Frequently asked questions on hikyaku, applet version

Contents

1. My Applet doesn't start.
2. My browser crashes during initialization.
3. Your program doesn't work on Macintosh?
4. Is your program workable with AOL browser?
5. How to enter Kanji characters from keyboard?
6. Which Japanese encoding methods are you supporting?
7. Is it possible to type Roman characters with a diacritic symbol such as " in French or in German language?
8. Is it possible to save my messages in the local computer?
9. How much does it cost your service?
10. Sometimes, I am unable to add characters.
11. Mailbox access denied.
12. What is the limitation of the program?
13. Sometimes, I lose the scrollbar in Netscape version.
14. Is it possible to send English mails?
15. My correspondent is unable to read my Japanese mails (English mails).
16. Can I use more conventional mailers such as Outlook Express with my account?
17. Edit commands don't work with Netscape (all the characters are replaced by '?').
18. What is "native mode"?

1. My Applet doesn't start.
   The Applet is a small piece of program (Japanese E-mailer is one of them) sent from the server to user's machine to be executed. Contrary to HTML which is static and small, the former is dynamic and bigger in size. Consequently, it is more vulnerable to network's perturbations. If your Applet doesn't start although you are using the correct version of the program (MS Explorer 4-5 or Netscape 4.5-4.7), it may be incorrectly downloaded. Please push "Refresh Button" while the control key pushed down in MS Explorer version (Reload button + Shift key in Netscape's) in order to download a fresh copy of the Applet from our server. More detailed explanation of troubles and their remedy are available from Trouble Shooting on Hikyaku.

2. My browser crashes during initialization.
   I am using MS Explorer 4.01. Just after clicking "yes" on the initial warning message, my browser crashes. It is because you have not the last version of Java VM (a part of browser's program which interprets Java code) installed in your browser. Please update it from Microsoft VM's downloading area. In order to know the version of VM in your Explorer, type "jview" from DOS window, or use the command "Java Console" from "View" menu if it is activated. In order to activate Java Console, open "Internet Options" from "View" menu then click on "Advanced" tab. The first digit of the release number which appears on the first line should be "5".

3. Your program doesn't work on Macintosh?
   Our program is based on Java language 1.1. Because each browser has implemented different versions of Java in different OS, the programs written in Java are not 100% compatible. Apple has just released a new version of Plug-in (MRJ 2.2) which should interpret correctly Java 1.1. and workable with MS Explorer 4.0 or 4.5. So if you are using MS Explorer, please download MRJ 2.2 from Apple's site and install it in order to make your browser compatible with our Japanese mailer.

   As far as Netscape Navigator is concerned, it is not yet compatible with MRJ 2.2 but Apple and Netscape being working together to make it compatible, our service will be soon available for Netscape users, too.

4. Is your program workable with AOL browser?
   Yes. It is workable from AOL 5.0, if you are using Windows.

5. How to enter Kanji characters from keyboard?
   Our FEP (front end processor) is still primitive and allows to enter from keyboard only one kanji character at once. Of course we are working to extend its function to allow you to type more complex combination of kanji characters as in ordinary Japanese computers. Please use Kanji table in the right hand for the moment.

6. Which Japanese encoding methods are you supporting?
   There are many kinds of encoding method in Japanese language. Our E-mailer is able to receive Shift JIS as well as ISO-2022 format, while it sends your messages in ISO-2022 format because it is the most widely used standard. Please note that we support currently only "Level 1", i.e. the most important 3500 Kanji characters in order to lighten the data size and consequently to shorten downloading time and that the "Level II" characters will be replaced by 'X'.

7. Is it possible to type Roman characters with a diacritic symbol such as in French or in German language?
   No. As we are using currently only Shift JIS encode method and it doesn't include those European characters, they are not supported. If you receive messages which include those characters, the diacritic symbols will be systematically omitted, i.e. 'c' cedille will be replaced by 'c', 'u' umlaut by 'u'. etc.

