# விக்கிப்பீடியா:Font help


***For tamil text typing help see .***  

**Quick guide for viewing this Wikipedia**  

This site uses Unicode Tamil fonts. To see them displayed correctly, follow the steps below.  

"**For Windows OS install** (tamilnet99) (எ-கலப்பை)"  

**For GNU/Linux OS and Firefox browser**  

1. Download and install the tamil opentype fonts from sourceforge.  
(You have to restart your desktop environment after font installation(alt+ctrl+backspace))  

2. View the web page in some browsers (such as konqbrowser or Firefox). if you get any problems, try to change your browser's encoding into utf-8. Upgrade your Firefox.  

3. If you get any font spacing problems, please make TSCu_paranar.ttf as your browsers default font.  

4. Join Tamillinix yahoo group for support.  

For more information  

**For Windows OS and IE browser**  

1. Change the view-->Encoding menu in your browser to Unicode (UTF-8) and refresh your page.  

2. If Tamil text is still not displayed, try setting the display font for Tamil in the Tools-->Internet options-->Fonts menu to *Latha* which is a Unicode Tamil font that comes with Windows XP .  

3. If you are not using windows XP, then you can download Tamil unicode fonts for free from here and then install in your computer.  

4. Then set the Tools-->Internet options-->Fonts menu to the font you just installed and then Change the view-->Encoding menu in your browser to Unicode (UTF-8) and refresh your page.  

---

Enabling Tamil on your desktop. Here's a comprehensive document to help you through enabling Tamil on your desktop on your favourite Operating System. Browse through the index and read the section relevant to your Operating System.  

## Who should read this?
If you are unable to view or edit the Tamil text on this Wikipedia, this page is for you. This page is also recommended for users who can view or edit but are not familiar with editing documents in Tamil using Unicode.  
Despite the title of the document, the instructions will apply to all sites and content which use Unicode.  

## Preparing your system for Tamil
While most new versions of Windows Operating Systems and Linux Distributions have basic support for viewing and editing Tamil in Unicode, they still might have some quirks or need some configuration to get it working.  

### GNU/Linux Operating system

#### Ubuntu Dapper Drake

1. install Tamil support package  

sudo apt-get install language-support-ta  

or  

open synaptic package manager, search for **language-support-ta** install it  

#### Ubuntu Edgy Eft

Download Tabuntu package and install it on your system  

### Windows 2000/ XP/ 2003 Family
#### Before Installing UNICODE support

#### setting up UNICODE
- Logon to the computer as an administrator
- Start -> Run ->intl.cpl from there choose language tab and choose complex script if you are in Windows XP/2003 or Indic if you are in Windows 2000. Insert the appropriate CD when prompted.
- For windows XP/2003
  - Go to Control Panel->Regional Settings->Languages->Install support for complex scripts including Thai (Figure below)
- For Windows XP SP2
  - You may prefer to install Tamil :en:Windows Language Interface Pack gives nearly 80% of the operating system in Tamil.
- For Widnows 2000
  - Go to Control Panel->Regional Options ->Languages->Indic (tick the indic) and click OK.

- Click Apply/OK (Figure Below)

- You will require the Windows 2000/XP/2003 CD Depending on your OS.
- Note that any cd (I mean the same OS CD) will do the trick there is no need to have the same that used to install the os.

- Reboot

#### Display
Out of the Box support for viewing pages in Tamil thanks to the Arial Unicode MS font.  

#### Fonts
Besides the *Arial Unicode MS* font, Windows XP also comes with *Latha* which gets installed if you follow the steps detailed in the next section (*Input*). You can also download Tamil unicode fonts from here.  

#### Input

##### Selecting the Input method
Thamizha e-kalappai consists of it’s own UNICODE engine which doesn’t require require underlying operating system support. Although it is useful if you setup the underlying operating system support as you can rename the folders and do lot more.  
- Thamizha e-kalappai is available in three forms
  - Anjal layout this is the phonetic version. Widely used by the tamil all over the world. Which actually get's the key sequence in English and then convert it to appropriate tamil words.
  - Bamini layout is widely used in Sri Lanka which is actually based on old typewriter keyboard.
  - Tamil 99 keyboard is suggested by the Tamil Nadu government and has not yet been popular out side of India.
- There is an online Phonetic one where you can type is available viaThamizha
  - Currently works verywell with firefox browser

- There is another online Phonetic one where you can type is available via Indian Language Converter
  - Currently works verywell with IE.

