Content

Contents For DingDang Help

About The Program and Getting Started

About The Shareware Version

How To...

Setup File DINGDANG.INI In Windows Directory

Input English

Input Chinese By Pin1 Yin1 Method

Input Chinese By Qu1 Wei4 Method

Input Chinese By Cang1 Jie2 Method

Use Lian2 Xiang3 in Input

Use Traditional Characters (Fan2 Ti3 Zi4)

Print Documents

Format Documents

Edit Text

Contact The Author

Commands

File Menu Commands

Edit Menu Commands

Input Menu Commands

Font Menu Commands


About The Program

About the Program ...

DingDang for Windows is a Chinese word processor designed to run under MS Windows version 3.1 or OS/2 version 2.1 and above.  It is a Windows MDI (multiple document interface) application so that you can edit as many files as you want. Each file is currently limited to 64K in size.  It uses standard GB coded ASCII text format.  It can write Chinese, Japanese, and Russian as well as English.

The Windows program has some distinct advantages over DOS programs. The program prints through the standard Windows printer driver so it can print on any printer that Windows 3.1 supports.  It can exchange text with other programs with cut and paste. However, the other program must understand GB code to display Chinese characters.  You may copy Chinese characters as a bitmap image which can be pasted into any word processor which understands bitmap graphic images.  The MDI feature allows you to work with several documents at the same time.

It supports several input methods.  Pinyin input is easy to learn.  It is popular for beginners.  Cangjie is fast when you do a lot of Chinese text editing.  Quwei input is handy when you need to find the GB code of a character.  If you can not find a character from the current chracter font file, you can use DingDang Fontedit (Windows 3.1 only) to make one.

Getting Started

To help you to get a quick start without going into detailed setup: copy DINGDANG.INI into you Windows directory (normally C:\WINDOWS), copy all programs and files into one subdirectory on your hard disk, say C:\DDWIN. Now start your Windows 3.1 and open a program group. From the Program Manager menu, choose File/New/Program Item/OK, then type the following information:

Description: DingDang

Command Line: C:\DDWIN\DDWIN.EXE

Working Directory: C:\DDWIN

Let us see if you can type some Chinese.  If you know pinyin system in Chinese, you can choose pinyin input method.  Assume you choose menu item "input", then "quanpin", which is a pinyin input without using the tones, you will see your input dialog window at bottom left corner.  Type the following: ding3 dang1 zho0 wen2 ruan0 jian1 (DingDang Chinese word processor in Chinese).  Note that we only typed "zho" for "zhong".  This is not a mistake, rather a feature: DingDang will search the first match as you are typing.  Please read the input section to find more on input method.

To check your printer, just start the program, open file one of the sample files included, for example, PRINTTST.GB, and print the file.  To use traditional characters, choose menu item "Font", then check "Complex".  To make this the default when program start, just choose "Set As Default".  Formatting your output (change font, size, choose underline etc.) is not WSWG (what you see is what you get) like most English word processor. Embedding "formatting code" method is used.  This is mainly for the simplicity, and have better control of the ourput. It dose require more knowledge from user.  I would encourage you to get confortable to type and edit your documentation before trying to format your output.  Make sure to read how to use lian2 xiang3 section since that will increase your input speed greatly.


Shareware

Shareware version

You should use the shareware version for testing only.  The shareware version of the DingDang Chinese word processor has the following restrictions:

1.	You will see this help screen instead of the main window when you start the main program.

2.	Only essential files are included.

The shareware version is distributed with one 16x16 simple bitmap font to save space.  The regular version includes 16x16 complex (traditional) font plus five 24x24 additional fonts: song4, kai3, fang3 song4, hei1 and fan2.  Text can be scaled to any size when printing.

Now you may double click the upper left box to close the help window or choose to read the following topics:

Main help index

Contact the author

If you have multimedia system on your computer, I suggest you also test the program DingDang Play which can read GB coded file and speak in standard mandarin Chinese.  You should find the file in the following anonymous ftp site (version number may differ):

  ftp.coast.net: /SimTel/msdos/sound/ddplay12.zip


File Menu

File Menu Commands

Untitled

Opens a new document with file name "untitled.gb". You should use Save As option to save the file with a different file name.

