HOWTO: Disable IME for a Particular Window

ID: Q171154

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Win32 Application Programming Interface (API), included with:
- Microsoft Windows NT 4.0

SUMMARY

In the Far East versions of Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, applications can call ImmAssociateContext() to disable IME for a certain window. Windows 95 and Windows 4.0 now have a new Far East Common API Specification that enables this to would work for the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean versions of Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0.

MORE INFORMATION

Sample Code

To disable IME for a certain window, an application can call ImmAssociateContext() API as shown below:


      HIMC hIMC;

   hIMC = ImmAssociateContext(hWnd, NULL);   // It makes IME disable for
                                             // hWnd window.

   // Then you can do whatever you want without IME.

   ImmAssociateContext(hWnd, hIMC); // If you want to enable
                                    // IME again, then you can
                                    // use the previous stored IME
                                    // context(hIMC)
                                    // to restore IME.

This method will not work on Windows 3.1 and Windows NT 3.5. You can use WinnlsEnableIME()for these systems, but this function will enable/disable the whole system IME, not just for a specific window.

The reason ImmAssociateContext() does not work on Windows NT 3.51 is that when Microsoft was developing new IMM functions, Windows NT 3.51 was already released with old functionality. Windows NT 3.5 and 3.51 still use Windows 3.1 style IME API like WinnlsEnableIME and SendIMEMessageEx. But, Windows NT 4.0 adapted Windows 95's IME API so that Windows NT 4.0 has the same set of IME API with Windows 95.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbcode kbusage intlime
Version : winnt:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbhowto