Tibetan! 5 for Windows

Overview

• Tibetan! version 5 is name for a program that adds Tibetan typing capability to Word and WordPerfect for Windows.

• The package for WordPerfect contains a keyboard for typing Tibetan text into WordPerfect.  It is not easy to use though, because of restrictions in WordPerfect itself.

• The package for Word has many more features than that for WordPerfect.  It has a very nicely designed and easy-to-use Tibetan keyboard system.  It also has a very nice replacement for Word's rather hard-to-use symbol insertion feature.  It has Wylie-transliteration to Tibetan-text converter and ACIP-transliteration to Tibetan-text converters, too.

The two programs are provided for people who must work with or type Tibetan text directly inside Word or WordPerfect.  Neither of these programs is very friendly to Tibetan text though and we recommend TibetDoc for most Tibetan-text related typing purposes.  In particular, TibetDoc makes Tibetan pecha perfectly and easily.  WordPerfect can make very nice pecha but it is very difficult to do; Word simply cannot make authentic pecha.  Also, TibetDoc works directly with the Tibetan dictionaries and texts from Padma Karpo Translation Committee.  You can click on a Tibetan word and immediately look it up in any of several dictionaries at once.  Or you can use TibetDoc to make your own glossaries and texts.  This is not possible within Word or WordPerfect.

In short, TibetDoc is the main program that we provide for typing and working with Tibetan text.  However, for those who must work with Tibetan text in Word or WordPerfect, these packages do provide a way and the package for Word is very nicely programmed and very easy to use.

Basic features:

• Both programs are easy to install and precise installation instructions are given in the documentation.  For WordPerfect, a couple of files must be copied and there is about 5 minutes of setup inside WordPerfect.  For Word there is one file to copy and about 1 minute of setup inside Word.
  

• Tibetan keyboard.  The programs come with the same keyboards as all of our other programs so that if you learn one, you know them all.  There are two keyboards for direct typing of Tibetan, both of which are customizable.  You can also make your own keyboard layout and install it.  All keyboards are fully documented as are instructions for customizing them.  Poster-style keyboard layout maps that can be printed are also provided in the documentation.

• Tibetan typeface.  The standard Tibetan typeface called Tibetan Machine is provided with the programs.  The Tibetan Calligraphic and Tibetan Classic typefaces are optionally available for higher quality printing or for the needs of Tibetans who naturally want the most authentic typefaces.  All typefaces are Truetype format.  All fonts have total support for Tibetan - Sanskrit.  This is provided via the keyboard and fonts: several hundred Tibetan-Sanskrit stacks are available in the fonts and can be typed easily and directly from the keyboard.  The typing system is exactly the same as for native Tibetan stacks, so there is nothing extra to learn.  Furthermore, any very unusual stacks that are not available can be made using the special half-height characters included in the fonts in conjunction with Word or WordPerfect's advance feature.

• A 150+ page manual with all the instructions you need to use the software is provided in Adobe Acrobat pdf (version 4) format for each program.  The manuals are unusually complete, containing not only basic information about how to install and use the software but complete chapters on the fine details of producing Tibetan pecha, rules of grammar, etc.  You can obtain a free copy of the manuals on the download page of this site.

Special features:

• The WordPerfect software comes standard with a complete set of powerful and authentic Tibetan pecha templates and complete instructions for their use.  The Word software does not since Word lacks the features needed for making authentic Tibetan pecha.  The templates are the same ones used at the largest Tibetan text preservation project (Drukpa Kagyu Heritage Project).  However, as above, pecha are hard to make in WordPerfect.  If you want to make pecha, you should use TibetDoc, which is designed for the purpose.

• The Word software comes with very efficient converters.  It converts from transliterated Wylie to Tibetan text and also from ACIP transliteration system to Tibetan text.  (These converters are also in TibetDoc).
  

• The Word software comes with a very easy to use Wylie keyboard.  As you type Tibetan in Wylie transliteration, the text is converted to Tibetan text on the fly.

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