Troubleshoot handwriting recognition in East Asian languages

This feature is available in the Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean language versions of Microsoft Office.

My handwriting isn't recognized.

• Leave more space between characters when you write anywhere on the screen.
• Write or print as legibly as you can.
• Automatic recognition of handwriting may not be turned on. Click Options in the top left corner of the Boxed Input box or the Write Anywhere toolbar, and then click Options. On the Common tab, select the Automatic recognition check box.

I can't insert writing in handwritten form.

• You can insert writing in handwritten form in Microsoft Word and in Microsoft Outlook if Word is enabled as your e-mail editor. In other Microsoft Office programs you can insert handwriting as typed text.
• You may be in Lookup mode. To close Lookup, click Lookup on the Boxed Input toolbar.
• You may need to install Microsoft Office XP handwriting recognition.

  How?

  1. On the Microsoft Windows Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
  3. Click Change or Remove Programs, select Microsoft Office XP, and then click Change.
  4. Click Add or Remove Features, and then click Next.
  5. Under Features to install, next to Office Shared Features, click .
  6. Next to Alternative User Input, click , click Handwriting, and then select the type of installation you want.
  7. Click Update.
• In Outlook, writing in handwritten form can only be inserted into the body of an e-mail message.
• You may not have clicked Ink in the Boxed Input or Write Anywhere toolbar.

When I use Write Anywhere mode, my writing isn't inserted where I write on the screen.

Text is entered into the program at the insertion point, which may be in a different location than the area you're writing in. To enter text in a different location, move the insertion point to the desired location before you begin to write.

When I write anywhere on the screen, text seems to disappear.

When you write anywhere on the screen, your writing may seem to disappear for an instant before it is inserted into the program. This just means the computer is processing your writing.

You can continue to write while the computer processes your writing; you don't have to wait until the previously written characters are inserted to write again.

When I select text in Write Anywhere mode, it looks as though a line has been drawn through it.

Try the following solutions:

• Use the keyboard to select text by holding down SHIFT and pressing the appropriate arrow key to move the insertion point.
• Double-click a character to select it.
• To select text by dragging the mouse, pause after moving the insertion point to the text, and then drag slowly over the text.

When I click toolbars and commands in Write Anywhere mode, it looks as though a line is being drawn on the screen.

Try the following solutions:

• To click toolbar buttons and commands after inserting handwriting, pause over the button or command before clicking. If you notice a blue line drawn where you click, pause again before clicking.

• You can also use keyboard shortcuts to select menus and toolbars.

Handwriting is recognized too slow or too fast.

You can speed up or slow down the rate at which handwriting is recognized. Click Options in the top left corner of the Boxed Input  box or the Write Anywhere toolbar, and then click Options. Select the Common tab, and under Recognition, move the slider to the left to slow down recognition or to the right to speed up recognition.

I can't close the Write Anywhere box.

• Click Close on the Write Anywhere toolbar.

When I send a Microsoft Outlook e-mail message in handwritten form, I see "Pictures will be lost."

Your e-mail message may be in plain text. Writing in handwritten form is not supported by plain text e-mail.

When I send an Outlook e-mail message in handwritten form, the sent message is blank.

The e-mail message was created in plain text. Writing in handwritten form is not supported by plain text e-mail.

When I convert handwritten text to typed text, it looks as though nothing is happening.

Microsoft Word is taking time to process and recognize the selected text.

I can't close the Detail Mode box.

• To close the Detail Mode box, click Detail Mode .

When I insert a drawing by using the Drawing Pad, the drawing is smaller than the way I drew it.

If you resize the Drawing Pad to more than half the size of your screen, the drawing will be inserted at a smaller size than created.

When you create a drawing in Microsoft Word, a drawing canvas is placed around it. The drawing canvas helps you arrange and resize the objects in your drawing.

In the Traditional Chinese language version of Microsoft Office, the Correction button on the Language bar and on the handwriting toolbars has different descriptions.

When you rest the mouse pointer on Correction on the Language bar and on the handwriting toolbars to display the ScreenTip, the descriptions of the button are slightly different. The Correction feature, however, works the same in all locations.