporate intranet must account for language and regional differences. | Use the Location setting to configure desktop browsers to receive appropriate local content, such as local weather or news. |
| IT wants to do simultaneous worldwide rollouts of hotfixes, patches, and Service Packs. | Deploy Windows XP Professional MUI Pack as the global desktop standard. |
| Users need to share folders or files containing text in other languages. | Ensure that only Unicode characters are used for Active Directory and other folder and file names; install the Complex Script and Right-to-Left or East Asian Language Collections as needed. |
Windows XP Professional includes technologies that enhance your company s ability to do business in multiple languages and/or across multiple countries/regions.
Versions of Microsoft Windows earlier than Windows XP Professional support up to 126 locales. Windows XP Professional adds support for nine additional locales: Galician, Gujarati, Kannada, Kyrgyz, Mongolian (Cyrillic), Punjabi, Divehi, Syriac, and Telugu.
Each language version of Windows XP Professional provides built-in support for editing documents in hundreds of languages, grouped into three language collections. The Basic Language Collection, which is always installed, supports most Western languages. The Complex Script and Right-to-Left Language Collection can be installed to support languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, Indic, or Thai, and the East Asian Language Collection can be installed to support Simplified or Traditional Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.
Users can change input languages, keyboard layouts, and other regional options (except for the language for non-Unicode programs) without restarting the computer in order for the changes to take effect. Administrators can customize the desktop with new tools, such as the Language Toolbar, to simplify switching languages, keyboard layouts, and other regional options.
The Control Panel for regional and language options has been redesigned to make it easier to add and change input languages and keyboard layouts; change standards and formats for displaying dates, amounts, and currencies; set the default location for Web content; and change the language for non-Unicode programs. The most frequently used options are now easier to find and use.
The terminology used in versions of Windows earlier than Windows XP Professional has been updated to simpler, more descriptive terms:
Standards and Formats, which determines the formats used to display dates, times, currency, numbers, and the sorting order of text, was previously called the User Locale.
Input Language, which specifies the combination of the language and keyboard layout used to enter text, was previously called the Input Locale.
Language for Non-Unicode Programs, which specifies the default code pages and fonts for running non-Unicode programs, was previously called the System Locale.
Windows XP Professional includes four new language keys that you can use in the [RegionalSettings] section of answer files. These keys make it easier for administrators to customize language settings, such as the default input language for new user accounts. Other features provide more options for customizing unattended mode setups and silent configurations after setup.
The Multilingual Document Consultant in Windows XP Professional Help and Support Center can assist you in diagnosing and resolving problems with displaying or entering different languages.
The Windows XP Professional Multilingual User Interface Pack (MUI Pack) ensures that most of the operating system user interface including the Start and Programs menus, alerts and dialog boxes, and the Windows XP Professional Help and Support Center appears in the localized language that has been selected as the default. (In Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional MultiLanguage Version, for example, a user who switches the user interface language to German might still find some user interface elements displayed in English.)
Although it is based on the code of the Microsoft Windows XP Professional International English language version, the MUI Pack also includes more localized components that make it easier to develop multilingual applications. New Windows Installer MUI language packages reduce storage space requirements on network servers or CD images, and make it easier for administrators to set up, and users to install, additional user interface languages.
The MUI Pack also includes improved local drivers, makes roaming easier, and simplifies remote administration over a corporate network.