Using the Language Bar

After you have configured support for at least one language other than English, the Language bar appears on your desktop. The Language bar is part of the operating system and is available to all programs, not just Microsoft Office. You use the Language bar to switch among the input languages that you have installed and, in the case of the East Asian languages, to adjust the way the IME behaves. The button at the left end of the Language bar, the Keyboard Layout Indicator, lists an abbreviation for the currently selected input language. (Depending on whether you have text labels showing, it may also list the full name of the language.) To switch to a different language, click the button and select the other language from the drop-down list (see Figure 21.9).

Figure 21.9. Click the Keyboard Layout Indicator button to select a different input language.

Figure 21.10 shows what the Language bar looks like when Chinese (PRC) is selected. Note the additional buttons used to configure the IME.

Figure 21.10. When Chinese (PRC) is selected as the input language, additional buttons appear on the Language bar.

To move the Language bar around the desktop, point to the vertical dotted line at the left edge of the Language bar and drag when you see the four-headed arrow mouse pointer. To dock the Language bar on the task bar, click the Minimize button in the upper-right corner of the bar. Figure 21.11 shows the Language bar after it's been docked .

Figure 21.11. Minimize the Language bar to dock it on the task bar.

If you later want to restore it to the desktop, click the Restore button immediately above the Options button (or right-click the Language bar and click Restore the Language Bar).

To change the way the Language bar behaves, follow these steps:

1. Click the Options button on the Language bar, and click Settings in the menu that appears.

   

   If you don't see the Language bar, click Start, Control Panel. Double-click Regional and Language Options, click the Languages tab, click the Details button, and click the Language Bar button. Then go on to step 2.

   
   

2. Click the Language Bar button.

3. The Language Bar Settings dialog box appears (see Figure 21.12). Mark the Show the Language Bar on the Desktop check box to display the Language bar (this option is turned on by default).

   Figure 21.12. Language Bar Settings dialog box.

   

4. Mark the Show the Language Bar As Transparent When Inactive check box if you want it to behave like a watermark when it's not active (when you aren't pointing to it with the mouse). Figure 21.13 shows what the Language bar looks like when this option is turned on. This option is only active when the Language bar is not docked.

   Figure 21.13. Making the Language bar transparent keeps it from obscuring anything else on your desktop.

   

5. Clear the Show Additional Language Bar Icons in the Taskbar check box if you want to hide all the buttons on the Language bar except the Keyboard Language Indicator button.

6. Clear the Show Text Labels on the Language Bar check box if you want to see text labels on the Language bar buttons. This option is only active when the Language bar is not docked.

7. When you're finished making your selections, click OK , and then click OK again.

You can also access the same options as those shown in the Language Bar Settings dialog box by right-clicking the Language bar and clicking various commands in the context menu that appears. When the Language bar is not docked, the context menu also contains a Vertical command, which reorients the Language bar vertically on your screen.

The Key Settings button in the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box displays the Advanced Key Settings dialog box, which allows you to modify the keyboard shortcuts you can use to switch among your installed input languages.

To get more assistance with using the Language bar, click the Help button on the Language bar and then choose Language Bar Help. If you have installed an East Asian language and it's currently selected, the Help menu will also include a command to display the IME help. (The exact name of this command varies depending on the specific East Asian language that's currently selected.)