Learn how to install run and use Google IME to type in Tamil and many other Indian and foreign languages. GoogleIME is a free and easy to use typing tool that has enabled millions of people for typing in their mother languages. It is no longer necessary to stick to English on computer.
           Those who want to type in Tamil on computer, Google IME comes as a very handy tool. In my experience, this is perhaps the best tool for typing in Indian languages. There are many other Input Methods (IME) tools available –I will talk about them in other articles. This article is dedicated to Google’s IME. You may already know that GoogleIME is free and it’s easy to use. At present, you can type in 22 different languages using this tool. The languages are: Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Farsi (Persian), Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Serbian, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Tigrinya and Urdu.
How to install Google IME

     First of all go to Google’s website to download the Google IME software. You should make sure you choose the right kind of download. 
      While downloading, you would also need to select the language for which you need the GoogleIME. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will use Tamil language IME. 

After the download is complete, run the installation file. In the first step, the setup will download more files from Internet, so you should remain connected to Internet. Once download is complete just follow the setup instructions as below:
How to Run Google IME
Using GoogleIME, you can write in Tamil (or any other supported language) directly into any application (e.g. MS-Word, Notepad, Wordpad etc.)
In order to begin typing, start the computer application (e.g. MS-Word) and then run Google IME.
To run Google IME; make right click on in an empty area on task bar (taskbar is the bar on which start button is located); a pop-up menu will appear. Select Toolbar > Language bar to run Google IME
Popup menu that comes when you make right click on task bar
What to do if language bar option is not visible
If you don’t see the Language bar option, take the following steps
Windows 8
In Windows 8 you can select language and Input method from a pop-up list that comes when you click on language code that is visible adjacent to the clock (bottom right corner). If the desired input method is not there, follow the steps given below:
  • Go to Control Panel -> Language -> Click on Options link shown against English langauge
  • Click on “Add an input method”
  • Select Google IME
Windows 7/Vista
  • Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Keyboard and Languages tab
  • Click on Change keyboards… button to open Text services and input languages dialog
  • Navigate to Language Bar tab
  • Enable the radio button Docked in the taskbar under Language Bar section
  • Apply all settings and try to display language bar as mentioned in previous section.
Windows XP
  • Go to Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Languages tab -> Text services and input languages (Details) -> Advanced Tab
  • Make sure that under System configuration, option Turn off advanced text services is NOT checked.
  • Go to Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Languages tab -> Text services and input languages (Details) -> Settings Tab
  • Click Language Bar
  • Select Show the Language bar on the desktop. Click OK.
  • If you are installing the IME for East Asian language or Right-To-Left language, go to Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Languages Tab
  • Make sure that options Install files for complex scripts and right to left languages and Install files for East Asian languages are checked in the checkboxes. This requires installation of system files and the system will prompt to insert the Operating System Disc.
  • Apply all settings and try to display language bar as mentioned in previous section.
How to Use Google IME
Once you have selected the Language bar option as described above, you’ll see the status window of GoogleIME appearing in the bottom right corner of the screen. You can drag it around and place it anywhere on screen.
IME status window
As mentioned before, you should first run the target application (e.g. MS-Word) and then activate IME Language bar.
Now start typing in MS-Word (or any other application of your choice), and you should see that typing is taking place in your chosen language. As you type, edit window of IME will appear giving you choice of words that you might want to type.

Google IME edit window
You can select any of these words by navigation using UP and DOWN arrow keys. It is not necessary that you select a word from this window. You can go on typing and as soon as you will press ENTER key -the first word in the IME edit window will get printed in MS Word.
Toggle between Tamil and English
While typing in your chosen language, you might need to type a few words in English as well. For this you can quickly toggle between languages using F12 key. While typing in Tamil, if you press F12 key, the input language will get changed to English. When are finished typing in Tamil, press F12 again to go to back Tamil.
Using on-screen Keyboard
Sometimes, you will find yourself wondering how to type a particular character in Tamil. In such cases, you can bring up the on-screen keyboard by pressing CTRL+K. Now you can click on any character given in the keyboard and it will get printed. When you are done taking help from on-screen keyboard, press CTRL+K again and start typing on your physical keyboard.
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