Windows 7 Chinese Language Features
A Quick Start Guide to Chinese Language Features
in Western Versions of Windows 7
Character Display IMEs Fonts
Language Packs
Wallpaper
Other Features
For those upgrading from Windows XP, Windows 7 offers many powerful new Chinese features, and is a much better, more powerful, more stable system overall. For those upgrading from Vista, Windows 7 is not so much a great leap forward as it is the end of a bad dream: this is the operating system that Vista was intended to be.
The main focus of this site is of course Pinyin setup, but I also cover Zhuyin (Bopomofo), Chinese fonts, Language Packs and other features here. I also have a Frequently Asked Questions section that covers common issues with Windows and Office, and I've even written a short piece on the history, politics and proper use of Pinyin.
 
 
 
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All versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista are eligible for upgrade, but
you should download the free Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to ensure your PC is compatible.
You can read and write Chinese in all major versions of Windows 7: Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate. I have even seen the same features in Windows Starter netbooks sold in the US. Chinese features are also available in Windows 7 Enterprise, if your license includes these features and if your IT department decides to install them. IT departments sometimes customize Enterprise and Professonal to remove language features. I am not certain if Chinese features are included in Home Basic/Starter for all markets, but as I said I've seen them in Starter in the US.
Windows Ultimate, and most installations of Windows Enterprise, also include "Language Packs" that will change the Windows and Internet Explorer UI (the user interface: menus, dialogs, etc.) into Chinese, but please note that you do not need Language Packs to view and input Chinese. Following is a summary of the most important Chinese features, with links to additional pages with more details.
Displaying Chinese Characters in Windows 7
Unlike Windows XP, in Windows Vista and Windows 7 you do not need to "enable East Asian languages" as a separate step after installation of the system. The new Windows can display Chinese characters as soon as you start up the first time.
Chinese should automatically display in Internet Explorer and most other browsers without any special setup. In the rare event that Chinese shows up as "garbage" or empty boxes, try manually adjusting the Encoding in Internet Explorer's "Page" menu.
Microsoft Word and most other applications should also display Chinese by default. Problems may occur due to missing fonts. Try selecting the text and choosing a simplified or traditional Chinese font from the font menu to fix this.
Chinese Input Method Editors (IME) in Windows 7
 Windows 7 includes the improved Chinese character input methods introduced with Vista. I see nothing new for Vista owners in the Windows 7 release candidate, except maybe that the Help icon is now displayed in the taskbar by default, but anyone upgrading from XP will be very happy.
The Chinese (Simplified, PRC) Microsoft Pinyin "New Experience" IME is fantastic, with better candidate prediction and even a traditional character option! The Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan) New Phonetic method, which includes both Zhuyin and Pinyin input, is not really different but does include new preference options such as candidate list font size.
Still, XP owners don't need to purchase Vista or Windows 7 just to get the latest PRC input methods. The free MSPY 2010 download from Microsoft will update XP, Vista and Windows 7. You can learn more about this via the last link in the list below.
Windows 7 Pinyin Setup:
1. Adding simplified Chinese Pinyin input
2. Adding traditional Chinese Pinyin input
3. Adjusting the Language Bar and shortcuts
4. Learning to use the Microsoft Pinyin IMEs
Windows 7 Zhuyin / Bopomofo Setup:
* Adding the Zhuyin IME as your traditional Chinese input method, typing
Zhuyin phonetic symbols, and using Zhuyin "ruby text" above hanzi.
Chinese input method updates for Windows 7, Vista and XP:
* Downloading and installing the PRC IME MSPY 2010 update
* Downloading and installting the Taiwan IME 2010 update
Pinyin Macros, plus more IMEs, fonts and apps:
* Pinyin tone mark macro for Word and Excel
* Wubi input method (Wubi Zixing) for Windows
* A survey of free and commercial Chinese fonts and applications.
Chinese Fonts in Windows 7
Windows 7 includes the same set of Chinese fonts offered in Vista. I have a page full of actual examples of Windows 7 Chinese fonts for you, but first I thought I should list the font names as you will find them in many menus. In some programs you will see the same names with an "@" sign in front of them: those are the "vertical"/rotated versions.
Supported by Chinese (PRC) keyboards, including MSPY:
DFKai-SB
FangSong_GB2312
KaiTi
Microsoft JhengHei
Microsoft YaHei
MingLiU
MingLiU-ExtB
MingLiU_HKSCS*
MingLiU_HKSCS-ExtB
NSimsun
PMingLiU**
PMingLiU-ExtB
SimHei
Simsun***
Simsun-ExtB |
Supported by Chinese (Taiwan) keyboards, including MSNP:
DFKai-SB
Microsoft JhengHei
MingLiU
MingLiU-ExtB
PMingLiU**
PMingLiU-ExtB
|
|
*"HKSCS" fonts include Hong Kong Cantonese characters.
**PMingLiU is the default font for Chinese (Taiwan) keyboards.
***Simsun is the default font for Chinese (PRC) keyboards.
(Not listed here but also included: new fonts for Yi, Uighur, Tibetan & Mongolian.) |
For more detail, including samples of each font, please see the following pages:
Chinese fonts included with Windows 7
Chinese fonts included with Windows Vista
Chinese fonts included with Windows XP
See also my survey of additional free and commercial third-party Chinese fonts.
Language Packs (MUI) in Windows 7
 Windows 7 Ultimate and most installations of Windows Enterprise include "Language Packs" that change the Windows and Internet Explorer user interface (menus, dialog boxes, etc.) into Chinese or other languages.
You do not need a Language Pack to display or type Chinese.
You do need a Language Pack for handwriting recognition input, or if you want Windows and IE menus in Chinese.
Language Packs will not change any of your English applications, and Chinese applications do not require Language Packs to display Chinese! MS Office Language Packs must be purchased separately. Other companies (like Adobe) usually require purchase of separate localized editions.
In Windows XP these were called as "Multilingual User Interface Packs", or MUI, and they were only available when purchased with Windows XP in a special bundle. But Windows Vista and Windows 7 Language Packs for over thirty different languages can be downloaded and added to Ultimate and Enterprise systems for no additional charge.
For more information, see:
Windows 7 Chinese Language Packs
Windows Vista Chinese Language Packs
Windows XP Chinese MUI Packs
Windows 7 Regional Wallpaper:
Scenic Desktop Pictures from China and Other Asian Countries
 OK, so this isn't exactly a language feature per se, but Windows 7 includes some very nice desktop backgrounds, and they seem to be different across regions. I've collected the pictures for Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and India and posted them to this wallpaper download page.
Other Features in Windows 7:
Chinese Handwriting Input, Speech Features and IDN Support
As this is "Pinyin Joe's" website, you won't see much here about other input methods, including handwriting input and speech features, but here's a some basic info:
- Every version of Windows 7 includes Chinese traditional character handwriting recognition, in the Taiwan/traditional IME's Phonetic keyboard "IME Pad". (After the 2010 Taiwan IME update, it disappeared from the "New Phonetic" IME pad, but it is still in the "Phonetic" IME pad.)
- Adding Chinese Language Packs will provide additional handwriting recognition features: both traditional and simplified Chinese characters in your Tablet PC Input Panel, which by the way works on all PCs not just tablets.
- You also need Chinese Language Packs for Chinese text-to-speech (featuring the voice of Microsoft Lili) and speech recognition input.
- I also don't have much to say about international domain name support, although this is big news for the Unicode and domaineer crowds.
For a brief backgrounder on all of these additional features, please see my earlier review of the Vista Beta 2 release and my intro to Windows 7 Chinese language packs.
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