Input Methods allow you to enter characters that are not supported by your keyboard, such as writing in languages that use different alphabets.

* ##C-x C-m C-\## or `M-x set-input-method' or switch to a new input method.
* ##C-h C-\## or `C-h I' to describe the current input method.
* ##C-\## to toggle the input method on and off

== Popular Input Methods ==

The ##TeX## input method allows you to enter Unicode characters by typing ##\## followed by a !TeX character name, for example, ##λ## can be entered by typing ##\lambda##.

The ##latin-1-prefix## input method lets you write ##^a## to output ##â##.

##latin-1-postfix## is the same, but you write ##a^## instead of ##^a##.

Instead of ##latin-1-prefix##, you may use *iso-accents-mode* to achieve this effect as well.

An even stranger way of entering accented characters is the '''C-x 8 keymap'''.
See WritingIsoLatinOne.

Another way is to use QuotedInsert with `C-q'.

== Activate an Input Method for a Specific Mode ==

To activate the input method for a specific mode put the following line in your config file:

   (add-hook 'text-mode-hook 'toggle-input-method)

The input method is then automaticaly activated for files
which open in text mode.

To activate the input method on a per-buffer basis, put the following lines in ##.emacs##:

  (set input-activate nil)
  (add-hook 'find-file-hook
            (lambda ()(if (eq input-activate t) (toggle-input-method))))

Then put the following line at the beginning of a file:

  -*- input-activate: t -*-

The input method will be activated for this file as soon as it is loaded.

== Additional Input Methods ==

These are some additional input methods that do not come with Emacs:

* [[https://tildegit.org/knit/plains-cree-emacs Cree]] (Canadian aboriginal syllabic. Y dialect)
* Georgian (a bit different than the one that comes with Emacs): Lisp:georgian.el
* Armenian: Lisp:armenian.el
* Neo-Akkadian Cuneiform: Lisp:akkadian.el
* Glagolitic: Lisp:glagolitic.el
* Coptic: Lisp:coptic.el
* Chinese: EimForChinese

It's convenient for people who speak in korean or japanese or etc... to use only the internal emacs input method ([[mule]]) without scim, nabi, Microsoft IME, etc...

== Writing Your Own Input Method ==

You can create a file, ##my-method.el## and write:

{{{
(require 'quail)
	(quail-define-package
	 "my-name" "My Name" "R" nil
	 "My Name's Description"
	 nil t t t t nil nil nil nil nil t)

(quail-define-rules
  ("ba" ?â)
  ("kwa" ["kuh wah"])
  ("n"  ?ñ))       

(provide 'my-method)
}}}

if you load this file as a package, you can set this method using ##set-input-method##.

== XIM Input Methods Under X ==

For X Windows, add the following line to your ##~/.Xresources## file (if not exist, make it)

  Emacs.useXIM: off

For MS Windows, you may need to use DisableImeForEmacs.

== Questions ==

[new]
*Question:*
Is there a way to synchronize OS keyboard layout (ubuntu in my case) with Emacs input method?
[new]
It is not convenient to use different bindings for switching languages inside and outside of Emacs...

[new]
*Question:*
How do I allow input methods such as SCIM to override Emacs keybindings in a desktop environment such as GNOME (instead of using the version of SCIM internal to Emacs)?
[new]
Set ##LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF-8## before launching Emacs, and Emacs will recognize your SCIM keys, such as ##C-SPC## to change input method.

== External Links ==

* [[https://blog.alex.balgavy.eu/creating-a-custom-emacs-input-method-for-box-drawing-characters/ Balgavy's post]] on creating an input method for Emacs.
* [[http://xahlee.info/emacs/emacs/emacs_input_method.html Xah Lee's page]] on input methods.

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'''See Also:''' ChangingCursorDynamically to automatically change the TextCursor color when you are using an input method. This makes it easy to tell if an input method is in use.

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CategoryInternationalization