Information Center

Understanding Thai language support

Understanding supported platforms
Using Thai monospaced font
Configuring Internet Explorer Thai
Configuring Netscape Communicator
Configuring a session to use Thai raster font (THA3270)
Configuring a workstation with the Thai host code page
Configuring your display mode
Specifying Thai display composed mode
Configuring a 3270 printer session (PDT mode)
Creating a Thai PDT file for a Thai printer
Configuring a 3270 printer session (GDI mode)
Configuring a 3270 printer session (Adobe PDF mode)
Configuring a 5250 printer session
Using shortcut keys to switch keyboards between Thai and Latin
Assign keys to Thai ancient characters
Understanding Thai keyboard sequence checking
Identifying the language shift indicator
Using cut, copy, and paste support
Understanding the limitations of Thai support

Understanding supported platforms

For Thai support, you must run the Host On-Demand client on one of the following Thai operating systems: The following browsers are supported for Thai enablement of Host On-Demand: Thai sessions can run on non-Thai operating systems (Windows, OS/2, Linux, and AIX) if you select Thai raster font (THA3270) for the font name. However, you will not be able to do the following:

Using Thai monospaced font

Host On-Demand provides the Thai monospaced font Courier Thai for Windows Thai edition. To install the Courier Thai font file (courth.ttf), take the following steps:
  1. Download the file to your client. Right-click the link to download the file.
  2. Copy the file to the fonts folder located in the Windows Control Panel.

Configuring Internet Explorer

Microsoft Java Virtual Machine (JVM) on Internet Explorer does not specify the correct font for Thai. To fix this, do the following:
  1. Download the registry file to your client. Right-click the link to download the file.
  2. Run regedit.exe (Registry Editor).
  3. Click Registry > Import Registry File from menu. The Import Registry File window appears.
  4. Select the registry file you downloaded in the first step, and click OK.
  5. Close the Registry Editor.
  6. Restart Internet Explorer with Host On-Demand.

Configuring Netscape Communicator

If the active font control file (font.properties) in Netscape Communicator does not include Thai character set, copy the properties file listed below to replace font.properties.th on Netscape 6.0 and later.

The active font control file for Netscape 7.0 is located in the \Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.0_03\lib.

The new properties file is located in the hostondemand\hod\samples\fonts\thai directory, where hostondemand is your Host On-Demand installation directory. Right-click the following link to download the active font file and replace the active font control file with this new font.properties file: font.properties.th for Windows (using Netscape 6.0 and later)

Configuring a session to use Thai raster font (THA3270)

Thai raster font (THA3270) is similar to the sans-serif default font used by Personal Communications. To configure a session to use Thai raster font, do the following
  1. Right-click a configured session icon.
  2. Click Properties.
  3. Select 838 Thai or 1160 Thai Euro for the Host Code-Page.
  4. Click the Screen tab.
  5. Select THA3270 for Font Name.

Configuring a workstation with the Thai host code page

To configure a workstation with the Thai host code page, take the following steps:

  1. Right-click a configured session icon.
  2. Click Properties.
  3. Select one of the following code pages for Thai:

Configuring your display mode

You can configure the Thai display mode from your session panel by doing the following:
  1. Right-click a configured session icon.
  2. Click Properties.
  3. Select a Host Code-Page for Thai.
  4. Click the Language tab.
  5. Select Thai display mode from Thai Display Mode window.
  6. Click OK.
You can also change the Thai display mode settings in an active Host On-Demand session by doing the following:
  1. On the View menu, click Thai Display Mode.
  2. Select Thai display mode from Thai Display Mode window.
  3. Click OK.

Specifying Thai display composed mode

You can specify the character composition and alignment for your text windows by indicating the display composed mode on the Thai Display Mode window. Specify one of the following modes:
Mode 1 - Non-compose mode
No character composition occurs in this mode.
Mode 2 - No alignment
Thai characters are auto-composed in this mode. No column realignment is performed.
Mode 3 - Space alignment
In this mode of composing, three consecutive spaces cause column realignment. The realignment occurs whenever composing routine finds three consecutive spaces. If all fields have at least three trailing spaces, then all fields of all records will be properly aligned.
Mode 4 - EOF alignment
In this mode of composing, the EOF character (hexadecimal 'EA') also causes column realignment. Whenever the composing routine finds a single EOF, it deletes the EOF and performs column realignment. If two consecutive EOFs are found, no realignment occurs, one EOF is deleted, and one EOF is treated as data.
Mode 5 - Space and EOF alignment (default)
This mode of composing performs the column realignment function of both mode 3 and mode 4. Mode 5 is the default Thai display mode.

Configuring a 3270 printer session (PDT mode)

To configure a 3270 printer session in PDT mode, do the following:
  1. Right-click a 3270 Printer Session icon and select Properties.
  2. Select 838 Thai or 1160 Thai Euro for the Host Code-Page.
  3. Click the Printer Setup in the tree view.
  4. On the Printer Setup window, set the Print To option to Windows Printer.
  5. Select Other for the Choose Windows Printer option.
  6. Set the Use Printer Definition Table option to Yes.
  7. Select the Printer Definition Table option.

    8. There are four predefined Thai PDTs: If your printer is not included in the predefined Thai PDT list, create a new PDT file or customize an existing PDT file for your Thai printer.
  8. Click OK.
Thai support on 3270 Printer Session (PDT mode) is available on Thai dot-matrix printers only. The PCL printers and Postscript printers do not support Thai because Thai fonts are not available on these printers. Use GDI mode to print Thai on PCL printers and Postscript printers or use Adobe PDF mode to print Thai to an Adobe PDF file.

