DHTML Object Properties   DHTML Objects

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Specifies the state of an Input Method Editor ( IME ) that allows user entry and editing of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters.

CSS	{ ime-mode: 'auto' | active | inactive | disabled }
Script	object.style.imeMode [ = sMode ]

auto	Does not affect the status of the IME mode. This is the same as not specifying the ime-mode attribute.
active	Specifies that all characters are entered through the IME. Users can still deactivate the IME if they desire.
inactive	Specifies that all characters are entered without IME. Users can still activate the IME if they desire.
deactivated	Specifies that the IME is completely disabled. Users cannot activate the IME if the control has focus.

The property is read/write with a default value of auto; the proposed cascading stylesheet ( CSS ) extension attribute is inherited.

An Input Method Editor ( IME ) is a front-end processor that allows users to enter and edit Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters. The IME is an essential component for writing Chinese, Japanese, and Korean scripts. These writing systems have many more characters than can be encoded for a regular keyboard. The IMEs for these languages use sequences of base characters that describe an individual or group of characters to enter a larger set of characters. Base characters can be component letters from Hangul syllables, phonetic components for Japanese Kanji characters, or various combinations for Chinese characters.

Composition usually involves dictionary lookup and a contextual analysis, especially when homonyms are frequent, as in Japanese. A typical composition sequence starts with the entry of a few component characters followed by an optional selection from various choices and a confirmation command.

Input Method Editors have two principle states:

• Inactive mode. The keyboard acts like a regular one and input is limited to a small set of characters.
• Active mode. The IME accepts component characters or other processing commands.

HTML authors should consider providing some control to users by specifying an IME mode for a specific text entry. For example, if Japanese users enter information in a registration form, they may be required to enter their names in Kanji and Roman characters. By default, the users would have to make sure that the IME is inactive when entering their names in the Latin alphabet. The IME would be activated when entering the Kanji letters, and then deactivated to complete the form. By controlling the IME mode, these activation/deactivation steps are avoided.

The following sample illustrates the use of the ime-mode attribute.

<input TYPE = text STYLE = "ime-mode: active;" >

INPUT_text, TEXTAREA