PinyinTones was written by Tao Yue in July 2010.
If you'd like to contribute towards the development of PinyinTones, donations are accepted via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=LWT62H5K87E7E
Description
PinyinTones provides a simple way to type Pinyin tone marks on your Windows PC. No searching through lists of symbols. No need to memorize key combinations for alternative keyboards. No copying-and-pasting. And best of all, no need to think about which vowel the tone goes over!
Type Pinyin naturally, as you think, into
any Windows program. Simply type the Pinyin syllable, and then type a 1, 2, 3, or 4 to add the appropriate tone mark. Use the "v" key to type a "ü". PinyinTones will place the tone mark on the correct vowel in a combination, according to the rules of Pinyin orthography.
For example:
- Type: Wo3men2 dou1 hui4 yong4 PinyinTones da3 Pin1yin1.
- To get: Wǒmén dōu huì yòng PinyinTones dǎ Pīnyīn.
How to Install
Select either the 32-bit or 64-bit installer package, matching your version of Windows. The 64-bit installer package includes
both the 32-bit and 64-bit builds of PinyinTones. The installer package will automatically download and install the Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (32-bit and/or 64-bit) if you do not already have it installed.
PinyinTones is written for the Windows Text Services Framework.
- Recommended for use on Windows Vista and 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit.
- Not recommended for use on Windows XP, where it will work only in TSF-aware applications such as Microsoft Word. XP does not have a compatibility layer for non-TSF programs.
Note: PinyinTones will show up as a
Japanese text service. This was deliberately done to avoid a bug in Microsoft Word that causes accented Pinyin to appear in an East Asian font when a Chinese text service is used, leaving the surrounding consonants in a Western font. By registering itself as a Japanese text service, PinyinTones does not trigger this behavior in Microsoft Word.
How to Use PinyinTones
Like any other Windows text service, PinyinTones shows up in the Language Band, which appears by default at the bottom-right of your taskbar. Cycle through the languages by pressing Alt + LeftShift. When you reach Japanese, make sure PinyinTones is the selected text service. The icon for PinyinTones is the third-tone mark (caron), as shown below.
