Dear Louise,
Thank you sincerely for your comments. Very passive aggressive indeed. Love it ...
L: Graeme, do you read/write Japanese?
G: Yes, as a matter of fact I do.
L: This is an incredibly impractical solution.
G: Really? Thanks for the tip. I actually found it quite practical and very time efficient. It did just the trick for what I needed it to do. Sorry it may not have worked for you.
L: Writing kanji is not like adding the very occasional ü character into several pages of text - it's the whole several pages.
G: Well I only actually needed it for three specific kanji. Perhaps I should have given more explanation about how I used the solution from the outset. Apologies if I misled you to thinking the method was suitable for writing lengthy prose. In fact, you might be able to use the same method if you typed the Japanese in a separate text editor external to the blog, and then copied and pasted it into a post along the lines of the steps I outlined. Could be worth a try in the absence of any other workarounds. Oh, and I mean type the Japanese using a normal IME (input method editor) - not the 6-digit code for each character (ha ha - more below).
L: Suggesting the solution to WordPress's Japanese ??? bug is for them to type out the code for every single character is the same as asking an English-writing user to write out every page of their website by typing a six digit code per letter.
G: Sorry - can't remember suggesting or recommending that to anyone. Reread the steps. By the way, did you even actually try the steps?
L: It must have taken you a long time to write out all the codes for 2000 odd kanji into a spreadsheet, unfortunately for the majority of people with this problem I think it will be totally useless.
G: Actually, it did take me a very long time (note the occasional use of bold text for effect), and for no thanks whatsoever (boo hoo). I think I clocked the total time taken at less than five minutes all up. And, you know what, you can't please everyone now, can you? However, if my suggestion helps even just one person, I would be happy to have invested that 5 minutes to make the world a better place - even just a little bit better. Even if it doesn't help anyone, so be it. Take it or leave it. That's life. And, do you really think I was born yesterday? I mean, do you honestly think I sat down and typed in each of those 2,000 odd kanji, and then the corresponding 6-digit code for each one for the sake of hopefully pleasing the ungrateful masses? Come on, give me a break! Have you ever heard of "copy and paste" and "let the software do it for you" - perhaps you should reread the steps I outlined. Maybe the pin will drop. Whatever ....
L: somebody please contribute if you know how to write in Japanese in a standard English wordpress installation without it turning to ??? when you press publish.
G: I really do wish you good luck with that! With such attitude, I am sure all the wonderful and helpful WordPress users and coders will come running to beat down your door to help you.
Life is short - enjoy !!!
Oyasumi
Shuugo
graemethom
louiserouse
Bonecrusher