W H A T ' S   N E W

                                  XJDIC V2.2
                                  ==========

These are just a few notes on changes introduced in V2.0, 2.1 & 2.2 of xjdic.  
Make sure you  read  the xjdic22.install document,  and preferably also the 
xjdic22.doc document before installing and running V2.2. 

These notes assume some familiarity with V1.0 and/or V1.1 of xjdic.

V2.2 of xjdic is a relatively minor upgrade mainly to enable handling of the 
kanji of the JIS X 0212-1990 set, and to introduce the global (simultaneous)
search of several dictionaries.

The key points of introduced in V2.0 to 2.2 are: 
                       
A.  A slightly better distribution format,  with a makefile and  an  expanded 
installation guide. 
                         
B.  compile-time  options  to produce either a single stand-alone program (as 
was the case with V1.0 and 1.1) or a client/server pair. The client/server
option is very useful if several users on the one site use xjdic.

C. User definable filter. 

The _'_ key triggers a request for a string which will be used  as  a  filter 
for all following dictionary searches. Only entries which contain that string 
will be displayed. The string can be kanji, kana or ASCII. Pressing _'_ again 
clears the filter. 

D. Field suppression in kanjidic displays. 

The "kdnoshow" directive in the .xjdicrc  file  enables  selected  fields  in 
kanjidic to be supressed. 

My  .xjdicrc  contains:  kdnoshow  YELUQMKZ,  as  I  rarely need to see these 
fields. 

E. Priority Fields for ASCII (English) search keys. 

This is part of a longer-range project to make JDIC/xjdic more  useful  as  a 
E->J dictionary. I am planning to prepend the most important English words in 
a selection of main entries in EDICT with a "@" character, e.g.  "UCHI [uchi] 
/@house/" 

_+_   toggles   the   English   search   between  all_strings  and  priority_ 
strings_only. 

"priority" words will display in reverse video. 
 
F. Short-form kanji display.

The "-" command toggles a short-form kanji display mode on and off.  When  in 
the short-form mode, a kanji search which results in more than one match will 
produce  a  display  of  just the kanji that match,  without any of the other 
details.  This appears as a block of kanji, sorted by stroke count and bushu. 
If  only  one  kanji  matches  the  search  criterion,  the long-form display 
results. 
         
G. Automatic Window-size detection

xjdic now detects the number of rows and columns available in the kterm/xterm 
window,  and  stops  a  multi-line  display  before  it  exceeds  a  complete 
screen-full.  It  will  prompt  for continuation of the display.  It now also 
folds long lines on a white-space between words. 

H. Raw EDICT display mode

The _|_ command toggles the "raw  output"  mode.  In  this  mode,  the  EDICT 
entries  are  displayed  without any reformatting.  This mode is particularly 
useful when one is preparing corrections and updates for the EDICT file. 

I. The EDICT Extension File.

This release of xjdic supports access to the EDICT Extension  file.  The  _]_ 
command triggers a prompt for the desired keyword for for the Extension file, 
and xjdic will then display the matching Extension entry. 
                                                                            
J. Exact Match mode      

Normally xjdic displays the  best  possible  matches  with  the  search  key, 
starting  with  the  longest.  The  _[_  command toggles on and off an "exact 
match" mode,  which will force the display to show only those  entries  which 
fully match the search key. 

K. Multiple Dictionary files.

The feature introduced in V1.1 enabling an alternative  dictionary  has  been 
replaced  with  the  capability  od having up to 9 dictionary files.  The "=" 
command now cycles around the available dictionaries, and the new "_" command 
prompts for a dictionary selection. 

L. Extra Bushu Option.

It is now possible to cut a kanji from the "\r" bushu display into the  "\cb" 
prompt, instead of typing the bushu number. 

M. Exclusion Words

The list of words for exlusion from the index is now in the .xjdicrc file.

N. Kana Input Mode

It is now possible to make hiragana to default input mode. The "kanamode"
directive in the .xjdicrc file makes xjdic start in this mode, and the _&_
command taggles it on and off.

O. Ctrl-Z & Ctrl-D

The program now responds to Ctrl-Z (suspend) and Ctrl-D (exit) commands.
The former "bye" command is still supported.

P. Demand-Paging

The compile time option of using demand-paging of the dictionary & index files
instead of holding them in RAM.

Q. Multi-Radical Kanji Selection

Michael Raines' wonderful multi-radical kanji selection system.

R. JIS X 0212-1990 Support

Support for the additional 5,801 kanji in the JIS X 0212-1990 standard.

S. Global Searches

Facility to request a search of several dictionary files.

Jim Breen 
June 1996