しあわせ

Finally.
I’ve cleaned up the display as best I can for Windows. I don’t know whether it is just that I am am used to the display on the Mac, but I’m not 100% happy with how it looks on Windows XP. Maybe it looks better on a more recent release.
I’ve changed the colour to blue for the interface elements. Windows requires the Meiryo font or rather will probably look best with Meiryo. Unfortunately I cannot manage to resolve the display of the Chuta dictionary from within FileMaker, which cuts down the amount that is automated for a Windows user. Mac and Windows use the same base file and I just detect which platform it is running on and the changes happen automatically (more or less!). From the next version (whenever that might be) I hope to have a simultaneous release through more checking as I go along.

The downloads are here and I have a movie demonstrating Kanji Sieve instead of help files.

––update 01Aug10––
And already I have an update. When I was setting conditional formatting for Windows I inadvertently removed the record highlighting from the list view. Version 0.3.2 adds this back. I haven’t uploaded full packages for this just the Kanji Sieve Data.usr file. Replace the .usr file in v0.3.1 with this file. Unfortunately I haven’t implemented import of records yet, so any records you have will have to be re-entered.

Kanji Sieve for Mac v0.3 is ready. Unfortunately due to pressing matters elsewhere this is about as far as I can go for now.
Unavoidably that means it could be a few months before a Windows version appears.
Rather than sit on the Mac version which is functional, now that I have permissions for the Chuta dictionary and Flashcard Deluxe features I decided to upload it.
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I finally bought myself an iPod Touch about a month ago. I wanted something to allow me to use electronic flashcards on the move. On the train I can use my DS and Kakitorikun but it’s impossible to use pen input properly on the bounce around tube journey. With the Touch I’ve more than doubled the amount of time I can study on the otherwise mostly unproductive daily commute, although I read a bit less as a consequence. I also find myself using it at other spare moments, a couple of minutes here and there going through flashcards. Read the rest of this entry »

Or outside of Japan the DSi XL. But a friend has brought me a Japanese DSi LL a month or so ahead of the European launch. Who needs an Apple iPad?
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Long ago before I started learning Japanese, FileMaker Pro was one of my favourite programs. Then I started spending most of my time on Japanese and FileMaker was sidelined, especially as it didn’t support Japanese characters at that time. It’s interesting though, I get the same fun from learning Japanese as I did when I solved a problem using FileMaker.

Lately I’ve taken a look at the Kanjidic2 XML file. I’d like to do a little more than a standard dictionary search. The various sites and standalones don’t quite do what I’d like. I’d like to be able to pull out the data for which JLPT2 kanji are also Grade 4 for instance. I’d like to add my own notes, set up my own cross references, link it to Kradfile, link it to websites, get rid of the most annoying Heisig definitions (old-boy for 君 springs to mind). I have ideas for kanji learning I’d like to integrate. Although I wonder if I won’t have Yet Another Japanese Dictionary Reader in what is already a crowded market.

Anyhow to start to do this I need to put it into a database. FileMaker is the only real candidate to do what I want easily. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you miss out small tsu?
Forget when to lengthen a vowel?
Use the wrong voicing?
Help may be at hand from Purdue University. It is an old project (the last update was 2002) but they have available custom dictionaries for Japanese IME systems. I downloaded the extra dictionaries for Kotoeri. They also have files for Windows XP.
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