Open (Current Window)

Opens an existing GB coded file or creates a new file. It will close the current file in the active window first. If a file is larger than 64K in size, only the first 64K will be read into the editing buffer.

Open (New Window)

Opens an existing GB coded file or creates a new file in a new window.

Save

Saves changes to the document you have been working on. When you choose Save, the document remains open so you can continue working on it. Save will be grayed if you have not made any changes to the document.

Save As

Saves a new or existing document. You can name a new document or save an existing document under a new name. The original document remains unchanged. When you choose Save As, the document remains open so you can continue working on it.

Print

Prints one copy of the document. Since text is printed as a graphic image, it is slow. Please be patient.

Print Setup

Selects a printer and sets printing options such as paper orientation, print quality,  etc.. The available options depend on the type of the printer selected.

Exit

Closes the document you have been working on and quits the program. You will be asked to save your file before quitting if you have made any changes to the file.


Edit Menu

Edit Menu Commands

Cut

Deletes text from a document and places it onto the Clipboard, replacing the previous Clipboard contents.

Copy Text

Copies text from a document onto the Clipboard, leaving the original document intact and replacing the previous Clipboard contents.

Copy Bitmap

Copies text from a document onto the Clipboard as a bitmap image, leaving the original document intact and replacing the previous Clipboard contents. The image can be pasted into a non-Chinese word processor or paint program like MS Paintbrush.

Paste

Pastes a copy of the Clipboard contents at the insertion point or replaces selected text in a document. You can not paste a graphics image into a DingDang document.

Delete

Deletes selected text from a document, but does not place the text onto the Clipboard. You use Delete instead of Cut when you want to delete text from the current document but you have text in the Clipboard that you want to keep.

Insert Formatting Code

A dialog box will appear so you can add a formatting code to the document. If you choose OK, then the text inside the edit box will be inserted into document. The real purpose of the dialog box is to serve you as a handy reference to the formatting codes. You can also type the formatting code directly into the document. Make sure Reveal Formatting Code is checked, which is the default.

Reveal Formatting Code

When checked, all the formatting codes are shown as regular text. When un-checked, formatting codes will not be displayed. It is important to have delimiter characters (~) paired correctly. Otherwise unexpected results may happen.


Input Menu

Input Menu Commands

Tip: I found it convenient to move the input dialog window below the main window so that they don't overlap.

PinYin

Activate Pin Yin dialog box so Chinese characters can be typed by the Pin Yin method.  Pin Yin input is easy, but slow.  It also requires that you are familiar with the pronunciation of the character.

If you are not able to locate  a characters, you may want to browse file PINYIN.GB to find out why.

QuanPin

Activate Quan Pin dialog box so Chinese characters can be typed if you know the pinyin of the character.  This is similar to Pin Yin except that tone information is not needed.   Use dot character '.' to browse the remainning characters if there are more than 10 characters of the same pinyin.

QuWei

Activate quewei dialog box so Chinese characters can be typed by Qu Wei method.  Qu Wei code is also called Guo Biao Qu Wei code.  Each Chinese character is represented by two graphics characters.  The first represents Qu, and the second Wei.  Best for typing punctuation, Japanese characters, Russian characters and graphics characters.

CangJie

Activate cangjie dialog box so Chinese characters can be typed by Cang Jie method.  Cang Jie input is very fast and efficient.  It does require you to learn some basic rules before you can comfortably use it.

Please read the file CANGJIE.GB for more information. You should also print the file CJB.PCX with Windows Paintbrush program.

Find Cangjie code from pinyin / GB code.

Toggle Windows

Press F8 to toggle between edit window or input dialog window.  The cursor will be placed in the same place when you left the window.

Guo Biao & Pin Yin

Choose this menu item to reveal the standard Guo Biao Wu Wei code and the Pin Yin of the Chinese character under the cursor.


Font Menu

Font Menu Commands

Simple / Complex

Choose simple if you want to use simple characters (used mainly inside China).  Choose complex if you want to use complex characters (used mainly outside China). Complex characters are also called traditional characters. You can change back and forth easily. The default font is simple (Song16).

