In double-byte applications, which use IMEs, input data travels as follows:

  1. From the user
  2. Through the keyboard
  3. Through the IME
  4. Through the keyboard buffer
  5. Though the OpenEdge application
  6. Through the OpenEdge screen frame
  7. To the screen

As before, once input data reaches the keyboard buffer, the programmer can query it using the ABL LASTKEY function and READKEY statement.

The following figure illustrates the flow of data through an application that uses an input method editor.

Figure 1. Data flow through an application using an input method editor