This article provides general information about the phonetic guide.

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What Is the Phonetic Guide?

The phonetic guide is a tool that allows you to insert characters to help readers pronounce words correctly. It is available on the Format menu if you enable an Asian language, such as Japanese, but you may also use it with non-Asian languages, such as French or English.

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How Does It Work?

When you specify a phonetic guide for base text, Microsoft Word inserts the phonetic guide above the base text in the document. For example, if your document contains the expression, "tres chic," you can add a phonetic guide (for example, "tray cheek"). In the document, Word displays something like the following but it actually inserts an EQ field for each phonetic guide, that looks like this:

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Creating a Phonetic Guide

To begin using the phonetic guide, first enable an Asian language such as Japanese:

1.	Install the Microsoft Office 2000 Language Pack.
2.	Start the Language Pack. To do this, point to Programs on the Start menu, point to Microsoft Office Tools, and then click Microsoft Office Language Settings.
3.	In the Show controls and enable editing for list, click the language that you want to enable and then click Apply.
4.	If you are prompted to close all Office 2000 programs and restart them, click Yes.

To start using the phonetic guide, start Word or another Microsoft Office program, and then follow these steps:

1.	Select the text to which you want to add phonetic guides.
2.	On the Format menu, point to Asian Layout, and then click Phonetic Guide.
3.	In the Ruby Text box, enter the phonetic guides that you want to apply to the selected text.
4.	If necessary, change the font in the Font box and the font size in the Size box.
5.	Click OK.

NOTE: To delete phonetic guides, select the text to which you have applied a guide, point to Asian Layout on the Format menu and then click Phonetic Guide. Delete the text in the Ruby Text box.

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Enabling the Phonetic Guide If an Asian language Is Not Enabled

NOTE: The phonetic guide is installed with the Microsoft Office 2000 Language Pack, so you must install the program before you can use it.

To enable the phonetic guide if you haven't enabled an Asian language, follow these steps:

1.	On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2.	Click the Commands tab.
3.	In the Categories list, click Format. In the Commands list, click Phonetic Guide.
4.	Drag the command to a menu. When you see a black bar indicating the location for the command, release the mouse button.

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For more information about Phonetic Guides, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type phonetic guide in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

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