Creating a Thai PDT file for a Thai printer

If none of the predefined PDTs are acceptable, you can create a new one. To create a PDT, first create a printer definition file (PDF) and then compile it to create a PDT.

To customize an existing PDF file for Thai, do the following:

  1. Understand a PDF's structure and the types of statements.
  2. Add the THAI_CODE statement (THAI_CODE = YES) in the Session Parameter of the PDF file to indicate that this PDF/PDT file is for a Thai printer session only.
  3. Remove all statements in Character Definition.
  4. In Macro Definition, define a macro to a printer command that selects Thai printer font.
  5. Add this macro to START_JOB in the Control Code section.
  6. Save your new PDF file and copy it to the \pdfpdt\usrpdf directory.
  7. Run the PDT compiler to create a user-defined PDT file.

Configuring a 3270 printer session (GDI mode)

To configure a 3270 printer session in GDI mode, do the following:
  1. Right-click a 3270 Printer Session icon and select Properties.
  2. Select 838 Thai or 1160 Thai Euro for the Host Code-Page.
  3. Click the Printer Setup in the tree view.
  4. On the Printer Setup window, set the Print To option to Windows Printer.
  5. Set the Use Printer Definition Table option to No.
  6. Click the Page Setup in the tree view.
  7. Make sure the Font field is Courier Thai. If not, click Select Font and choose Courier Thai from the font list.
  8. Click OK.

Configuring a 3270 printer session (Adobe PDF mode)

To configure a 3270 printer session in Adobe PDF mode, do the following:
  1. Right-click a 3270 Printer Session icon and select Properties.
  2. Select 838 Thai or 1160 Thai Euro for the Host Code-Page.
  3. Click the Printer Setup in the tree view.
  4. On the Printer Setup window, set the Print To option to File.
  5. Select Yes for Use Adobe PDF.
  6. Type output directory in the File Path and Name field.
  7. Click the Page Setup in the tree view.
  8. On the Page Setup window, click Advanced Options.
  9. Make sure Courier Thai is selected in the Font list.
  10. Click OK.

Configuring a 5250 printer session

To configure a 5250 printer session, do the following:
  1. Right-click a 5250 Printer Session icon.
  2. Click Properties.
  3. Select 838 Thai or 1160 Thai Euro for the Host Code-Page.
On the iSeries screen, do the following:
  1. Specify that Host-Print Transform (HPT) will be used in the device description of a printer:

    2.          Host print transform . . . . . . TRANSFORM        (*YES)
  2. Specify your printer type and model in the parameter:

    3.         Manufacturer type and model  . . MFRTYPMDL (*_____________)
  3. Make sure the character identifier parameter is capable of handling Thai language:

    4.        Character identifier:              CHRID
                          Graphic character set . . . .  1176
                          Code page . . . . . . . . . . . . .  838
Thai support on 5250 Printer Session (HPT mode) is available on Thai dot-matrix printers only. The PCL printers and Postscript printers do not support Thai because Thai fonts are not available on these printers.

Using shortcut keys to switch keyboards between Thai and Latin

To switch the keyboard between Thai and Latin, use the following shortcut keys:
 
Shortcut key Function
Ctrl+N Switch keyboard layout to Thai
Ctrl+L Switch keyboard layout to Latin

Assign keys to Thai ancient characters

Some Thai ancient characters (Thai Angkhankhu, Thai Fongman, Thai Khomot, and Thai Yamakkan) are not included in the Thai keyboard layout.
To input these characters, you must assign a key to Thai ancient characters:
  1. In a host session window, click Edit > Preference > Keyboard or click the Remap button on the toolbar.
  2. Click the Key Assignment tab.
  3. Select a Category to Characters.
  4. Select the Thai ancient character you want to assign a key to.
  5. Click Assign a Key.
  6. Press the key you want to assign to the Thai ancient character.
  7. After you have successfully assigned all the keys you want, click OK.

Understanding Thai keyboard sequence checking

Host On-Demand supports Thai Input Sequence check mode. This feature helps the user eliminate all invalid sequence character-typing from the keyboard. When an invalid input sequence is entered, Host On-Demand makes a beep sound.

The rule of Thai keyboard sequence checking is taken from WTT 2.0 Thai standard defined by NECTEC (National Electronics and Computer Technology Center).

Identifying the language shift indicator

Host On-Demand Thai support indicates in the operator information area the language currently in use. If the keyboard is in Thai language mode, the indicator TH appears in the operator information area. No indicator appears if the keyboard is in the default Latin mode.

Using cut, copy, and paste support

Cut, copy, and paste are supported in all Thai display modes. You can copy and cut text using the keyboard. When using keyboard functions (Ctrl+arrow keys) for marking text, the trimming rectangle appears at the Thai cursor position.

Understanding the limitations of Thai support

Host On-Demand Download client with Java 2-enabled Web browsers

Java 2 has a stricter security model than the Java 1. You may encounter a Java security exception when running a Thai session on the Host On-Demand Download client with Java 2-enabled Web browsers. There are three possible solutions to this problem:

5250 ENPTUI function

There is no Thai support on word-wrap function or the Continued Entry field.

Database On-Demand

All Thai characters will be converted to question mark symbols (?) when exporting the database to a local file.

Thai Euro support

The Euro symbol only prints correctly if the font built into your printer supports the Euro symbol.

VT 100/220 enhancement

Double-width and double-height characters are not supported in a Thai session.

3270 GDI print mode

This mode is supported for Thai only on Win32 platforms.

Copy as Table

In Thai composed modes (mode 2-5), the Copy as Table function may produce incorrect output when you place Thai data into columns in other applications, such as a spreadsheet. You should use the Copy as Table function in the non-composed mode (mode 1) to get the correct output.