DimSum: Chinese Tools
Many people have requested versions of the tools on On-line Chinese
Tools that can be run locally. DimSum is the answer to these
requests. I've integrated most of the tools on the website into one
package: DimSum. Right now it supports adding pinyin to text files,
Rich Text Format files, and web pages. Be aware that there's still a
lot of improvement to be done and the program may run slowly. Your
suggestions are welcome. Send them to erik@mandarintools.com.
Running the Program
With this tool you can view text files, RTF files (Word can save
documents to this format) and web pages in Chinese. By default,
whenever you put the mouse over a Chinese character, the pronunciation
and English definition will appear in a pop-up window.
File
- Open: Select a file to view. Program currently supports
text files, rich text format files (RTF), and HTML web files.
- Save: Save the current file, overwriting the current contents of the file.
- Save As: Save the currently loaded text to a file with a different name.
- Exit: Exit DimSum.
Tools
- Add Pinyin: Add pinyin into the document itself. The
user has two options for how the pinyin is added:
Edit
- Cut: Cut the selected text and place it on the system's
clipboard.
- Copy: Copy the selected text and place it on the system's
clipboard.
- Paste: Paste the contents of the system's clipboard into
the document, replacing any selected text.
- Selection Encoding: DimSum by default expects the text in the
clipboard to be in Unicode, as supported by programs like MS Word or
Internet Explorer. If you are working with a program that expects or
produces text in GB, Big5 or UTF-8, you can alert DimSum to use one of these
other encodings when cutting, copying or pasting.
- Preferences
- Show Pop up defs: Normally when you put the mouse over a
Chinese character the program will pop up a window showing the
Chinese word, its pronunciation, and English definition. Unchecking
this option will turn off the pop up definitions.
- Add PY for Word: Add pinyin by character or by word. You
can either choose to have pinyin appear next to each individual
character, or to have have pinyin appear next to the whole word of
one or more characters.
Preferences
Programs
Besides the reading assistant and Chinese-English dictionary, DimSum
includes a variety of tools to help with understanding and processing
the Chinese language and culture. Below are
Abacus
Calendar Converter
Chinese Name Generator
Create Chinese GIFs
Currency Converter
You will need to be connected to the Internet to use this program.
Family Titles
Measures
Numbers
Romanization Converter