To enable unicode in windows xp download this file and install your computer it will enable your computer unicode ready.  
file available in the following link  
http://fb.esnips.com/web/Support-Files  

#### Browsing
MS IE, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla and variants and Opera all display Tamil by Default without any modification and input if above step is carried out.  

### GNU/Linux and FreeBSD
Although almost all Linux Distributions have support for Tamil, browsing Tamil Unicode websites especially using the default Mozilla or its variants like Firefox, Galeon or Epiphany does not work.  

#### Distribution specific
##### Mandrakelinux
Of all distributions, Mandrakelinux has the best support for Tamil out of the box. It includes Tamil fonts, Tamil locale, Inscript layout and KDE with Tamil Support. If you are using Mandrakelinux, most of these steps are optional.  

*Note:* To install the Tamil package if you have not done during installation, do the following steps, as root:  
- install locale: **urpmi locales-ta**
- install fonts: **urpmi fonts-ttf-tamil**
- launch localedrake, and select Tamil language
- configure keyboard (through control ) to select Tamil keyboard

#### Fonts
The following instructions will help install fonts for a single user on the system (no root password required)  
- Get Tamil unicode font font from Tamil @sf.net.
$ wget http://Tamil.sourceforge.net/downloads/fonts/Tamil%20opentype%20fonts.zip  
- Unzip the font package file
$ unzip Tamil%20opentype%20fonts.zip  
- Copy these files to ".fonts" directory in your home directory
$ mkdir ~/.fonts  
$ copy *.ttf ~/.fonts  
- Update the font cache
$ fc-cache  
You will need to restart an application after installing the font to see the newly installed font in that application.  

#### Input Methods

##### Tamil.sg Online Editor
- Use Internet Explorer and goto Free Tamil Online Editor, For example when you type amma to get அம்மா. (Romanised input method). Just type as you pronounce tamil and then copy paste anywhere.

##### XKB
- Download Nudi layout (phonetic), untar(*tar zxvf nudi.tar.gz*) and follow the instructions that come with it to install and use it.
- Layout (non-phonetic) for Tamil comes by default on most distributions (To check, run:**ls /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xkb/symbols/tml**). If not, install this http://indlinux.sourceforge.net/downloads/inscript_xkb.tar.gz

##### m17n
The m17n - SCIM framework gives standardized (UTF-8) Tamil editing capabilities on standard keyboards.  

m17n library is an opensource initiative for realizing multilingualization in Linux/Unix Platforms. The library serves as a backend for the Smart Common Input Method (SCIM) Project. SCIM provides a neat way of switching between Tamil and English keys.  

Hence, to achieve full Tamil editing capabilities on your linux system this way, you should have both the m17n backend and the SCIM frontend.  

Here is the step by step procedure:  

1. Download the m17n libraries and database sources from here  
Alternatively, Fedora Users can install source rpms from Fedora Extras  
Install both the libraries and databases.  
1. Go to the library source directory in the terminal and logged in as root, type './configure' and then 'make' and 'make install'  
2. Do the same for the database.  
2. Download SCIM from here  
Alternatively, Fedora Users can install from Fedora Extras  
Install SCIM the same way you did m17n  
(cd to source,'./configure', 'make' and 'make install') or rpm -ivh 'filename.rpm' if you downloaded the rpm.  
3. Download the m17n-SCIM interface from here  
Alternatively, Fedora users can install it from Fedora Extras  
Install the m17n-SCIM in a similar fashion.  
Some users have encountered trouble in finding the already installed SCIM package when they use './configure'. To correct this problem, please follow these guidlines.  
1. To make sure that you have scim, in the terminal, try "whereis scim". you should get something similar to 'scim: /usr/bin/scim.....'  
2. In the terminal, try "whereis pkgconfig". You should have 2-3 results. Go to the directory each of these directories and see if 'scim.pc' is present. If so, include the path of that directory in the environment variable PKG_CONFIG_PATH (ex: export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig )  
Once pkgconfig is able to find scim, installation should proceed smoothly.  
4. After installation, in Fedora 3 you should see the SCIM Input Method Setup in Applications-->Preferences-->More Preferences  
Alternatively, you can invoke scim-setup by typing sciim-setup in the terminal.  
5. Once the SCIM fron end starts,  
Go to the IME-engine-->Global Setup option to see the Tamil keyboard listed.  
Go to Tamil, expand the tree and you see the m17n kan-itrans option and click edit hot-keys. Choose a convineint hotkey for changing the keyboard to Tamil.  
Go to Front end --> Global Hotkeys. Choose another hotkey to invoke this setup utility.  
Go to Panel--> GTK and select all options you want to make the SCIM utility easily accesible.  

