The following information is up-to-date as of version 0.2.2.1
JiBoard is a simple, portable Japanese IME built within .NET Framework 4.8.
Installation of the program is perhaps one of the easiest aspects of operating it. To download the program, simply download the latest version from GitHub.
(Generally downloading 'Release.zip' of the latest major version is fine).
Once done, extract the archive into it's own folder where you would like the program to stay (as of yet, there is no need to uninstall, so simply deleting the folder at a moments notice is fine).
To run the program, open the 'JiBoard.exe' file. If .NET Framework 4.8 is not installed, it will prompt you to do so, as it is required to run the program.
Updating the program is rather similar to installing it. If you're running version 0.2.2 or above, the program will also tell you when an update is available.
Clicking on the 'Update Now' button will take you to the GitHub releases page, and also open the current installation folder within the file explorer.
Once you have the new version downloaded, first ensure the old version is not running. Then, simply delete all the old files in the folder, and extract the new version in it's place. If the filenames match up, any previously created shortcuts should likely still work.
There are various aspects to JiBoard, but each one can easily be broken down small portions.
Due to the multi-lingual nature of this program, various languages are supported within the UI out-of-the-box. As of version 0.2.2.1, this includes both Japanese and English. When the program starts, it will check Windows for the current Input Language, and set the display language of the program accordingly (ie if the user was using the inbuilt Japanese IME, the program would display in Japanese). This may also be changed manually by clicking on the dropdown and changing it to the desired language.
Seen above is the main portion of JiBoard - the Kana Keyboard. Within the 'Hiragana' language, a user simply clicks on the desired character to copy it to their clipboard; or append it to the textbox if within string-mode. See 'String-Mode' for more information.
To the right of the Kana Keyboard is the Kana Switcher. The user may click on the dropdown to swap between various Kana modes. In relation to the Hiragana keyboard, these options are: Normal, Small, Handakuten and Dakuten. Changing this will result in the Kana Keyboard itself changing to reflect the desired Kana Mode.
Below the Kana Switcher is a checkbox to enable/disable the pronunciation view. Changing this will result in the Kana Keyboard itself changing to show the pronunciation of the various Kana if enabled.
Below the Kana Keyboard is the Punctuation Keyboard. This behaves much in the same way as the Kana Keyboard, though utilising different punctuationally-based characters. These too may be appended to the textbox if within string-mode. See 'String-Mode' for more information.
Below the Punctuation Keyboard is the region dedicated to 'String Mode'. When a user clicks on a character, by default it is copied to the system buffer (generally referred to as the 'Clipboard'), and may be pasted elsewhere. If the checkbox to the far bottom-left is enabled, the program enters 'String Mode'. This means that when a user clicks on a character, it is instead appended to the textbox in the center. This allows the user to type out a full sentence and copy the whole thing when complete, instead of copying and pasting character-by-character. The user may then click the 'Copy' button on the far right to copy the text, or the 'X' button just to the left of it to clear the textbox and start again.