[wrwjpn]

Here is my problem:

Computer: iMac DV 400mHz 384mb RAM

I have 4 users on my iMac, we all need to use Japanese input and can input kana but 2 of us cannot change the kana to kanji and 2 of us can.

Here is what I did to try to solve the problem:

First I checked the International setting and the input settings. They were set to use Japanese.

Theh, I deleted the users preferences but that didn't work.

Next I reinstalled OSX 10.2 using the keeping the user and network settings. Then updated to 10.2.6 and installed all the Security updates and Java 1.4.1. This didn't work either.

Finally, I did a complete HD erase, reinstalled OSX 10.2 then updated to 10.2.6 and installed all the security updates as well as Java 1.4.1.
Added the users again to the iMac and set the keyboard input options to allow Japanese input, but the same 2 users are not able to change from kana to kanji.

The 2 said users do not have admin privileges. Can this be the reason? As this would be a bad thing to give the 2 users admin privileges I need another work around for this.

[wrwjpn]

I have solved the problem.

As Mac OS X is UNIX based, you have to follow the UNIX rules. The 2 said users login names were too short. One was only 2 letters and the other was only 3 letters. I increased their login names to 5 letters or more and the problem is solved.

I believe it was the login name's length. I maybe wrong and please someone correct if so. But this did slove the problem, so I will go with this assumption.

[Xeo]

That is a very odd problem and solution. First, let me say I'm glad it's working for you now. I've never had an issue with my kana going to kanji but my user has always been an admin and the short name has always been greater than 5 characters in length.

I don't understand how the length of the username would cause any difference, though. Truly, UNIX only cares about the id of the user as far as permissions go. The username is just a mnemonic attachment to the id.

I will test your theory out and post back.

[edit]
Still very odd. I created a new user with the short name "me". The user was not an admin. I was able to type kana and convert it to kanji without an issue.

Did you experience this in all applications or something specific? Were your short names in ASCII? I assume they have to be but I haven't tried otherwise. Was your system installed with Japanese as the default language? Mine is U.S. English. I'm interested in pin-pointing the cause of this issue.

[wrwjpn]

Xeo,

Well, I had thought it was a name length thing but it wasn't.

I had done a complete reinstall from scratch as stated earlier. I then setup the user accounts using defaults and it worked, so I thought it was user name length problem. I was wrong.

After that I had done some capablities settings and that stopped the kana changing to kanji again. All I wanted to do was prevent the users from installing unneeded software on the iMac. So I disable the installer app and the problem reappeared. I enable the installer app and they were able to change kana to kanji.

I am using a US version of Jaguar 10.2 on an iMac DV 400mHz sold for the US market. Of course I have updated everything to the latest version(10.2.6, Java 1.4.1, Security Updates and even IE update) I installed the system using English as the primary language and then enable the Kotoeri through the International pane in System Prefs.

So I guess it is a permission problem but I am at a loss on how to fix this problem or why it is happening.

[wataru]

Weird. I have no idea why disabling Installer.app would affect Kotoeri. But since Installer.app requires an admin password to use, why don't you just leave it alone since that solves the problem?

[Xeo]

Well, I inspected into the problem further. As I suspected, it has nothing to do with Installer.app itself, but rather limiting access to Applications. As soon as you check that box to "only allow these applications," you deny access to the essentials of kotoeri. I found that when you switch to Japanese input, two processes are launched. KotoeriUIServer and LAServer. LAServer is part of LangAnalysis.framework and I'm guessing it handles the kana > kanji. Neither of these processes launch when logged into a "limited" user.

I'll check to see if this behavior exists in Panther as well.

[Moose]

Originally posted by Xeo:
I'll check to see if this behavior exists in Panther as well.

If it does, make sure you write a bug on it so it can get fixed.

[Xeo]

Well, it's hard to say if this bug exists in Panther or not. The functionality is pretty much broken completely. If you check the "only these applications" box, almost app apps fail to open with an error dialog. It doesn't matter whether that app should have privileges or not, they just fail to open.

I think it's safe to assume that it's a work in progress. I'll try to remember to check this once a build comes out where that has been fixed.

[edit]
I submitted a bug report about Jaguar. Whether they will fix this before Panther comes out is hard to say but if the bug does exist in Panther maybe they will fix it in that as a result.

[wataru]

Perhaps it would be possible to manually edit the prefs file that contains the allowed apps. If it's stored in a plist then it should be simple to add the two Kotoeri background apps.

[wrwjpn]

Thanks Everyone.

At least now I know why it won't work.

Thanks for letting me know that it might not even work in Panther. Hope they fix this soon. As I also work in schools which use Macs this could be a problem for the tech admins.

At least I can put disk quotas on them to prevent them from filling up the HD with a lot of iTunes.

Cheers,
Bill

[Lew]

On a somewhat related note, what does 'kotoeri' actually mean? I can't seem to find it in my dictionaries.

[wrwjpn]

Originally posted by Mimizuku no Lew:
On a somewhat related note, what does 'kotoeri' actually mean? I can't seem to find it in my dictionaries.

It is the app for inputting Japanese characters from Apple.

[wataru]

Originally posted by Mimizuku no Lew:
On a somewhat related note, what does 'kotoeri' actually mean? I can't seem to find it in my dictionaries.

In the Kotoeri help docs, it says:

「ことえり」は、Mac OS の日本語入力プログラムです。源氏物語の一節にある「言選り」、「言葉を選ぶ」という意味の言葉から名付け られました。

Translation:

"Kotoeri" is the Mac OS's Japanese input program. It was named after the word "kotoeri," which is found in a passage of the Tale of Genji and means "to choose a word."

So in other words, it's not in your dictionaries because it's too old. It's classical Japanese.

Note: This post was made in Camino because Safari's Unicode text input still sucks ass for some reason.

[Lew]

Domo, Wataru-san

(I couldn't be bothered starting Camino )