FAQ: Free Traditional IME 2010 Update

Microsoft New Phonetic, Cangjie, Quick and Cantonese Jyutping Traditonal Input Method Updates for Windows 7, Vista and XP

Q: Is there a way to update/upgrade/repair my Microsoft Traditional/Taiwan IME?

A: Yes! A free download from Microsoft supports Windows 7, Vista and XP SP3, and despite its name does not require you to own Microsoft Office!

This free update is called "Microsoft Office 輸入法 2010" but does not require any version of Office installed.

This is for Windows 7, Vista and XP SP3 and - I repeat - does not require Office. It will install on both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Installing with 64-bit Office gave me a bit of trouble, but I've heard Microsoft may have fixed that since the last time I tried it. See my "Installation" section below.

What's new:

• Updates
  • New Phonetic 2010, featuring Pinyin, Zhuyin, & other popular keyboards,
  • New ChangJie 2010, which should be written "Cangjie"..., and
  • New Quick 2010, a keyboard overlay a bit like Cangjie.
  
  
• New (and newly returned)
  • Hong Kong Cantonese 2010, featuring Jyutping (Jyutpin) phonetic input,
  • Hong Kong Cantonese, which was missing in Vista and Win7 for awhile,
  • Simplified character option (Tool menu > Properties), and
  • Unicode font support option (Tool menu > Properties. New for XP users.)

Installation:

In Windows XP you must enable East Asian languages. In Windows 7 and Vista, East Asian languages are enabled by default.

Install this update after Language Packs / MUI Packs for Windows or Office to avoid replacing this update with older IME files.

Go to this Microsoft Taiwan download page:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=60984ecd-9575-411a-bd38-2294f17c4131&displaylang=zh-tw

Although that page is titled "Microsoft Office 輸入法 2010", don't worry if you have an earlier version of Office or don't have Office at all. You'll still be able to install this (but see my notes about 64-bit Office below).

There are no important instructions on that page.  Just click the button that says "下戴" ("Download"):

You will be taken to a second page.  If the download does not start within 30 seconds, on the third line click the tiny little link that says "開始下戴":

The download page suggests an add-on called Intelligent Input Mode (智慧型輸入模式), which automatically switches between English and New Phonetic keyboards. This is not required and I haven't tried it yet. It's potentially very annoying; if you try it please let me know what you think:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9DD0DB3A-FF78-4EBE-985B-8668EE93328F&displayLang=zh-tw

After you download the file, double-click, install and you're done...unless you have trouble because of 64-bit Office.

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I've received reports that Microsoft fixed the installation problems I experienced with 64-bit Office. If you don't see the following error message, you can skip this section and scroll on down.

When I clicked the installer, because I had 64-bit Office installed I got a very cryptic "You don't need this" error message. ---->

I've heard Microsoft has fixed this, but I haven't tested it yet so here's how to install the update with 64-bit Office (and not switch to 32-bit Office) if you see this same error message.

Option 1: "Painful Extraction"

I contacted Microsoft Support about this. They recommended I extract the 64-bit installation files, and install them using the method described on this Microsoft forum:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/officeappcompat/thread/5e7c949f-b3e0-436c-a3ce-562fe9d1dfa6/

Option 2: "Painful Insertion (of credit card number)"

I didn't need to experience the painful option above, because I own the USD $24.95 Traditional Chinese Office Language Pack 2010 which contains the same Office 輸入法 2010 IME update, along with Chinese Proofing Tools and optional Chinese interface elements for Office. (The 2010 Language Pack won't work with Office 2007 or earlier, sorry.)

But, there was still one final annoyance. When I purchased the Office 2010 Language Pack from Microsoft's website, the download contained only the 32-bit pack! The installer tried to tell me to uninstall Office and reinstall the 32-bit version. A quick telephone call to Microsoft Store support (Digital River) remedied this problem however. They gave me the 64-bit version, and all is well.

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Restart your PC if you don't see the updates in your Language Bar/band after installation. I did see them immediately, but this is always a good idea after any system-related installation anyway.

The update should pick up your previous IME settings if you had already turned on those keyboards, but if you need to change New Phonetic from Zhuyin to Pinyin please see my setup instructions for the original Microsoft New Phonetic IME here:

• Pinyin Setup: using the Microsoft New Phonetic IME for fantizi Pinyin input

For more help please see these FAQs:

• FAQ: How do I get the "candidate list" to appear in the MS New Phonetic IME?
• FAQ: How do I resize the MS New Phonetic IME Candidate List?
• The English-language Help files for your Chinese IMEs

And have you updated your PRC IME?

Please see the MSPY 2010 Pinyin IME Update FAQ for more information. Works in Windows 7, Vista and XP SP3 with or without Office.

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