I'm trying to type in Japanese on my Mac for the first time. I've followed the instructions laid out here:

http://paperpool.com/japanesepages/Japan...Mellel.pdf

but when I input something, I get nonsense. For example, if i type the word "nihongo" on my keyboard, i don't get hiragana kana for "ni ho n go." Instead i get a line similar to a thick underscore.
When i switch to katakana and type in the word "nihongo" i get the following in katakana: "mi ni ku ra mi ki ra."

I must be missing something basic. Anybody got a suggestion for me?

As for the katakana results, you're set to a kana keyboard layout instead of an english one. So your 'n' key equals 'mi,' for example (notice the repetition).
As for your other problem, I have no idea. And I can't give you specific instructions because I'm not familiar with the particular IME.

Thanks QuackingShoe,
Your clue led me to the answer. I had toggled accicentally to the kana layout instead of the romaji input layout.
Now I'm good to go in 日本語！

With regard to the other problem, are you sure all of the fonts are installed correctly? The thick underscore indicates the current working text for the IME; you should see it, but should also see the text you entered above it.

~J

Fixing the first problem solved the second. Now I can see the text properly. Thanks to you both for your concern and help. ありがとうございました。

いや、気にしないで。

~J