Contributor(s): Tony Duff.
Tibetan! is a macro that allows Tibetan script to be entered directly into a Word or WordPerfect document using the Tibetan Machine and Tibetan Machine Web fonts. This software was developed by Tony Duff of the Tibetan Computer Company and has been made freely available under the GNU General Public License, through the generous sponsorship of the The Trace Foundation.
Several different versions of Tibetan! are available. These versions, their operating system requirements, and the fonts they use are listed below:
Tibetan! Version | Compatible Software | Operating System | Font |
---|---|---|---|
Tibetan! for Word | Word for Windows 97 | Windows 95+ | Tibetan Machine Web Tibetan Machine |
Tibetan! for WordPerfect | WordPerfect 8 or higher | Windows 95+ | Tibetan Machine |
Tibetan! for Word:Mac | Word:Mac 98, 2001, or X | Mac OS 8.6+, 9.04+ | Tibetan Machine Web |
Please Note: Because of the new Unix file system used in OS X, the Tibetan! macro does not work on this latest Apple system.
Here is the documentation for Tibetan!:
All the versions of Tibetan! use two specially devised keyboards. In the first, Tibetan consonants are mapped sequentially across the standard keyboard beginning with the 'q' key. In other words, the first letter of the Tibetan syllabary, The Tibetan letter, , is assigned the letter 'q' on the keyboard; the second Tibetan letter, , is assigned the letter 'w', and so forth. A stacking key (h) is used to build Tibetan ligature stacks, and the vowels are centrally placed on the 'g', 'j', 'b', and 'n'. Tibetan! also provides a second keyboard composed by Tony Duff based on the frequency of Tibetan letters in actual use. In this keyboard, the most commonly used Tibetan letters are assigned the most accessible keys on the keyboard to allow for greater speed in typing Tibetan.
Tibetan! for the Mac has been updated by David Dvore of the Mahāsiddha Nyingmapa Center. The update allows it to run on Mac OS 8 and 9.
For entering Tibetan through Wylie transliteration using the Tibetan Machine Web family of fonts, you will need either Wylie Word 1.0 or Jskad.
For further details, documentation, and the most recent updates of Tibetan!, please visit the Tibetan Computer Company.