Pure Chinese

If this menu item is checked, then English letters will be translated to their corresponding Chinese characters, except '.' and '`', which will be translated to period (jue4 huao4) and duen4 huao4 respectively.

Set As Default

Choose this menu item to change the default font to the current font selected. Next time you start the program, this font will be used as the default font.  You need to do this only once.


Delimiter Character

Delimiter Characters

Formatting codes are embedded into documents inside a pair of delimiter characters.  The default character is '~'.  You can use a different delimiter character. For example, you can use the non-printable character ascii code 127 as delimiter character.  However, your documenet may not be compatible with documents from other people. The sample files included use '~' as the delimiter character. See setup file DINGDANG.INI.

Two delimiter characters in a row (~~ in document) will output one ~ character when printed.


Find Cang Jie code from Pin Yin / GB code

If you can't figure out the Cang Jie code of the character, but you can type the character by using either the Pin Yin or  Qu Wei method, you can do the following: First show the character by using the Pin Yin or Qu Wei dialog box. Now open Cang Jie dialog box.  The Cang Jie code of the character will be shown in the edit box.


DINGDANG.INI

Setup file DINGDANG.INI in window directory

If you do not have a file DINGDANG.INI in your window directory (normally C:\WINDOWS), DingDang will make one for you as follows:

[dd]

left margin=100

right margin=100

top margin=100

bottom margin=100

char skip=0

baseline skip=58

paragraph skip=0

char width=32

char height=36

pure Chinese=0

delimited char=126

[font]

initial = 1

Song16=song16.fon

Fan16=fan16.fon

You can edit this file with any DOS editor such as EDIT or DDWIN. For example, if your font file path is d:\ddwin\, then you may use the following in font section:

[font]

Initial=2

song16=d:\ddwin\song16.fon

fan16=d:\ddwin\fan16.fon

SONG24=d:\ddwin\song24.fon

FAN24=d:\ddwin\fan24.fon

The general syntax under [dd] section is: String=Number, where String must be exactly typed as the above and number is an integer. Baseline skip is distance between two line so that it should be larger than char height. Use 0=no 1=yes for pure Chinese. Delimiter char is normally '~' (code 126). See Delimiter Characters.

The general syntax under [font] section is: FontName=Path, where FontName must end with either "16" or "24" and path is any valid DOS path name. 24x24 bitmap fonts are used in printing only.


Input English

English letters can be typed directly from the keyboard.

When the "pure Chinese" menu item under menu "Font" is checked, the Chinese character version of the English letters will be printed.

DingDang can edit normal DOS text file such as DINGDANG.INI or AUTOEXEC.BAT when "pure Chinese" mode is off.


Input PinYin

Input Chinese by Pin Yin method

1.	Open / activate the Pin Yin dialog box.

2.	Type the Pin Yin followed by a number 1-5 indicating the tone.  For example, in "da4" (big), da is the Pin Yin, 4 is the tone (di4 si4 sheng1). In "ding1" (surname), ding is the Pin Yin, 1 is the tone (di4 yi1 sheng1).  Note that "female" is "lu:3" in Pin Yin.

3.	All characters matching the above Pin Yin will be listed.  Now you may choose the correct character by typing the letter immediately above it or clicking the mouse button on it.

4.	Press return.

You may search the Pin Yin database by using the scroll bar.

Pin Yin code database is stored in file DDWIN.PY.  Each line represents a pinyin and the Chinese characters with the pronouncement.  Although all the "pinyin" have special meanings in Chinese spelling system, the program actually treats them as symbols.  As long as it finds a match from characters you typed, it displays the Chinese characters on the same line.  This means that you may add your own "pinyin" lines in the file.  You can use any combination of letters as your "pinyin", and put the Chinese characters you use frequently on the same line.  For example, "name(your Chinese name)".  Hint: letter V is not used in Chinese Pin Yin system.

