Typing Pinyin with correct tone marks is a breeze with QuickTone.
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QuickTone is a Microsoft Word add-in which enables you to type Pinyin tone marks with the minimum of effort. In fact the only effort you will ever need to apply is lifting your finger!
- To type ā ...... press the A key
- To type á ...... press the A key
- To type ǎ ...... press the A key
- To type à ...... press the A key
How does it work?
As you hold down a vowel key (A, E, I, O, U or V [for Ü]) you will see the tone mark above the vowel change in the following sequence (taking A as an example):
a ... à ... á ... ā ... ǎ Demo
When the correct tone appears, just lift your finger from the key: it really is as simple as that!
Most frequent/shortest duration first
The sequence of tones has been chosen so that the commonest tone—the fourth—appears first, and the least common tone—the third—appears last. The fourth and third tones also happen to have the shortest and longest duration in speech: compare dà and dǎ. The other tones are intermediate in frequency and duration.
This tone sequence can be changed at the click of a button: for example, you might prefer the "natural" sequence 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 (a ... ā ... á ... ǎ ... à).
Adjusting the speed (Windows OS)
When you first try QuickTone you may find that the tone marks change very fast, making it difficult to pick the precise moment to lift your finger to obtain the tone mark you want. You can easily adjust the speed by changing the keyboard delay and repeat rate in the Control Panel. A little experimentation will soon establish the best settings for QuickTone, given the speed of your processor.
Audio clues
If you prefer touch-typing, an optional beep will sound when tones 4 and 1 appear on the screen. Lift your finger as soon as you hear the beep for each of these tones; wait half a second or so after the beep for tones 2 and 3. You will find it remarkably easy to get used to the timing.
Demonstration
Click on the button to see a slowed-down demo of the sequence of tone marks.
Optional tone numbers
If you prefer, you can enter the tones by typing the appropriate number immediately after the vowel. For example you could type
qi3ng we4n
for qǐng wèn.
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