FileMaker and Japanese

[Friedrich F. Grohmann]

Emmanuel asked for jean-jacques <macinfo at lafrance-au-japon.com>,  
regarding FileMaker

>Now we can write in japanese all right, but with a huge problem: a 5-chars
>word needs as much room as a 10 chars one.

Though this question is FileMaker related, I think it's good to be 
reminded of the problems users of two-byte scripts quite often face with 
software. In this case, though, I think it has less to do with FileMaker 
itself than with changes Apple introduced in more recent versions of the 
system. For example, I've been using WordPerfect to do modest Chinese DTP 
with OS 7.5, but at least since OS 9 this trusted piece of software has 
become completely useless in this respect. I had to switch to Nisus. Same 
problem with HyperCard which, however, I'm not abandoning. FileMaker 
drove me nuts when I tried to do something in Chinese with it, until some 
enlightened soul told me the trick how to make "find" results meaningful 
-and this in a database. Still, after OS 8, the position of the insertion 
point does not correspond any longer to what one sees on the screen 
though the discrepancy is not as drastic as what Jean-Jacques mentions.

     My suggestion is to check which version of the system and of 
FileMaker Jean-Jacques is using. He could also try to consult the 
archives of the FileMaker Lists to see whether anything relevant has been 
discussed there, or put his question directly on one of the lists. There 
are two, if I remember correctly.

     All the best,
     Fritz