🚀 go-pugleaf

	There is an alpha version of a Japanese Word processor available called JWP. I recently got it by anonymous FTP from kilroy.Jpl.Nasa.Gov in 
directory \pub\misc  .  It is also available on GENIE in the Japan group  (type JAPAN at a prompt).  This is MUCH better than MOKE.  It is also very 
large.  It is in at least 6 zip files and there are some optional files and more than one alpha version of the main program.  The list of files on Genie 
differs slightly from those at the kilroy address.  I have nothing to do 
with it except I have been taking some Japanese classes and I'm into computers.

	To prevent you from having to spend hours downloading it just to 
get a general idea what it does, here's a description:

To enter hiragana, just be sure the hiragana icon is clicked "on" on the 
icon bar and type in the sounds on your regular keyboard in all lower 
case.  As soon as a full hiragana sound has been entered, such as "ni" 
the hiragan will pop up on the screen.  To enter katakana, do the same 
thing, but in all caps.  
	To enter Kanji, this is the neat part of course, begin the word with a capital 
letter and make the rest lower case.  Each letter you type causes the 
system to check to see if the letters you have typed form the longest 
kanji containing that combination of sounds.  When it does a kanji pops 
on the screen where you're typing and a list of homonyms appears across 
the bottom of the screen.  You can either accept that kanji (probably 
not the one you want) or you can choose one from the bottom instead.  
You can scroll through them with the scroll bar.  You can also get a 
definition of any of the suggested kanji by pressing F6 to help you 
choose the one you want.  If the kanji you want is a sound which is a 
subset of a longer kanji you can force the system to stop looking for 
the longest kaji containing that combination of sounds and give you what it has for that set of 
sounds by pressing F2 as you're building the Kanji.  As you're building 
the Kanji the hiragana appears on the screen in reverse video.
	You can use the pop-up dictionary to find the japanese kanji or 
kana for any English word you key in and the dictionary is always only 
F6 away.  Remember though, I said is is an Alpha version, and I've found some 
odd inconsistencies.
	The prinout is very nice and uses the windows 3.1 features so it 
will work with YOUR printer (unless you have a Diablo type!).  MOKE, the 
last time I checked only works with Epson 24 pin printers.  Apparently 
the dictionary is the same one used in MOKE, by the way.
	If you know anything about Japanese you know that you would have to 
know a good deal about Japanese to get much useful work out of this even 
with all it's conveniences.  Still, it's seems pretty awesome to me.