Mac OS X Server lets you edit, display, and print Japanese text. Most of the applications included with this release are capable of handling the complex language using the internationalization feature of Mac OS X Server. In addition, applications developed for Mac OS X Server are automatically Japanese-ready, unless they have language dependent needs or features.

This document describes features and issues specific to Japanese.

Note: This document was installed by Mac OS X Server in /System/Documentation/ReadMe. For a list of other release notes see:
Article 30925: " Mac OS X Server: Release Notes "

Contents

• Configuring the system default character encoding
• New features
• Known issues

Configuring the system default character encoding

Mac OS X Server uses the Unicode character set. Unicode lets applications handle thousands of characters from multiple languages, including Japanese, simultanously.

Note : Mac OS X Server provides the transmission-friendly format of Unicode (UTF8) as the default system encoding.

To provide backward compatibility and inter-operability on other platforms, Mac OS X Server allows users to configure the system's default character encoding. The system character encoding setting governs how Mac OS X Server treats "plain text" files, filename character encoding, and application-specific default character encoding configurations such as MailViewer's default character encoding for plain text messages.

Because the default setting is Mac OS Roman, US and Western European users typically do not neeed to change the encoding setting. On the other hand, Japanese users should set their system default encoding to Japanese EUC. Setup Assistant automatically sets the configuration to Japanese EUC if the user select Japanese as the system language.

When you switch to a Japanese setting, the following components change their default character encoding handling:

• Mac OS X Server reads and writes plain text files in Japanese EUC character encoding if they are not already in Unicode.
• The default value for the Java "file.encodng" property is set to EUCJIS.
• The default character encoding for plain text messages sent or received by MailViewer is set to ISO 2022 JP.

New features

The following new features have been added for Japanese text handling.

Automatic default input server launch at login

Workspace Manager now opens and initializes the user's default input server when the user logs in to the server. This reduces the delay before opening the input server the first time. The Canna Japanese Input Method is initialized if the system language is set to Japanese.

Default system character encoding configuration at installation

Setup Assistant now configures the default system character encoding to Japanese EUC if the system language is set to Japanese.

Known issues

Apple JIS keyboard support

On Apple JIS keyboards, typing the Yen (¥) key generates a backslash (\) character. To enter the Yen symbol, type Option+Y.

Font settings in Japanese environment

For the best look and performance, you should change the font settings to use Japanese fonts using the Appearance control panel.

You cannot select fixed variants of the Heisei fonts for the Fixed Pitch Font setting.

Mac OS compatibility

For the Japanese Mac OS, the startup disk image requires at least 150 MB of disk space, not 100 MB as mentioned in About Mac OS Compatibility.