Perhaps the most useful way to use the free Hanping app is via the handwriting recognition screen, where you draw the character on the screen and the program displays a number of possible characters. From this list you pick one by long pressing.
But how do you bring up the handwriting recognition screen?
Answer: On the opening screen, the top line (with the three-line icon on the left and the three-dots-vertically icon on the right) has as the second from right icon one that is intended to look like a Chinese writing brush. Tap it. With luck, the writing screen will come up. Draw your character with your finger. Just above the writing area, the app's guesses of your character appear. Touch the one you want. Sometimes the dictionary entry for your character will appear. Other times more characters appear, and your character is on the far right. Tap it, and its dictionary entry will come up.
For example, if you draw the "woman" character, it will appear on the far left of the options list. Touching it will bring up the dictionary entry. But if you write the "one" character, the options list changes but with the "one" character at the far right. Touching it will bring up its dictionary entry. But what about all those other characters and character fragments in the second options list? What are they for? Can someone explain?
How to bring up the handwriting recognition screen?
Re: How to bring up the handwriting recognition screen?
When writing a character, Hanping attempts to recognize which character you have just written. The characters you see are the most likely matches. The left-most character is the one that most closely matches what you have written. The other characters given are in decreasing order of how close the match is.
Bonus tip: long-press on one of the suggested characters, to view the definition for that character.
Bonus tip: long-press on one of the suggested characters, to view the definition for that character.