New Multilingual Features in Windows XP
Professional
Windows XP Professional includes technologies that enhance your
company's ability to do business in multiple languages and/or across
multiple countries/regions.
Support for 135 locales Versions of Microsoft®
Windows® earlier than Windows XP Professional support up to 126
locales. Windows XP Professional adds support for nine additional
locales: Galician, Gujarati, Kannada, Kyrgyz, Mongolian (Cyrillic),
Punjabi, Divehi, Syriac, and Telugu.
Built-in language support Each language version
of Windows XP Professional provides built-in support for editing
documents in hundreds of languages, grouped into three language
collections. The Basic Language Collection, which is always installed,
supports most Western languages. The Complex Script and Right-to-Left
Language Collection can be installed to support languages such as Arabic,
Hebrew, Indic, or Thai, and the East Asian Language Collection can be
installed to support Simplified or Traditional Chinese, Japanese, or
Korean.
Users can change input languages, keyboard layouts, and other regional
options (except for the language for non-Unicode programs) without
restarting the computer in order for the changes to take effect.
Administrators can customize the desktop with new tools, such as the
Language Toolbar, to simplify switching languages, keyboard layouts, and
other regional options.
Redesigned Regional and Language Options Control
Panel The Control Panel for regional and language
options has been redesigned to make it easier to add and change input
languages and keyboard layouts; change standards and formats for
displaying dates, amounts, and currencies; set the default location for
Web content; and change the language for non-Unicode programs. The most
frequently used options are now easier to find and use.
New, simplified terminology The terminology
used in versions of Windows earlier than Windows XP Professional has
been updated to simpler, more descriptive terms:
- Standards and Formats, which determines the formats used to
display dates, times, currency, numbers, and the sorting order of text,
was previously called the User Locale.
- Input Language, which specifies the combination of the
language and keyboard layout used to enter text, was previously called
the Input Locale.
- Language for Non-Unicode Programs, which specifies the
default code pages and fonts for running non-Unicode programs, was
previously called the System Locale.
Additional answer file and unattended mode Setup
options Windows XP Professional includes four
new language keys that you can use in the [RegionalSettings] section of
answer files. These keys make it easier for administrators to customize
language settings, such as the default input language for new user
accounts. Other features provide more options for customizing unattended
mode setups and silent configurations after setup.
Updated multilingual troubleshooter The
Multilingual Document Consultant in Windows XP Professional Help and
Support Center can assist you in diagnosing and resolving problems with
displaying or entering different languages.
Improved Windows XP Professional Multilingual User Interface
Pack The Windows XP Professional Multilingual
User Interface Pack (MUI Pack) ensures that most of the operating system
user interface — including the Start and Programs menus, alerts and dialog
boxes, and the Windows XP Professional Help and Support Center —
appears in the localized language that has been selected as the default.
(In Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Professional MultiLanguage Version, for
example, a user who switches the user interface language to German might
still find some user interface elements displayed in English.)
Although it is based on the code of the Microsoft® Windows® XP
Professional International English language version, the MUI Pack also
includes more localized components that make it easier to develop
multilingual applications. New Windows Installer MUI language packages
reduce storage space requirements on network servers or CD images, and
make it easier for administrators to set up, and users to install,
additional user interface languages.
The MUI Pack also includes improved local drivers, makes roaming
easier, and simplifies remote administration over a corporate network. |