Japanese Keyboard

Katakana and Hiragana are the different formats of the kana characters. There are 55 kana characters. The kana character can be typed in from the keyboard by one key stroke or two key strokes. Japanese keyboard provides the following keyboard modes to support the input functions for these characters:

Alphanumeric Mode
User can input the Alphanumeric characters in this mode.
Hiragana Mode
User can input the Hiragana characters in this mode.
Katakana Mode
User can input the Katakana characters in this mode.
Note: Alphanumeric Mode, Hiragana Mode and Katakana Mode are mutually exclusive.
Romaji Mode
When keyboard is in this mode and Hiragana mode or Katakana mode, user can type in the Hiragana or Katakana character with combination of two or three alphabets (Romaji).
SBCS or DBCS Mode
When keyboard is in DBCS mode, characters typed in are all DBCS characters. When keyboard is in SBCS mode, characters typed in are SBCS characters. However, Hiragana has only DBCS character set, so even in SBCS mode, the Hiragana characters are typed in DBCS characters.

The keyboard modes are usually displayed in a line called the Keyboard Status Line. The Keyboard Status Line is normally located in the bottom of the screen or a windows.

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