8. Is it possible to save my messages in the local computer?
   This program is in principle for the people who need to process Japanese mails outside their home base so the computer used are not theirs. Consequently, we support a backup operation only with our mail server that you can retrieve at any moment. Nevertheless if you need absolutely a backup in the local machine, please do so by sending your messages to another mail account or by using Edit command "Copy" and "Paste" to a Japanese word processor or mailer.

9. How much does it cost your service?
   This is a preliminary version and may probably contain many bugs or imperfections. For that reason, our service is for the moment free. When our program will become more reliable and consistent, it may become chargeable.

10. Sometimes, I am unable to add characters.
    This is because the program doesn't understand where your input is directed. Please click the mouse on the place where you want to add characters. For example, if you wish to modify the content of a mail, you should click on the content's panel.

11. Mailbox access denied.
    I have got the following message: "Mailbox access denied. Please try to read it before." It is in order to protect our mail server against an abuse by spammers. By forcing to read the mailbox before sending any mails, we can identify the people who wish to use our server.

12. What is the limitation of the program?
    The program can read simultaneously only 10 mails. If you await more than 10 mails, read the first 5 with "Autoremove" checked, then read the next 10.
    The program doesn't support multipart mails nor attached files. If you need to read them, please use more conventional programs such as Outlook Express after having returned back to your home base. Please don't check "Autoremove" in this case so your mails will be preserved.

13. Sometimes, I lose the scrollbar in Netscape version.
    "I am using Netscape Browser. When I try to reach a Kanji character by using the scrollbar in right hand, I am unable to control it. Even worse, sometimes the list of pronunciations or meanings is wiped out" Yes, you are right. We suspect it might be due to a bug in Netscape itself, because the same program works fine in MS Explorer. For the moment, please use "Find Button" at the top-left corner in order to be at the vicinity of the character, then use the keyboard's arrows to effectively reach it.

14. Is it possible to send English mails?
    "My correspondent doesn't speak Japanese so I need to send him an English mail. Is it possible?" Yes, you can send it by unckecking the word "Japanese" at the top of Applet. Please note that in this case, any Japanese characters that your message may contain will be replaced by '?'.

15. My correspondent is unable to read my Japanese mails (English mails).
    My correspondent is unable to read my Japanese mails (English mails) and the messages contain a plenty of unreadable characters. As stated in a section above, if you send Japanese mails, you should check the word "Japanese". On the contrary, for English mails, you should uncheck "Japanese".

16. Can I use more conventional mailers such as MS Outlook Express with my account?
    Hikyaku is the most convenient way to process Japanese mails outside Japan, in particular for those who travel frequently, because it needs neither Japanese computers nor special add-ons. But if you are sitting before a Japanese enabled computer of your own, it is perfectly possible to retrieve your mails arrived to your Hikyaku account by using more conventional mailers such as MS Outlook Express or Eudora. In this case, you should put the following parameters:

    outgoing SMTP mail server = smtp.hikyaku.com
    incoming POP3 mail server = pop.hikyaku.com

    Please note that because the most of Internet providers not allowing to send mails of other accounts (i.e. Hikayku account, for example) through their server, you may have to connect to Hikyaku server as usual, if you want to send or reply a message through Hikyaku account.

17. Edit commands don't work with Netscape (all the characters are replaced by '?')
    Netscape on no Japanese computers don't accept unicode characters for the clipboard operation. In this case, please use other keys (F2 for Cut, F3 for Copy and F4 for Paste) for an internal operation or MS Explorer if you need to exchange text data with Outlook Express equipped with MS Global IME.

18. What is "native mode"?
    "Native mode" means that contrary to the standard version of Hikyaku, you cannot process Japanese mails on no Japanese computers. Nevertheless it is very useful for persons who wish to process Japanese messages from Japanese Windows or English ones from English Windows, because it doesn't download Japanese fonts nor complex Japanese conversion tables and consequently very fast to display. More detailed explanation is available from here.

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