For people who do not use tones:

1.	Open / activate the Quan Pin dialog box.

2.	Type the Pin Yin, the first 10 characters will be found in the box.

3.	If your character is not displayed, press '.' key to display it.

4.	Press return.

Other features are similar to Pin Yin.  The Quan Pin database is stored in file DDWIN.QP.


Input QuWei

Input Chinese by Qu Wei method

1.	Open / activate the Qu Wei dialog box.

2.	Type the two letters representing the Qu1.

3.	All characters in this Qu will be listed. Now you may choose the correct character by typing the Wei4 or clicking the mouse button on it.

You may search the Qu Wei database by using the scroll bar.


Input CangJie

Input Chinese by Cang Jie method

1. 	Open / activate the Cang Jie dialog box.

2.	Type Cang Jie codes of the character.

3.	You may need to type a space character if the Cang Jie code is less than 5 letters.

4.	Press return if you see the character appear on the top left of the dialog box.

You may search the Cang Jie database by using the scroll bar.

Cang Jie code database is stored in file DDWIN.CJ.  Each Chinese character starting from GB code B0A1 is represented by 5 letters.  First letter must be capitalized.  Each line represents 15 Chinese characters.  Trailling spaces can not be removed.  You may edit the file in case of Cang Jie code error or you simply think that your way of "cangjie" is better.

Find Cang Jie code from Pin Yin / GB code.


Lian Xiang Method

Using Lian Xiang method in input

Lian Xiang in Chinese means "in conjunction with". When you are likely to type certain characters whenever you type a particular character, you can put them in DDWIN.LX.

The Lian Xiang method is available in Pin Yin and Cang Jie input. When you use Pin Yin or Cang Jie input, DingDang will try to open the file DDWIN.LX in the current directory. If it is found, DingDang will display the Lian Xiang characters along with the character you typed.  If you click on one of the displayed Lian Xiang characters, it will be placed in the document.

The file DDWIN.LX is a normal GB text file and can be edited by the DingDang word processor. You can customize this file. You may even have several DDWIN.LX files in different directories for your special needs. One DDWIN.LX file is included with the standard version of DingDang for Windows.

You can update your Lian Xiang file automatically by choosing menu item "Input", then "Update LianXiang".  DingDang will search all characters in the current document starting from the current cursor position.  It compares with each lines in Lian Xiang file DDWIN.LX, and add the immediately following characters to Lian Xiang file if find.  You can update Lian Xiang dictionary file when you are writing your document in fly.  Lian Xiang characters can only be picked by mouse.  If a character you seldom use, then you may want to delete it from the Lian Xiang file.  Likewise, if you use a character often, then you probably want to add it to the Lian Xiang file.  When updating Lian Xiang file, the program will always put the most recently matched character to the first Lian Xiang (column 2) position in file.  There is maximum of 16 characters of Lian Xiang characters for each line in the file.


Traditional / simplified characters

Using the traditional characters

The default font is song16.fon which is the simplified character set (jian3 ti3 zi4). If you would prefer to use the traditional / complex character set (fan2 ti3 zi4), just choose "Complex" menu item under "Font".  The "Initial" entry in [font] section in user profile will be changed.

See Setup file DINGDANG.INI in the Windows directory.


Printing  Document

Printing Documents

If your printer setup is not correct, do the following:

1	From the File menu, choose Print Setup.

2	Select the correct printer and change any options as appropriate, and then choose the OK button.

To print the document:

1	From the File menu, choose Print.

2	Change any options if needed, then choose the OK button.

You can change the default page format information in file DINGDANG.INI.  Also see Format Documents.


Format Document

Format Documents

You can change the following default page format settings in file DINGDANG.INI under section [dd]:

left margin = 100

right margin = 100

top margin = 100

bottom margin = 100

baseline skip = 54

character skip = 0

paragraph skip = 0

character width = 32

character height = 36

DingDang uses a unit of 1/10 of a millimeter, so "left margin = 100" sets the left margin to 10 millimeters.

