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Defining Furigana options

The Furigana option is a Japanese-specific feature. The option allows a user to specify that the Kana reading for Japanese text in one field be entered automatically to another.

Japanese text is composed of Kana (Hiragana and Katakana) and Kanji (characters). Kanji characters have multiple readings, and the Unicode ordering of these characters is arbitrary. Thus, to sort Kanji characters in a truly meaningful way, it is necessary to sort by the Kana (phonetic syllabary) reading intended for each character. The Furigana field is intended as a shadow field into which the Kana readings for Kanji can be entered.

To create a Furigana field, the user creates two text fields in Manage Database, then selects the field into which Kanji will be entered (the “parent” field), and establishes a link, via the Use Furigana Field option, to the field into which the corresponding Kana readings will appear (the “child” field).

A Furigana “child” field defined with this option maintains a connection to its “parent” field data. When the user inputs Japanese text into the parent field, FileMaker Pro guesses the intended Kana reading of the entered characters, based on how the characters have been input, and enters this text in the Furigana field.

To set Furigana options for a field:

1.	With the database open, choose File menu > Manage > Database.

Note  To set options for fields in Table View, right-click the column heading for the field, then choose Field > Field Options from the shortcut menu, then skip to step 6.

2.	In the Manage Database dialog box, click the Fields tab.

3.	If your database contains more than one table, select the appropriate table from the Table list.

4.	In the Fields tab of the Manage Database dialog box, select an existing field, or define a new one.

5.	Click Options (or double-click the field name).

6.	In the Options for Field dialog box, click the Furigana tab.

7.	Select the field to enter Furigana.

8.	Select the Kana reading input format for the Furigana field:

 

Select	To
As is	Leave text as entered in Hiragana, Katakana, or Roman format
Hiragana	Convert to Hiragana
Full-Width Katakana	Convert to full-width Katakana
Full-Width Roman	Convert to full-width Roman (Romaji)
Half-Width Katakana	Convert to half-width Katakana
Half-Width Roman	Convert to half-width Roman (Romaji)

9.	Click OK to close the Options for Field dialog box, or click another tab to set additional field options.

Notes

•	The Kana that is entered in the Furigana field is compliant with the input method, but FileMaker Pro is not able to correctly guess at the "intended" reading should the user retrieve the Kanji characters by an alternative reading, or use character code input.

•	Some of the behavior for the Furigana option is platform-specific. When a database with a Furigana field is shared, the client's operating system determines the behavior of the Furigana field.

•	Windows: Edited text is appended to the text in the Furigana field. Existing text in the Furigana field is not replaced.

•	Mac OS: Editing text in the parent field will cause the entire contents of the Furigana field to be replaced.