Chinese Computing Help Desk

• 

  • Chinese features
  • Pinyin setup »
    • Simplified character IME
    • Traditional character IME
    • Language bar & shortcuts
    • English Help files for IMEs
  • Zhuyin setup
  • Fonts included
  • Language packs
  • Asia region wallpaper

• 

  • Chinese features
  • Pinyin setup »
    • Simplified character IME
    • Traditional character IME
    • Language bar & shortcuts
    • English Help files for IMEs
  • Zhuyin setup
  • Fonts included
  • Language packs

• 

  • East Asian setup
  • Pinyin setup
  • Zhuyin setup
  • Fonts included
  • User interface (MUI)

• 

  • 11.xx Chinese installation
  • 10.xx Chinese installation
  • 10/11 input methods
  • 10/11 fonts, features
  • 9.xx Chinese installation
  • 9.10 input methods (IBus)
  • 9.04 input methods (SCIM)
  • 9.xx fonts, other features
  • 9.xx preferences

• 

  • Apple iPhone Chinese
  • Apple Mac OS Chinese
  • Google Android Chinese
  • Google ChromeOS Chinese
  • RIM Blackberry Chinese
  • Nokia and other phones

• 

  • Word/Excel Pinyin macro »
    • Macro for MS Word/Excel
    • Macro FAQ & tech notes
  • Outlook Chinese Calendar
  • Asia region wallpaper

• 

  • More Chinese fonts
  • More input methods, tools
  • Encoding standards

• 

  • FAQ index

• 

  • About Pinyin Joe
  • About Pinyin
  • Contact Pinyin Joe
  • Sitemap: PinyinJoe.com

Chinese Language Packs
for Microsoft Windows Vista

Language Packs can be used to change most of the Windows Vista and Internet Explorer user interface into Chinese, including menus, dialogs and basic help screens. They are included with the high-end personal and corporate versions of Vista: Vista Ultimate and Vista Enterprise. Also known as "Multilingual User Interface Packs", or MUI, Language Packs will be some of your first free optional updates you see. Downloading this for Vista Enterprise is usually an IT manager thing, but Vista Ultimate users just need to run Windows Update.

Language Packs do not do many of the things people often think they do, as I'll explain in a moment. But first, following is a side-by-side comparison of the Internet Explorer "Page" menu in traditional and simplified Chinese:

What They Do Not Do

Vista Language Packs have nothing to do with the Chinese reading and writing features discussed elsewhere on this site.

They only change the interface. You don't even need them to display Chinese filenames; you should already be able to do this in any version of Vista except Starter. (Many people are confused about this, including apparently some Microsoft support people...)

Vista Language Packs change only the system and Internet Explorer. They have no effect on any other individual applications.

Language Packs for MS Office (Word, Excel, etc.) must be purchased separately in Traditional, Simplified or Pan-Chinese versions. Other software companies (like Adobe) may require purchase of completely separate editions for each language, if available at all. Vista Language Packs affect only Vista and Internet Explorer.

Vista Language Packs are not necessary to run Chinese language applications or view Chinese web pages, even if you see "???", boxes or other garbage characters.

See my FAQ on changing the default language for non-Unicode programs and websites if Chinese will not display correctly in some but not all Chinese programs or websites. You do not need a Language Pack for this.

Still, it's nice to get even this much included in the price. To get the same features for my last system I had to purchase a special multilingual version of XP. With Vista Ultimate or Vista Enterprise, Language Packs are available as free downloads.

Installation

I'm going to show you how to do this in Vista Ultimate. Vista Enterprise is usually updated by corporate IT administrators who get their downloads via their volume licensing account, and I'm no IT guy. In Vista Ultimate, all you need to do is run Windows Update. That, I can handle!

Download and installation of the system Language Packs can take up the better part of an hour at least, even on a high-speed connection. The Internet Explorer Language Pack is a much smaller, separate download. Look at the size of the two Chinese system Language Packs:

Although it is possible to download the Language Packs first and install later (using an install button you'll find in the Regional and Languages Control Panel), in Vista Ultimate the process defaults to downloading and installing all at once. You might as well get all of this done in one session, when you can part with your PC for awhile. I suggest you just start the process and go off to have a nice cup of tea or something.

To get started in Vista Ultimate, run Windows Update (Start > All Programs > Windows Update, or Start > Control Panel > Windows Update) and you'll find all the available Language Packs listed as optional updates. Select the checkboxes next to the packs you want, click the "Install" button, and let it run.

Your may find the "Chinese (Traditional)" pack listed as the "Chinese (Hong Kong SAR) Language Pack". This was fixed via an update released in 2007, which will be offered to you by Windows Update if your system requires it. Even after installing that update, you may still see this pack listed in the Update window as "Hong Kong SAR" anyway. Don't worry, just go ahead and download it. During installation and actual use, you'll see it identified in Chinese as "Chinese (Traditional)":

Internet Explorer Language Packs have shown up as separate downloads in Windows Update since at least June 2009, after the release of Internet Explorer 8 and Vista Service Pack 2. I am guessing this is due to a recent European court ruling requiring more separation between the system and IE. You can also download the IE8 Language Packs directly from Microsoft here.

Optional: Some people have asked me how to hide the Language Packs for other languages, so that these downloads do not appear every time Windows Update is run. This is simple but requires that you right-click on each pack and select "Hide update" one at a time. You can bring these back by clicking "Restore hidden updates" in the left column of Windows Update at anytime in the future:

Switching Languages

Switching between languages is also a simple process, involving our old friend the Regional and Language Options Control Panel where you will now find a new pull-down menu:

After you select a display language and click "OK", a dialog will ask you to log out and log back in to complete the change. You do not need to restart:

I hope this has been helpful. Feel free to write to me via the "Contact" link below if you have any questions or suggestions.

« top