Getting rid of your extra yen
by Michael S. Kaplan, published on 2005/12/28 11:31 -05:00, original URI: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/michkap/archive/2005/12/28/507759.aspx
Professor Robert Garfias asked me:
I did a search and found your page which comes closest to describing my real life problem. I installed a Microsoft Multi Media keyboard and it found some Japanese language materials somewhere on my computer and then installed on its own and without asking, a Japanese language version of Inttelipoint which replaced the \ with the yen sign. I got rid of the keyboard and after great effort got rid of the Intellipoint software (It does not allow an uninstall). The yeb sign however remains.
I am runing Windows XP Pro and almost everything is OK. I think the missing backslash may be causing problems with some programs. It is disconcerting to look at ones files and see the folders and filenames separated by the yen sign. I can find no way of getting rid of it now that the offending software has been uninstalled.
Do you have any ideas?
Yep, I have gone on about various issues with both the yen and the won on several different occasions, haven't I? :-)
Now the different path separator will not cause problems, though it can cause some confusion. But there is an easy fix.
Well, the key thing to do here is to change the default system locale (a.k.a. the language for non-Unicode programs, on the third tab of Regional and Language Options). Once you change it out of Japanese (or Korean if the problem is some extra won!), then you will get back the regular REVERSE SOLIDUS for your path separator.
It definitely seems like a bad idea for any software to change this setting without even explaining why; that is a problem I will try to follow up on with the Intellipoint people....
If you still are having a problem with way more yen or won than you know what to do with and it was actually affecting your wallet rather than your computer, you could always send me a check c/o One Microsoft Way.... :-)
This post brought to you by "\" (U+005c, a.k.a. REVERSE SOLIDUS)
# Nicholas Allen on 29 Dec 2005 12:09 AM:
I tried this just for fun (I'm a little bored this week) since I normally run with a Japanese locale. While changing the regional setting did reset the code page, it left the font as MS Gothic. So I still had my lovely yen signs.
# Michael S. Kaplan on 29 Dec 2005 12:41 AM:
Sounds like the default system locale was not changed? Or perhaps you did not reboot when prompted?
# Nicholas Allen on 29 Dec 2005 1:31 AM:
It looked like everything else changed correctly. After rebooting, the default system locale said English, the current code page box in the command prompt properties disappeared, programs failed to launch with Japanese paths, and the font name changed from MS ゴシック to MS Gothic.
However, the font selection was still on Gothic. When I changed it to raster font I got backslashes. In the Japanese locale it's yen signs even with the raster font.
# Michael S. Kaplan on 29 Dec 2005 11:01 AM:
I did just test this on an XP and then on a Server 2003 machine and did not see the same results.
Hmmm.... is this a Japanese localized machine? Or ad you modified the console font info in the registry? (by default only Lucida Console would be there, although it would font link to MS Gothic).
# Peter Ibbotson on 29 Dec 2005 2:32 PM:
Did you install with Japanese as the base system locale?
Some very odd things happen with 437 vs 850 in DOS boxes if you install as european rather than US I wonder if this is some variant of the same thing?
Peter (having a granny sucking eggs feeling here)
# Nicholas Allen on 29 Dec 2005 2:34 PM:
It's the standard English SKU and I haven't knowingly changed any of the registry settings for the console font. In the console TrueTypeFont settings in the registry it looks like
0- Lucida Console
932- MS Gothic
936- NSimSun
949- GulimChe
950- MingLiU
Possibly a difference is that I picked the Japanese locale during installation.
# Michael S. Kaplan on 29 Dec 2005 3:21 PM:
What is your system default code page (as returned by the GetACP() function in the NLS API) ?
# Nicholas Allen on 29 Dec 2005 3:43 PM:
According to GetACP() my code page changes from 932 to 1252 when I switch locales.
# Michael S. Kaplan on 29 Dec 2005 4:27 PM:
Wow, I'm not sure what is going on here -- it certainly isn't what I am seeing.
(grasping at straws)
What are your other locale settings (like default user locale and default user UI language)? Maybe something is getting confused here?
# Nicholas Allen on 30 Dec 2005 12:09 AM:
Well, I'm at a loss as all of my other locale, language, and location settings are US English. However, I'm not going to worry about this too much-- I've long since become used to the yen signs. If I ever needed to switch the system locale back to English, I wouldn't even notice what the separator character was!
# Michael S. Kaplan on 30 Dec 2005 10:18 AM:
I am still very curious, though, about whatever it is that is different between your installation and mine....
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