4 June 2001
IMSample Current Implementation
The current implementation of IMSample has three modes.  The sample definition file I included (imsample.txt) contains definitions for the letters "a", "e" and "o".

This example works only with Unicode and has not been tested on Windows 95/98.  The final solution will be tested.  It may work, but I haven't tried it.

1. Direct input (menu appears in text, similar to Peter Hauer's FCI Chinese keyboard)
2. Menu displayed on vowels.  The window below is displayed when "a" is pressed.
    [Image deleted to save space]
3. Menu always visible, changes when keys pressed or menu clicked.  The initial state of the menu is:
    [Image deleted to save space]
It then changes to the same as the previous window, when "a" is pressed, or the "a" in the window is clicked with the mouse.

The window can be dragged around with the title bar, and it will stay where it last was put.  This position is global to all applications.

We tried to use the caret (blinking cursor) position, but some apps (e.g. MS Word) create their own caret and don't use the Windows routines, so this wasn't reliable.

To change the configuration of the imsample.dll, run the program rconfig.exe.  This will later be integrated into the Keyman shell interface (specifically the Configuration dialog will have a separate configure button that is activated when the appropriate keyboard is selected for configuration). 

If you install this keyboard into Keyman, the imsample.dll and imsample.txt files should be copied into the directory of the keyboard.  In Win2K this will be
  \documents and settings\all users\application data\tavultesoft\keyman\keyboards\imsample
or
  \documents and settings\yourname\local settings\application data\tavultesoft\keyman\keyboards\imsample

In Win95/98, it will be:
  \program files\tavultesoft\keyman\keyboards\imsample

With only a bit more work, this IME sample could be usable for just about any menu-type keyboard.