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Troubleshooting Guide for Diacritics

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Enabling diacritics in MilCat (Millennium Cataloging Module)

Because of recent upgrades to MilCat, special diacritics and Chinese vernacular may no longer display properly in MilCat.

This is because Innovative has changed the file structure for the storing of the font.properties file. This file is no longer stored in the Javasoft directory; it is now stored in a separate Millennium directory. If you wish to continue viewing CJK vernacular in the 880 fields and special diacritics and characters requiring the Unicode font, you will need to reinstall the font properties.

The file structure is: C:\Millennium\jre\1.6.0_02\lib

Installation:

  • Current installation instructions can be found on the CSDirect site: http://csdirect.iii.com/downloads/font.shtml
  • When you access this site, you will be prompted for the CS Direct user name and password. If you do not have the user name and password, please ask your supervisor.
  • IMPORTANT: When saving the font.properties file to your computer, when given the option to "Save as Type", make sure you save it as "All Files" and NOT "Text Document."
  • Prefer IE to other browsers when doing this and other software downloads.
  • You must restart your computer after installing the font properties file for the changes to take effect.

Upon completing installation of the font.properties file, you should be able to view the actual diacritics in MilCat and to see CJK characters within the 880 fields.

These instructions work on the assumption that you have Unicode fonts installed in your computer. Please make sure that Arial Unicode MS font is installed on your computer.

Source: email instructions from John DeSantis (04 Sep. 2003); updated 17 Oct. 2008.

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Installing the Arial Unicode MS font

The Arial Unicode MS font is installed as part of the Microsoft Office Setup and is part of the International Support features.

Installation:

  • In Microsoft Windows XP, click Start and then click Control Panel.
  • In Control Panel, click Add/Remove Programs.
  • Click Change or Remove Programs, click Microsoft Office XP (or Microsoft Word 2002), and then click Change.
  • In the Features to install window, click Next.
  • Click to expand Office Shared Features.
  • Click to expand International Support.
  • Click the icon next to Universal Font, and then click Run all from My computer on the shortcut menu. (You may be prompted to load the Office CD at this point).
  • Click Update to complete the installation of the Universal Font (Arial Unicode MS) to your computer.

Source: Description of the Arial Unicode MS font in Word 2002, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q287247 (Internet Archive copy)

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Connexion Client

Problem: Diacritics and special characters may be converted incorrectly in exported and imported records.

If the default input language of your workstation or the setting for "Language of non-Unicode programs" is set to a language other than English, diacritics and special characters may be exported and imported incorrectly. Retain English for these settings to ensure that diacritics and special characters in Latin script data are correctly retained when you export and import records.

Note: With version 1.50, if the input language of your workstation is not English, you must use the new option to export in Unicode (in Tools, Options, Export) to solve this problem.

To Fix:

  • Click Start and then Control Panel.
  • Switch to Classic view.
  • Select Regional and Language Options and click on the Advanced tab.
  • Under "Language for non-Unicode programs", make sure that the language selected is "English (United States)".
  • If you make a change be sure to select the "Default user account settings" at the bottom of the window.

Source: Connexion client problems and troubleshooting, http://www.oclc.org/connexion/support/client_known_problems.htm#takingactions

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Web OPAC

Problem: Russian diacritics display.

As some of you know, we have had a long-standing problem with the display of a certain Russian diacritic (ligature) in the Web OPAC. Innovative has provided a solution for us. Please follow the instructions below, and the ligatures will now display normally instead of as square boxes.

To Fix (IE):

  • In Internet Explorer: click Tools, then Internet Options.
  • Select Accessibility, and make sure the box "Ignore font styles specified on web pages" is checked.
  • Assuming you have Arial Unicode MS selected as your browsers' default font, this should allow the Russian ligatures to display on the following example: http://libcat.dartmouth.edu/search/a?SEARCH=TSvetaeva

To Fix (Firefox):

  • Click on Tools and then Options.
  • Click on Fonts and Colors and select Arial Unicode MS.

Source: email instructions from John DeSantis (01 Nov. 2004)

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