FAQ: Free Taiwan IME 2003 Update

This page is archived for anyone with Windows XP SP2 and earlier, and for anyone wanting to go back to the 2003 versions of the Taiwan IMEs for any reason. Everyone else should get the Taiwan IME Updates released with (but not requiring) Office 2010.

Microsoft New Phonetic, Cangjie & IME Pad Update for Windows XP

Is there a way to update/upgrade/repair my Microsoft Taiwan (Traditional) input methods if I have Windows XP and Office 2003 or earlier, or no copy of Office at all?

Yes! A free download from Microsoft still offers an upgrade to the 2003 Chinese
traditional character input methods, and may repair broken Chinese features too.

The Free Microsoft New Phonetic 2003 update adds several new features to this Taiwan (traditional) Pinyin/Zhuyin input method, including the option to increase the size of the characters in the candidate list.

This update is for Windows XP with Office 2003/2002/XP or with no MS Office at all. The following instructions assume that you have already enabled East Asian languages in Windows XP and set up Pinyin input in Windows XP.

If aren't sure which version you have, on the Language Band select the "CH" for the Chinese (Taiwan) IME, and then hover over the keyboard button as shown here on the left:

Or, as shown here to the right, click the Tool menu* and select "Properties". » »

Then look at the blue title bar at the top of the panel that pops up to see what version you have. Is it "2002a", "2003", or something else?

*If the Tool Menu is not displaying, you can fix that later in Language Band settings, but right now just right-click on the "CH" and select "Restore the Language bar" so you can see that menu.

Install this update after MUI Packs for Windows or Office to avoid replacing this 2003 update with older IME files. (Windows XP Language Packs were called MUI Packs.)

Is this for 32-bit systems only? I have not yet tested this free update on a 64-bit system and would be interested in hearing from you if you cannot install it for any reason. In recent years 64-bit updates have been for sale only, included on the Proofing Tools disk of the 32/64-bit Office Language Packs, and I'm wondering if this was the case with Office 2003 MUI Packs.

How to download and install Microsoft New Phonetic 2003:

Go to this Microsoft download page:
https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=f2a55210-4cc1-4040-b710-625a45f2594d&displaylang=en

Although that page is titled "Microsoft Office 2003 IME", don't worry if you have an earlier version of Office or don't have Office at all. You'll still be able to install this.

At the bottom of the page you'll see these three files available for download:

TINTSETP.MSI is the New Phonetic IME (Pinyin and Zhuyin) update. SINTSETP.MSI updates the IME Pad, and CINTSETP.MSI updates the Cangjie input method.

Install at least TINTSETP.MSI, and then in your Tool menu you'll find a new item, "About Microsoft New Phonetic IME...", and on the same menu when you click "Properties" you'll find you can now make changes such as enlarging the size of characters in the candidate list:

For English-language help with the Microsoft New Phonetic 2003 IME, you may be amazed to find a great deal of information on the Help menu:

If you don't see that Help menu in the Language Band you can adjust those settings later, but right now you can just right-click on the CH button and select "Restore the Language bar" to pop the whole thing up to the top of your screen.

To learn about new features in this update, see "What's New" in those Help files. To switch between Pinyin and Zhuyin, please see my setup instructions and FAQ for the previous Microsoft New Phonetic IME here:

• Windows XP Pinyin input setup (jump to "Installing Traditional").
• Windows XP Zhuyin input setup (see section on keyboard layout).
• FAQ: How do I get the "candidate list" to appear in the MS New Phonetic IME?
• FAQ: How do I resize the MS New Phonetic IME Candidate List?

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