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color:#FFFFFF; padding:10 0 0 0; margin:0 0 0 0">Computers & Writing Systems</p> </div> <div style="padding:0 0 0 0; background-color:#000000; color:#FFFFFF"> <table width='100%'> <tr> <td style="padding: 0 0 0 25px"><a class="GlobalNavLink" href="http://www.sil.org/">SIL HOME</a> | <a class="GlobalNavLink" href="https://software.sil.org/products/">SIL SOFTWARE</a> | <a class="GlobalNavLink" href="/support.html">SUPPORT</a> | <a class="GlobalNavLink" href="https://www.givedirect.org/donate/?cid=13536">DONATE</a> | <a class="GlobalNavLink" href="/privacy-policy.html">PRIVACY POLICY</a> </td> <td align='right' width='20%'> <script async src="https://cse.google.com/cse.js?cx=0760bf09a6bff4b0c"></script><style>.gsc-control-cse {padding: 0.6em; min-width: 10em; width: 18em; max-width: 20em} form.gsc-search-box {display: unset;}</style><div class="gcse-search"></div> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div style="padding:0 25 25 25"> <p class='CategoryPath'>You are here: <a class='CategoryPath' href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dencoding%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Encoding</a> > <a class='CategoryPath' href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dconversion%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Conversion</a><br> Short URL: <a href='/utconvertq4.html'>https://scripts.sil.org/UTConvertQ4</a></p>   <p><span class='item_series'>When to Convert to Unicode</span></p><h1>Can you type all the characters you need? </h1> <p> <span class='author_date_hits'>Albert Bickford, Jim Brase and Lorna Priest, 2007-05-11</span></p><div class='Sidebar'><p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvert2unicode%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>When to Convert to Unicode</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq1%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>What is Unicode? and Why do I need to use Unicode?</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq2%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Is Unicode ready for you?</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq3%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Are there fonts available that will work for you?</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq4%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Can you type all the characters you need?</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq5%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Does available Unicode software meet your needs?</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq6%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Is anyone requiring you to use Unicode?</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq7%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Is software going to force Unicode on you?</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq8%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Is it time to archive your data?</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq9%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Is the technical expertise to do the conversion available to you?</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq10%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Are you ready to learn about how to use Unicode?</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq11%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Do your colleagues use Unicode?</a></p> <p><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq12%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Are you willing and able to “straddle the fence”?</a></p> </div><p></p> <p>Fonts are just one half of what is needed for supporting special characters. You also need to have some easy way to type them, either specialized keyboards that allow you to type all the characters you need or (with some languages) more elaborate input methods called Input Method Editors (IMEs). Here’s where you’ll probably need to consult a computer technician to find one that will give you the characters you need and will work with all the software you want to use (see section <a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvertq5%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Does available Unicode software meet your needs?</a>). For more details about options and some of the issues, see <a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dinputtoollinks%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Some tools and resources for character input</a>.</p> <p>You probably are used to keyboarding characters in a particular way. It may or may not be possible to continue typing things in exactly the same way after you convert to Unicode. For example, if you are used to typing diacritics before base characters as dead keys, you may need to learn to type them afterward. Learning isn’t really very hard, but it does take some time and attention and the willingness to do so. If you’re not prepared to learn a new keyboarding system, then find out if a new keyboard can be built for you that allows you to use the same keystrokes you’re used to using. </p> <a name='3c7f83a4'></a> <h3>Advanced Resources</h3> <ul class='dListUnordered'> <li><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dwsi_guidelines_sec_5_3%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Keystrokes and codepoints</a></li> <li><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dwsi_guidelines_sec_7%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Data Entry and Editing</a></li> <li><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dkeybrddesign%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>An introduction to keyboard layout design theory: What goes where?</a></li> <li><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dinputtoollinks%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Some tools and resources for character input</a></li> <li><a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dkeymanvsmsklc%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>Comparing Keyman and Microsoft Windows Keyboard Layout Creator</a></li> </ul> <p>Back to <a href='/cms/scripts/page.php%3Fid%3Dutconvert2unicode%26site_id%3Dnrsi.html'>When to Convert to Unicode</a>.</p> <hr> <p><small>© 2003-2024 <a href='http://www.sil.org/' target='_blank'>SIL International</a>, all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted elsewhere on this page.<br> Provided by SIL's Writing Systems Technology team (formerly known as NRSI). Read our <a href="/privacy-policy.html">Privacy Policy</a>. <a href='/support.html'>Contact us here.</a></small></p> </div> </td> </table> </body> </html>