Now you are all set to type in Tamil!!!. Go to any UTF-8 enabled editor or IM (gedit, gaim work!) and select the m17n kan itrans Keyboard in Tamil in the SCIM utility (which should be running on the desktop panel) and start typing Tamil! If you any further doubts and questions, please visit http://Tamil.sourceforge.net/support and post your queries.  

##### IIIMF
IIIMF is an multi-platform input method framework. IIMF comes with Nudi and Inscript layouts for Tamil. But be warned, it is very unstable. The IIIMF howto at Indlinux provides more information and step by step instructions on installation and usage.  

##### ISIS
ISIS is an easy-to-use system for computation using Indian scripts, developed by Gautam Sengupta of the Center for Applied Linguistics & Translation Studies, University of Hyderabad.  
ISIS binaries can be downloaded from here.  

##### Inscript Layout
Inscript layout is easy to setup. It is readily available in most of the distributions. Instuctions to enable the layout vary depending on your desktop environment or distribution.  

###### Mandrakelinux (keyboarddrake)
On Mandrakelinux the preferred way to enable the inscript layout keyboard is through the Mandrakelinux control -> keyboard, choose the *Tamil* keyboard, and the key combination to switch between US and Tamil layouts; that will work for all desktop and WM.  

###### GNOME 2.8.x and above
- Enable the Keyboard Indicator
Right click on panel  
Choose Add to Panel...  
Choose Keyboard Indicator  
Click Add  
You should now see a Keyboard Indicator applet on your panel.  
- Add Tamil as one of the layouts
Right click on Keyboard Indicator  
Choose Open Keyboard Preferences  
Choose Layout tab  
Select 'Tamil INSCRIPT layout' or 'A Tamil typewrite-style keymap;Unicode encoding' in Available Layouts list  
Click Add  
On the keyboard indicator, when you see *Tml* you will be typing in Tamil.  
- Assign a shortcut to switching between US and Tamil keyboard layouts.
Right click on the Keyboard Indicator  
Choose Open Keyboard Preferences  
Choose Layout Options tab  
Select an option from Group Shift/Lock Behaviour in Avaiable Options list  
Click Add  
You will now be able to switch the groups using a keyboard shortcut depending on the option you have chosen.  

###### GNOME 2.6.x
- Enable the Keyboard Indicator
Right click on panel  
Choose Add to Panel  
Choose Utility  
Choose Keyboard Indicator  
You should now see a Keyboard Indicator applet on your panel.  
- Add Tamil as one of the layouts
Right click on Keyboard Indicator  
Choose Open Keyboard Preferences  
Choose Layout tab  
Select Tamil in Available Layouts list  
Click Add  
On the keyboard indicator, when you see *tel* you will typing in Tamil.  
- Assign a shortcut to switching between US and Tamil keyboard layouts.
Right click on the Keyboard Indicator  
Choose Open Keyboard Preferences  
Choose Layout Options tab  
Select an option from Group Shift/Lock Behaviour category in Avaiable Options list  
Click Add  
You will now be able to switch the groups using a keyboard shortcut depending on the option you have chosen.  

###### GNOME 2.4.x and below
- Enable the Keyboard Switcher
Right click on panel  
Choose Add to Panel  
Choose Utility  
Choose Keyboard Layout Switcher  
You should now see a Keyboard Layout Switcher applet on your panel.  
- Add Tamil as one of the layouts
Right click on the Keyboard Layout Switcher applet  
Choose Preferences...  
Click add  
Select the language you want to add  
When the Keyboard Layout Swither shows Tamil, we will able to type in Tamil. You can press and Left alt and Left Shift to switch between the layouts.  
###### KDE
- Enable the Keyboard Layout Switcher
Open KDE Control Center  
Choose Regional & Accesibility  
Choose Keyboard Layout  
Select Layout tab  
Select Enable keyboard layouts  
- Add Tamil as one of the layouts
Choose Tamil from Available layouts list  
Click Add  
- Assign a shortcut to switching between US and Tamil keyboard layouts.
Select Xkb Options tab  
Select Enable Xkb options  
Select an option from the Group Shift/Lock Behaviour category in the Options list  
Click Apply  
Close Control Center  
You should now see Keyboard Layout Switcher in the notification area. You can switch keyboard layouts by clicking on the Keyboard Layout Switcher or by using the keyboard shortcut you have chosen.  

#### Browsing
##### Konqueror
The version of Konqueror that comes with KDE 3.2 or above or if you are using Konqueror with QT 3.2 or above, you will get Tamil Display and Input in Unicode, provided you have followed the above steps.  

