Zev Handel's TimesPinyin Keyboard Layout

This keyboard layout, for Mac OS system X.3 and above, converts keystrokes similar to those used for the old TimesPinyin font into Unicode. Despite the name, the keyboard layout need not be used with Times font. It can be used with any font that contains the correct Unicode codepoints. Newer versions of many common fonts, such as Times New Roman and Arial, are able to display most toned pinyin letters. (For the less commonly seen letters you can use a font like the free Doulos SIL font.) The keyboard is NOT appropriate for use with the older, non-Unicode TimesPinyin font. You can download the Keyboard layout file below.

Features:

• The keystrokes are easy to remember for anyone used to working with the TimesPinyin font, or who is familiar with the ordinary Mac keyboard entry conventions for vowels with diacritics.
• The keystrokes have been modified slightly from those of the TimesPinyin font in order to make them more consistent and comprehensive.
• In most cases there is no need to change fonts to enter pinyin into your document.

Use:

The general rule for keystrokes is based on the Mac conventions for vowel diacritics:

• First tone: option-u + letter (mnemonic: the first-tone mark is visually similar to an umlaut)
• Second tone: option-e + letter (mnemonic: the second-tone mark is identical to an acute accent)
• Third tone: option-i + letter (mnemonic: the third-tone mark is visually similar to a circumflex)
• Fourth tone: option-` + letter (mnemonic: the fourth-tone mark is identical to a grave accent)

In addition to the basic five vowels (a e i o u) in both upper and lower case forms, the following toned letters can also be entered:

• toned m and M: type m or M as the letter following the option-key combination
• toned ü and Ü: type y or Y, or v or V, as the letter following the option-key combination
• toned ê and Ê: type f or F as the letter following the option-key combination

For untoned letters ü and Ü, type option-y or option-Y, or option-v or option-V. For untoned letters ê and Ê, type option-f or option-F.

Finally, the tone marks alone can be entered by typing the appropriate option-key combination followed by a space.

With these keystrokes it is possible to easily construct every possible pinyin syllable, in upper or lower case, in any of the four tones or without a tone mark. Please be aware, however, that some of the composed characters will not render properly in programs, such as Microsoft Word, that are not fully Unicode-compliant. This problem only affects the less commonly-used letters, such as toned m and toned ê.

Note that all other keys map in the usual (US English) way. Unless you need to use umlauts or circumflexes in your document, you can choose to use the TimesPinyin keyboard layout all the time.

System Requirements:

The keyboard layout is an xml document. OS X.3 or higher is required.

Download:

If you have trouble dowloading or using the layout, please feel free to let me know at the email address below.

Download the TimesPinyin keyboard layout version 1.1 for Macintosh.

Installation:

Double-click the downloaded .zip file. This will create a new folder with two files in it. The ReadMe file details the keystroke combinations for the keyboard layout.

Place the keyboard layout file TimesPinyin.keylayout in the folder "Keyboard Layouts" (you may need to create this folder if it doesn't already exist) in either the main Library folder or the Library folder in your user folder. Then logout or restart your computer.

Open the International panel in System Preferences, choose the Input Menu tab, locate TimesPinyin (it should be in alphabetical order right above Turkish), and enable it.

You can now choose TimesPinyin from the keyboard menu in your computer's menu bar, or by typing command-space.

Additional Resources:

For more information on methods for entering pinyin or other Chinese Romanizations on a Mac, see the Chinese Mac site Romanization page.

This page last modified August 19, 2008.