Additional format statements can be inserted into document.  See Delimiter Characters for more information.  The following is the list of format statements:

Syntax	Description (# = a number, typically tenths of a millimeter)

ML#	Set left margin

MR#	Set right margin

MT#	Set top margin

MB#	Set bottom margin

OL#	Distance between two lines

OC#	Space added to character

OP#	Space added to end of paragraph

OZ# # 	Chinese character width, height

OX#	Skip right (positive number) or left (negative number)

OY#	Skip down (positive number) or up (negative number)

OM# # 	Move to absolute position on paper

N	New page

Ffontname	Change font to fontname, example: ~FKAI24~ change font to 24x24 KAI

E# # # # # #	Change English font (see below)

The unit used is 1/10 of a millimeter.  The fonts name like "Fan16" or "KAI24" must be listed under [font] in file dingdang.ini and the font files must exist. The formattings can be grouped like ~FSONG24 OZ48 48 OL60~, assuming '~' is the delimiter character.

The 6 numbers needed for English fonts are height, width, weight (0-900), italic (0-1), underline (0-1) and pitch. These correspond to parameters of the CreateFont Windows API call. Height and width are in 1/10 millimeter unit. You can set width=0 to let Windows choose it. For weight: 400=normal, 700=bold, 0=default. For italic and underline: 0=off, 1=on. Pitch is really pitch and family. It must be two digits. The first digit: 0=default, 1=Times Roman, 2=Swiss, 3=Modern, 4=Script. For the second digit: 0=default, 1=fixed pitch, 2=variable. For example, pitch=21 is a variable width (proportional) Swiss Font family. Not all combinations of font family and size are available. Windows will simply use the best match for the font you choose.

OZ command will automatically imply an E command. For example, ~OZ 36 30~ will automatically add a ~E 36 0 0 0 0 0~ format command.


Editing Text

Press BACKSPACE to delete the character to the left of the insertion point.  Press DEL to delete the character to the right of the insertion point. Press and hold the mouse button to select text.

To delete more than one character:

1	Select the text you want to delete.

2	Choose Delete from the Edit menu, or choose Cut from the Edit menu to place the text on to the Clipboard.

To copy text:

1	Select the text you want to copy.

2	Choose Copy from the Edit menu.

3	Move the mouse pointer to the place you want to insert the copy.

4	Choose Paste from the Edit menu.

To move text:

1	Select the text you want to move.

2	Choose Cut from the Edit menu.

3	Move the mouse pointer to the place you want to insert the text.

4	Choose Paste from the Edit menu.


Contact the author

If you have questions, you can write to:

Yijun Ding

12640 Southridge Drive

Little Rock, AR 72212

USA

phone: (501) 228-5608

Internet e-mail can be sent to: xxye@curie.ualr.edu

registration fee: $40

If you like the program, please register your copy by sending $40 (shipping included) to the above address.  Personal check or money order (cashable in US bank) accepted.  You will get the following (files marked with a * are not included in the shareware version):

*DDWIN.EXE	Standard version (Windows 3.1).

*FONTEDIT.EXE	Create or edit characters (Windows 3.1).

 DDWIN.HLP	On line help documentation.

 DDWIN.PY	User changeable Pin Yin code database.

 DDWIN.QP	User changeable Quan Pin code database.

 DDWIN.CJ	User changeable Cang Jie code database.

 DDWIN.LX	User definable Lian Xiang dictionary.

 DINGDANG.INI	DDWIN sample initial file.

 SONG16.FON	Song Ti 16x16 bitmap fonts.

*FAN16.FON	Fan Ti (traditional) 16x16 bitmap fonts.

*SONG24.FON	Song Ti 24x24 fonts.

*KAI24.FON	Fai Ti 24x24 fonts.

*HEI24.FON	Hei Ti 24x24 fonts.

*FANG24.FON	Fang Song Ti 24x24 fonts.

*FAN24.FON	Fan Ti (traditional) 24x24 fonts.

*DDWIN.DOC	ASCII version of DDWIN.HLP.

 READ.ME	Brief introduction.

 PRINTTST.GB	Printer test file.

 CANGJIE.GB	Cang Jie input documentation.

*YE.GB	Chinese poem (test all 24x24 printer fonts).

*CMxxxx.GB	One issue of the Hua Xia Wen Zai magazine.