FireDictionary

FireDictionary is an add-on extension for Firefox. Upon mouse-over, it provides word definitions in a sidebar.

When you browse a Taiwanese webpage like Taigie si symmih? or http://hydonsingore.wordpress.com, it may be convenient to have an instant look-up of any words that you don't understand or don't remember. Here are directions on how to install an Instant Lookup Taiwanese-English Dictionary.

How to Install

1. Install Firefox: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox
2. Using Firefox, goto to http://www.firedictionary.com and install FireDictionary
   • Click on Download, then Install (Yes, the license is in Japanese, and it's OK if you can't read it)
   • After pressing 'Install', you should see a popup window with 'Install now' button. If you don't, Firefox is blocking that page. You need to select 'allow' by clicking on the line where it said Firefox is blocking the page first.
   • Restart Firefox after a successful installation. You should see the following page chrome://firedictionary/locale/install/GENE95.htm . Follow the directions and install the GENE95 dictionary. This is an English-to-Japanese dictionary that must be installed before you continue, even if you probably will never use it. You might need a program to open the LZH, or TAR.GZ, or TAR.BZ2 files. If using windows, try http://www.7-zip.org/ to unpack the TAR.GZ file.
3. Now download the Taiwanese-English dictionary file from http://learntaiwanese.taioaan.org/engbuunQXP.txt. Note: Make a note of where the MTL dictionary is saved. Typically it is under 'My Documents'. The dictionary file is based on work at http://www.edutech.org.tw. It is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL), which there is a copy of at http://home.so-net.net.tw/iylin/taiwaneseworkshop/gpl.txt.
4. Select Tools->FireDictionary under Firefox menu bar.
5. Select Tools->Dictionary Configuration button in the FireDictionary sidebar which is in the left pane of Firefox.
6. Choose "add..." to add a new dictionary, and fill in the fields:
   • Dictionary name: TEDict;
   • Format: PDICText;
   • Index depth: 5;
   • File name: engbuunQXP.txt; (using the Browse button to select the Taiwanese-English dictionary file you downloaded.)
   • URL*: blank;
   • Charset: ISO-8859-1
7. Press OK, then select your new dictionary (i.e. TEDict.)
8. Press OK, and restart Firefox. Take note!! After you restart and move the cursor over the first word, Firefox will appear to hang (it is actually generating an index file for the dictionary you just installed). You will see a dialog like the following pop up after several seconds: A script on this page may be busy...
9. Press Continue. Keep waiting and the above dialog will appear again, and again, and again. Each time it appears, press Continue and BE PATIENT. This only happens the first time loading a new dictionary.
10. Eventually, Firefox will return to life and your dictionary will now be functional, showing the English equivalents of the MTL Gwsuu under the mouse. Note: you need to select Tools -> FireDictionary for displaying MTL.
11. Enjoy your dictionary!

Known Issues

• The apostrophe breaks up MTL words
• Use of HTML tags to reduce font size of "Q" breaks up MTL word

References

• http://taiwanesetbox.sourceforge.net/
• http://taiwanesetbox.sourceforge.net/ch02.html