Multiple compatibility issues with Google Japanese Input (IME) in vim with WSL

[robqliu]

Windows Terminal version

1.14.1962.0

Windows build number

10.0.19044.0

Other Software

$ vi --version VIM - Vi IMproved 8.2 (2019 Dec 12, compiled Oct 01 2021 01:51:08) Included patches: 1-2434 Extra patches: 8.2.3402, 8.2.3403, 8.2.3409, 8.2.3428

inside WSL (debian)

Steps to reproduce

1. Install Google Japanese Input IME
2. Open up vim within Terminal and launch a WSL session (I'm on debian, but I doubt it matters?)
3. Hit alt + shift and then observe the issues described below.

Expected Behavior

Sorry for combining multiple issues into one ticket. I can split it up if it helps.

1. The first issue is that the normal hotkey for swapping to japanese input is not swapping to the last used "mode". For instance, Google Japanese Input has multiple modes (Hiragana, Full-width Katakana, Full-width alphanumeric, etc.). What I've observed is that alt + shift swaps between your most recently used IMEs and it preserves the mode in Google Japanese Input for me... unless I'm using Terminal, in which case it seems to always go to Half-width alphanumeric. It's worth noting that this is true even when I'm not in vim/when I'm just on the command line in bash.
2. Related to (1), if I use alt + ` , it normally cycles through all of the "modes". When I'm in Terminal, it seems to only cycle between Half-width alphanumeric and Direct Input.
3. Possibly related to the above issues, once I'm using Google Japanese Input, I expect it to swap between my usual mode, Hiragana, and Direct Input Mode when I swap modes in vim. For instance, I often am in Hiragana mode when I'm typing (i.e. Insert Mode in vim). When I want to navigate text, I swap to Normal mode in vim and it magically swaps to Direct Input as is necessary for moving around. As you can see in the gif, it stays in Hiragana mode.

For what it's worth, (1) matters a lot less than (2) or (3) since I can stay with the Google Japanese Input IME for the most part without issue. In particular, once I swap to Hiragana manually (or via ctrl + caps lock) then (2) actually stops being an issue? Or at least it lets me cycle between Hiragana and Direct Input which is what I care about. (3) is super annoying because I basically have to train different muscle memory when I use Terminal vs gvim or even git bash for windows.

Actual Behavior

As described above, I would like the behavior here to match other apps:

1. alt + shift into Google Japanese Input should pick the most recently used "mode" in that IME
2. alt + ` should cycle through all of the modes
3. It should swap between the most recently used mode (e.g. Hiragana) and Direct Input when going between Insert mode and Normal mode in vim

[zadjii-msft]

@lhecker another related to #13398. Wanna just take a quick sanity pass on this IME too?

[lhecker]

I've just installed the IME and I'm already hitting a problem at reproducing the issue. 😥 Alt+Shift doesn't switch between the most recently used mode for me. Alt+` does. Are you perhaps using any custom settings for Google Japanese Input or a different version? I'm on 2.28.4650.0. I couldn't find any setting that would change this behavior...

Edit (2022-08-15): Sorry about my confusion in regards to Alt+Shift btw. I forgot that I disable it by default on my setups (so that it doesn't interfere with any shortcuts I configure - I use Win+Space instead which always works):

[ashemedai]

On Windows 10: I can confirm 1. After pressing enter on the Japanese string, the IME resets to half-width input immediately. You do not even have to switch IMEs to trigger this.

For 2, my Alt+` switches between hiragana, or Japanese input, and half-width, or direct input. But it also does this in e.g. Notepad. AFAIK Alt+` isn't supposed to iterate through all modes. The shortcut documentation seems to agree here.

Edit addendum: I am dumb and totally missed this is about Google's IME, not Microsoft's. I tested with Microsoft's IME.

[lhecker]

On Windows 10: I can confirm 1. After pressing enter on the Japanese string, the IME resets to half-width input immediately. You do not even have to switch IMEs to trigger this.

I couldn't reproduce this with the Google Japanese Input IME - only with the Microsoft Japanese IME. But that issue will be fixed by #13678.

[lhecker]

3. Possibly related to the above issues, once I'm using Google Japanese Input, I expect it to swap between my usual mode, Hiragana, and Direct Input Mode when I swap modes in vim. [...]

