YellowBridge Technical Requirements
Our website should run without any additional setup on most current browsers and computers. However, if you are having problems using the website or see funny characters or squares instead of Chinese characters, please read the rest of this page.
IMPORTANT: If a certain feature suddenly stopped working on your computer, please try restarting your computer first.
| Requirement | Remarks | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Current version of an UTF-8 compatible browser. | We support the current versions of Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari browsers. Automatic website grabbers or ad blocking tools are incompatible with our software and their use on our website is strictly prohibited by our Terms of Service. | |||||||||
| 2 | At least one traditional Chinese and one simplified Chinese font must be available
on your computer. If the expected and the actual columns match (except for font differences), you are OK.
If some characters appear as small squares in the Character Etymology pages of our Chinese dictionary pages, please see Chinese Extension Fonts. |
Windows Vista and later, MacOS. The necessary fonts come pre-installed with the system.
Windows XP. How to install Chinese fonts on Windows XP:
|
|||||||||
| 3 | JavaScript must be enabled in your browser. |
How to enable JavaScript on your IE browser.
|
|||||||||
| 4 | Use the default Security Level if using Internet Explorer. | How to change your Security Level on IE.
|
|||||||||
| 5 | Cookies must be accepted by your browser. Paypal transactions and some site features, such as the Remember Me feature will not work without cookies. |
How to enable cookies in your IE browser:
|
|||||||||
| 6 | Java is no longer required to use our language tools on current browsers. On older browsers, such as IE 8 and earlier, Java in needed for stroke order animation.
|
|
|||||||||
| 7 | Selected pages require Adobe Acrobat Reader and Chinese Fonts for Acrobat. If you plan to print our flashcards, you'll need these. | ||||||||||
| 8 | If your browser does not support HTML5 audio and MP3 (e.g. Firefox), Adobe Flash Player version 9 or later is required for audio or video playback. | Download Adobe Flash Player. | |||||||||
| 9 | If you want to be able to type in Chinese characters, you must have a Chinese
input method (optional). You don't need to be able to enter Chinese characters to access most of the website.
An input method is a small helper program that lets you enter Chinese characters by typing in the pinyin sound of the word (or some other technique) and then offers you characters that match that sound. Following installation of the input method (see instructions on the right), you should see a small icon in the taskbar showing the current language ("EN" for English). Whenever you want to type in Chinese characters, simply click on this icon and select Chinese. The icon will then show "CH". Type in the pinyin for the character or phrase. You won't need to enter the tone number. Use the letter "v" when you need to enter a "ü". A list of words matching the pinyin will appear as you type. You may select the right match by clicking on the matching word or typing its sequence number. |
Windows Vista, Windows 7.
Install the input method in your computer as follows:
|
Reporting Errors
If after meeting all of the above requirements, you still believe you have found an error on our site, please write to support@yellowbridge.com. Be sure to indicate the following:- Name and version number of your operating system (e.g. Windows XP, Service pack 2…)
- Name a version number of your Internet browser (e.g. Internet Explorer Version 7).
- What you expected to happen versus what actually happened, including the exact text of the error message, if any. Please provide as much detail as possible because if we can't replicate your problem, we can't fix it either.
- Sometimes the only way you really explains what is happening is by sending a copy of the browser window. To generate a screen
image on Windows, do the following:
- To capture the current window, hold down ALT and hit Print Scrn. To capture the entire computer display, just press Print Scrn.
- Open Windows Paint (Start->Accessories->Paint) or any other image editing software.
- Paste the screen shot by holding down CTRL and hit V.
- Crop unneeded areas to reduce the file size and save the image as a JPEG file.
- Include the JPEG file as an attachment in your e-mail.