THDL Toolbox > Fonts & Related Issues > Diacritic Fonts > Diacritic Input Tools > Instructions on Old Unicode Diacritics Macro For MS Word

Unicode Diacritics Macro for MS Word

Overview

This Visual Basic program, contained within a Microsoft Word document template—"diacritics.dot"—allows for the simple entry of standard diacritic marks used for transliteration in Asian studies. Through the macro, one can enter diacritic marks in any Word document associated with the template using simple, easy-to-remember keystrokes. The entry paradigm is Ctrl+Q followed by the base letter with the diacritic. If that letter has more than one possible diacritic mark associated with it, a message in the status bar provides the user with the appropriate choices. It assumes the use of a Unicode font, as only such fonts have the required characters and the macros writes the diacritics using Unicode encoding. To use the macro, one must have Windows '98 or higher and Microsoft Word '97 or higher, as well as a Unicode font, such as Arial Unicode MS, that contains the following character sets: Basic Latin, Latin 1-Supplement, Latin Extended A, and Latin Extended Additional. The macro can be installed in a variety of ways that allowed it to be accessible either globally within any Word document or within specific documents associated with the template. The range of available diacritics is listed on the THDL's Unicode Diacritics Chart. A zip-file containing the template and instructions on its installation and use can be downloaded through the top link above.

Note: Microsoft Word has several built-in shortcuts for some of the more common diacritical characters found in European languages, such as the tilde, diaresis, and so forth. These are listed in the table below for reference and can also be found in the Microsoft Word's Help under “Insert an international character by using a shortcut key”:

THDL Toolbox > Fonts & Related Issues > Diacritic Fonts > Diacritic Input Tools >

Unicode Diacritics Macro

The file, "diacritics.dot", is a Microsoft Word document template that contains a macro for easy entry of standard diacritic marks used for transliteration in Asian studies. The macro allows one to enter diacritic marks in any word document associated with the template using simple, easy-to-remember keystrokes. The macro assumes the use of a Unicode font, as only such fonts have the required characters and the macros writes the diacritics using Unicode encoding. This document contains:

License Information for Unicode Diacritics Macro

The contents of this file are subject to the THDL Open Community License Version 1.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. The license is included in this Zip archive, or you may obtain a copy of the License on the THDL web site (http://orion.lib.virginia.edu/thdl/tools/license.html).

Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific terms governing rights and limitations under the License.

The Initial Developer of this software is the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library (THDL). Portions created by the THDL are Copyright 2001 THDL.

All Rights Reserved.

System Requirements for Unicode Diacritics Macro

Windows '98 and higher (Windows '98 is the 1st version to support Unicode.)

Note: The macro itself should work on the Macintosh OS, but until OS 10, Unicode support on the Mac has been limited. Another problem is finding a Unicode Mac font that contains all the relevant codepages. For these reasons, the macro has not been tested in the Mac environment.

Microsoft Word

Word '97 and higher (Word '97 is the 1st version to support Visual Basic.)

Font

Any Unicode font that contains the following codepages:

• Basic Latin (0000-007F)
• Latin 1-Supplement (0080-00FF)
• Latin Extended-A (0100-017F)
• Latin Extended Additional (1E00-1EFF)

Installation Instructions for Unicode Diacritics Macro

There are three ways that the diacritics.dot file can be installed:

• Simply unzip the document template. The diacritic macro can then be accessed only from those documents created by the template.
• Unzip the template and place it in your template folder. This is found in:
  • Windows 98 & ME:
    • C:/WINDOWS/Application Data/Microsoft/Templates/
  • Windows 2000 & XP:
    • C:/Documents and Settings/{Your User Name}/Application Data/Microsoft/Templates/

One can then create documents from the template by choosing New under the File menu within Word. Any document created by the template will contain the macro.

• Unzip the template and place it in your Word Startup folder. This is found in:
  • Windows 98 & ME:
    • C:/WINDOWS/Application Data/Microsoft/Word/STARTUP/
  • Windows 2000 & XP:
    • C:/Documents and Settings/{Your User Name}/Application Data/Microsoft/Word/STARTUP/

One can then access the macro from any Word document. This is the preferred method for those who will be entering diacritics extensively.

The macros assumes that an adequate Unicode font is installed in your system and has been selected for the document being used. Instructions for running and using the macro follow below.

How to Use for Unicode Diacritics Macro

Prior to using the diacritics macro in Word, the use of macros needs to be enabled. This is done by choosing:

Tools ➡ Macro ➡ Security

Under the "security" tab, choose either the Medium or Low levels. Medium level means that Word will show a confirmation window each time one opens a document with macros. In the low level, Word will not check with the user. It is recommended that one chooses the medium option.

Once macros are enabled, one can start the diacritics entry macro by typing CTRL Q. This will make the following dialog box appear in the upper left corner of one's screen:

Simply type the base letter that has the diacritic mark. For instance, type 'n' for a n with a dot above (ṅ), dot below (ṇ), or tilde (~). If the letter has only one diacritic glyph that glyph will automatically appear. If it has mutliple diacritic glyphs, as in the case of n above, the program will prompt you for a choice in the status bar on the bottom left corner of the Word window:

The letter in parentheses tells you which letter to type to get the desired diacritic glyph. 'o' for a dot above (ṅ), 'u' for a dot below (ṇ), or 't' for a tilde (ñ). To get a capital N with these diacritic marks one must initially type a capital N when prompted "Enter the letter for which you want diacritics!" and one will be presented with the same choices in the status bar, except that it will say "Do you want 'N' – (o)verdot, (u)derdot, or (t)ilde?"

The Escape key can be used to abort the macro once it has been started.

In the table below, all the diacritic letters available through the macro have been listed with their corrsponding dual key strokes, pressed after the CTRL Q sequence. The list is in standard alphabetical order: Desired Diacritic

Provided for unrestricted use by the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library