@robqliu I'm not 100% certain I understood you correctly, but I believe we can't fix that issue (point 3.), because a Terminal has no knowledge about what "kind" of input an application wants. In other words, vim doesn't tell the terminal when it enters or exits edit mode, so we can't switch between Hiragana/Direct input mode either. But maybe the this works in gvim (i.e. the UI version of vim for Windows), since that one isn't actually running in a terminal? gvim has full control over how it wants input, so they could definitely support that feature.

[ashemedai]

On Windows 10: I can confirm 1. After pressing enter on the Japanese string, the IME resets to half-width input immediately. You do not even have to switch IMEs to trigger this.

I couldn't reproduce this with the Google Japanese Input IME - only with the Microsoft Japanese IME. But that issue will be fixed by #13678.

Sorry, it's been a long day. Totally missed this is about the Google Japanese IME, not the Microsoft one. Disregard my Alt+` comment then.

[robqliu]

I've just installed the IME and I'm already hitting a problem at reproducing the issue. 😥 Alt+Shift doesn't switch between the most recently used mode for me. Alt+` does. Are you perhaps using any custom settings for Google Japanese Input or a different version? I'm on 2.28.4650.0. I couldn't find any setting that would change this behavior...

The alt+shift binding I learned when I was using the Microsoft Japanese IME. Here are some random links that mention it, I don't believe I ever manually added a binding (nor do I really see how...): https://sethclydesdale.github.io/genki-study-resources/help/writing/#microsoft-shortcuts https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/japanese-ime-hiragana-toggle-keys/3b2ffa3e-29ee-4d5a-b65b-dc67c9c869fc

Yeah I've seen the point about gvim vs. vim in other tickets, but I think I'm just confused how git bash for windows seems to deal with this. It uses a specially compiled version of vim but shouldn't it have the same issues? Or do you think their vim is somehow integrated with the git bash terminal in a way that it can toggle the current IME? I can try swapping to gvim since I already have an x-server setup for other apps, but I've always had minor issues with gvim (probably just my configuration being not-actually-portable).

edit Hm, gvim seems to have other issues. I can swap to Hiragana via alt + ` , but it... doesn't actually work? Like I can't actually type hiragana/there's no pop-up window--it's identical to if the keyboard was still set to ENG. Also, it doesn't seem to swap IMEs based on input mode vs. normal mode. I wonder if this is just a configuration issue with gvim though...

[yuru7]

I think alt+shift binding is a Windows settings.

The setting procedure is described in the following page. I apologize that it is in Japanese and is a help page of a computer manufacturer. https://support.hp.com/jp-ja/document/c02652602

[driver1998]

Alt-Shift is a Windows shortcut to switch between input languages, not keyboard layouts or IMEs. So you'll need something like English language and Japanese Language with IMEs for it to work.

Ctrl-Shift is for switching keyboard layouts or IMEs within a language.

[zadjii-msft]

Sorry, there's a lot to try and unpack here. To try and summarize:

1. "alt+shift should swap between your most recently used IMEs, and it preserves the mode in Google Japanese Input for me... unless I'm using Terminal, in which case it seems to always go to Half-width alphanumeric"
   • This sounds like it would be improved by #13678
2. if I use alt + `, it normally cycles through all of the "modes". When I'm in Terminal, it seems to only cycle between Half-width alphanumeric and Direct Input
   • Same as above
3. Yea, this sounds like something that gvim can do, but vim in the Terminal wouldn't be capable of (there's no way for a client app to tell it's connected terminal window to change the IME mode)

Right? Maybe we can get a hotfix build of 1.15 with that PR in it out soon to confirm?

[robqliu]

Hm, the issues linked to in that commit seem orthogonal, but the description of the fix feels vaguely generic enough that it might end up fixing (1) and (2)? Looking forward to trying out a build when it's available

For (3), I think I'm just curious why "git bash for windows" seems to support this if WSL can't. Like how is their version of vim "tell[ing] the terminal when it enters or exits edit mode"? But yeah, if it's truly impossible then that's how it is. Though it's worth noting that gvim doesn't seem to work well in WSL per my comment above, but I can file a separate ticket for that