This page outlines the steps for installing East Asian languages on a computer running Windows XP/2003 so that the user can both read and write in them. It also shows how to adjust the font of the text so that characters can be more easily read.

A. Installing East Asian Languages

1. First, open the Control Panel dialog box by clicking on the “Start” button and then click on “Control Panel”. By default the Control Panel is in the Category View mode (as shown below). If that is the case, move on to step 2. If not, then you can either click on “Switch to Category View” to bring it up, or work in the “Classic View” (in that case just double click on the “Regional and Language Options” icon and go on to step 3).

2. If you are in the “Category View” mode, click on “Date, Time, Langauge, and Regional Options” under Pick a Category section. The “Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options” box should open up. Click on “Regional and Language Options” under or pick a Control Panel icon section.

3. Your “Regional and Language Options” box should now be open (if not, go back to step 1). Click on the “Languages” tab and check the box for “Install files for East Asian languages”.

4. A screen should pop up asking if you would like to “Install Supplemental Language Support”. Click “OK”.

5. After the language support files have been installed, click on the “Details…” button under the Text services and input languages section. The “Text Services and Input Languages” box should open up. Click “Add…” under the Installed services section.

6. After you have clicked the “Add…” button the “Add Input Language” dialogue box should open. Select “Chinese (PRC)” from the drop down list under Input Language, check the “Keyboard layout/IME” box, and then select “Chinese (Simplified) – Microsoft Pinyin IME 3.0” from the drop down menu. Click “OK”.

7. Now you should be back on the “Text Services and Input Languages” dialogue box. To switch back and forth between input languages, it will be best to add the language bar to your desktop. Do this by clicking “Language Bar…” under the Preferences section. Under “Language Bar Settings”, check the box that says “Show the Language bar on the desktop”. This should bring up a language bar on your desktop, which should allow you to switch between English [EN] and Chinese [CH]. The language bar can be dragged into the task bar if desired.

Another option for switching between languages is to use “Hot Keys”. To view or edit hot keys for changing between languages, click on “Key Settings” under the Preferences section. This should open a dialogue box that should show you and allow you to edit the hot keys for switching between languages. The default key sequence should be “Left Alt + Shift”. You can change the key sequence by highlighting “Switch between input languages” under the Hot keys for input languages section and then by clicking “Change Key Sequence…”. This should bring up another dialogue box, which should allow you to change your hot keys according to your preference. When finished, click “OK” to exit out of each dialogue box.

B. Adjusting Your Font

1. Most English operating systems are set up in Tahoma font, which is not a very common font for Chinese characters. You may want to change it to Times New Roman, MingLiu, or Microsoft Sans Serif for better visibility of characters. To do this, right click on your “Desktop”，and click “Properties” from the pull down menu. This should bring up the “Display Properties” dialogue box. Click on the “Appearance” tab and then click the “Advanced” button.
2. This should bring up the “Advanced Appearance” dialogue box. Select “Active Title Bar” from the drop down menu under the Item: section and then choose your font from the drop down menu under the Font: section. Everyone can set up their fonts according to their own desire.

This should allow for the Chinese characters usually seen in the Chinese version of Windows XP to appear in the English version of Windows XP.