##### Mozilla
By default, Mozilla products on Fedora Core 3, Suse Linux & Ubuntu come with indic lanugage support. All you need to do is put the following statements in your Mozilla/FireFox/Thunderbird executable (Ex: in /usr/bin/firefox ) under #Variables or your ~/.bashrc file.  
<pre>  
MOZ_ENABLE_PANGO=1  
export MOZ_ENABLE_PANGO  
</pre>  

Alternatively, you can download Mozilla Binaries with Indic (including Tamil) support from http://www.indlinux.org/wiki/index.php/TamingTheDragon  
The TamingtheDragon page also has instructions on enabling Indic (including Tamil) support if you want to build from source.  

##### Firefox
Two tamil blog posts on unicode tamil font rendering help in firefox are below:  
1. http://tamilgnu.blogspot.com/2006/08/firefox.html  
2. http://tamilgnu.blogspot.com/2006/09/firefox.html  

### Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows 98
Although officially there is no support for the above Operating Systems, some users have reported that using IE6 upgrades Tamil Support for the Browser. Please make enquiries on the mailing lists/boards listed below.  

(The following is some additional information from the Unicode site regarding **Windows 2000**.)  

For Windows 2000, getting additional languages installed is as follows:  

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Regional Options.  

In the General tab, set all the languages you may want to display, the more you set, the more you will be able to process multilingual data through all your applications, including your browser. This adds fonts as well as system support for these languages.  

**Full fonts with Office 2000**  

If you have Microsoft Office 2000 and newer versions, you can get the Arial Unicode MS font, which is the most complete. To get it, insert the Office CD, and do a custom install. Choose Add or Remove Features. Click the (+) next to Office Tools, then International Support, then the Universal Font icon, and choose the installation option you want.  

### Mac OS X

#### Mac OS X Tiger
Tamil Unicode fonts are natively supported in Mac OS X Tiger. For Tamil typing, the input keyboard (Anjal or Tamil99) can be enabled in the "System Preferences ->International" menu.  

#### Mac OS X Panther and below
##### Fonts
In order to see Tamil under Mac OS X, you need to install fonts containing these characters.  
- Download these open-source fonts and/or the Code 2000 font.
- Open the archive (if you downloaded it) in Stuffit Expander or expand from the terminal using the command <tt>tar -xzf "~/Desktop/Tamil opentype fonts.tgz"</tt>
- Place the new fonts in the "Fonts" folder of the "Library" folder in your home folder. (~/Library/Fonts/)

##### Keyboard Layout
In order to type Tamil efficiently, you need to change your keyboard layout. This is done in the System Preferences. Unfortunetly Mac OS X doesn't ship with a Tamil keyboard layout by default, so you will have to use the Character Palette (1) or Unicode Hex Input (2).  

Recommended (1):  
- Open "System Preferences" from the Apple menu or by other means.
- Select the "International" pane, and click the "Input Menu" tab.
- Ensure "Show input menu in menu bar" is enabled at the bottom of this window.
- From the Input Menu on the side of the menu bar (the one with the flag icon), select "Show Character Palette".
- From the View pop-up at the top of the window that appears, select "Unicode", and then select the "Unicode Blocks" tab that appears just below.
- Scroll down to "Tamil" and select it. Choose a letter and click "Insert" at the bottom (or double-click the letter) to insert it where you were typing.

Alternatively (2):  
- Open "System Preferences" from the Apple menu or by other means.
- Select the "International" pane, and click the "Input Menu" tab.
- Scroll to the bottom and turn on "Unicode Hex Input".
- Ensure "Show input menu in menu bar" is enabled below as with (1) above.
- Select "Unicode Hex Input" from the Input Menu. Holding Option and typing hexadecimal numbers will now produce Unicode characters. You must be familiar with the hex codes for the characters you want to use this method.

##### Alternative
Another alternative (untested) is to install the *X11 server* and the instructions in the next section should work for you.  

## Unicode
### Definition
Unicode is a universal character set which defines code points for each character in almost every script in the world including Tamil. It is an internationally accepted standard published by the Unicode Consortium Unicode Consortium and supported in most Operating Systems. The Tamilnadu Government is representing for Tamil on the Unicode Consortium through Ministry of Information and Technology, Govt of India.  

### Why does Tamil Wikipedia use Unicode?

- It's an accepted standard (see above section).
- Software to view and edit comes either with the Operating System or is freely available.
- Search is seamless.
- It is extremely easy to translate the wikipedia's interface.

See discussion on Unicode usage in Wikipedia.