Since all Japanese characters occupy the space of a square box, it is sometimes desirable to input Roman characters in the same square form in order to preserve the grid layout of the text. A typical Japanese character is square while Roman characters are typically variable in width. Hiragana, katakana, halfwidth katakana, halfwidth Roman letters, and fullwidth Roman letters are some of the options. This of course would only be the case on keyboards that contain more than one set of Japanese symbols. Some keyboards have a mode key to switch between different forms of writing. There may also be a key to instruct the computer to convert the latest hiragana characters into kanji, although usually the space key serves the same purpose since Japanese writing doesn't use spaces. Sometimes, each mode (Roman and Japanese) may even have its own key, in order to prevent ambiguity when the user is typing quickly. On most Japanese keyboards, one key switches between Roman characters and Japanese characters. On non-Japanese keyboards, option- or control- key sequences can perform all of the tasks mentioned below. This varies from computer to computer, and some OS vendors have striven to provide a consistent user interface regardless of the type of keyboard being used. Since Japanese input requires switching between Roman and hiragana entry modes, and also conversion between hiragana and kanji (as discussed below), there are usually several special keys on the keyboard.
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