Lao characters in MS-Word

[ລາວເກົ່າ]

Sabaydii,

For those who have to use the Lao characters (Not Saysettha OT) in
Microsoft Word, how do you solve the character Ngo (like Ngo Ngeun)
which looks very weird? I use Alice (Lao) fonts because somehow I
couldn't install Lao Unicode keyboard in my new computer. I was able to
install Thai characters but not Lao characters. Wonder if anyone of you
has the same kind of problem.

Laokao

[Laosot]

While holding down the control key, press the Z key then type the Ngo

[ລາວເກົ່າ]

When I do as you say, it deletes all the characters in the document.

[casalao]

have you followed the exact instructions as spelled out by
www.laohub.com? i've found out that it took a few times before i got it
right. at least 3-4 times.

don't forget to unstall if it doesn't work and go through the motion again.

[Fisherman]

Dear Mr. Good Old Lao of the distant past,

1. Under the "Tools" menu, select "AutoCorrect Options..."
2. Click the "AutoFormat" then uncheck the "straight quotes" with
"smart quotes" option
3. Click the "AutoFormat As You Type" tab then uncheck the "straight
quotes" with "smart quotes" option

That should solve your problem. I am using MS Word 2003 as an example.
It might not exactly be the same if you have a different version. But
the idea is the same. The "Smart Correction" features are meant for
English. That's why when you type the Lao Ngo letter, it thinks you have
entered an opening single quote character therefore replaces it with a
better looking one.

While you are there, you may want to uncheck a whole bunch of things
that will have undesirable effects when type in Lao fonts.

That said, with those smart corrections in place, it makes your English
documents look better. So you might want to use them when you are typing
English.

Mr. McFishy

[Laosot]

So sorry, I thought that was what I used to have to do many years ago.

[ລາວເກົ່າ]

Thanks Fisherman. It works. By the way, how can you replace the one I
typed in before? I use 'find and replace' but it did nothing. It
assumes those two characters are the same. I can find each
weird-looking Ngo by copying the right and pasting it but since the
text is many pages long and hundreds of weird-looking Ngo, it is really
time-consuming. Help please.

casalao, I did as you suggested a few times already but it didn't work.
In fact, the system won't even allow me to uninstall the one I already
installed. It says 'fatal error during installation'

laosot, don't worry. Luckily, I could use the 'redo' function though it
took me quite some time to get back the whole document.

[Fisherman]

Dear Mr. Good Old Lao from the distant past of Tiao Anouvong Empire,

First of all, make sure you have the AutoCorrect Options all unchecked
as previously mentioned.

Select one of the "weird-looking Ngo". That is, hold down your left
mouse button and drag across it. The letter should be highlighted if you
do it right.

Under the "Edit" menu select the "Replace..." menu item, or simply type
Control-H (hold down the Ctrl key and type the 'H' key).

When the "Find and Replace" window appears, the "Find what" entry should
have been populated with your "weird-looking Ngo" character. Leave it
alone. Click on the "Replace with" entry slot then type in the
apostrophe (the position for the Lao Ngo character). Now click the
"Replace All" button. Instantly, all your "weird-looking Ngo" should be
magically replaced with your beloved real Ngo.

Good luck!

Mr. McFishy