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Dzongkha Unicode

Introduction

The Dzongkha pages on this website are encoded acording to the ISO 10646 / Unicode standard or "Universal Character Set" (UCS) the only recognized standard for encoding the script used to write Dzongkha and Chöké. Correct display of Dzongkha requires that there be a sophisticated Unicode complex script rendering engine on the platform; there must a Dzongkha Unicode "smart font" which contains appropriate features and instructions for the complex script rendering engine so that stacks will properly combine to form complex ligatures or "stacks"; and finally the web browser has to make proper use of this unicode rendering engine. If any one of these three conditions is not met then the display results will be less than acceptable. If you wish to edit Dzongkha text a Unicode compatible keyboard driver or input method for Dzongkha and Chöké is also required.

The latest versions of operating systems (e.g. Windows 7, Windows Vista, Macintosh OSX 10.5 and Dzongkha Linux) should come configured to support Dzongkha and other complex script languages - though it is still recomended to install the Dzongkha fonts from our site. For users of the older Windows XP and Windows 2000 operating systems it will be necessary to follow the steps outlined below and detailed on the following pages to enable the Dzongkha pages on this website to display corretly.

Installation Procedure for MS Windows

Installation procedure for Dzongkha Unicode in Windows Vista:

1. First install a Dzongkha font in C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\ folder:

2.  Next install the Dzongkha Bhutan locale:

To function properly DZ-BT Locale must be installed before installing the keyboard.

3. Finally install the Dzongkha keyboard:

Note: The Dzongkha Locale and updated Dzongkha Keyboard have been provided by the Dzongkha Development Commission.

Outline of Installation procedure for Windows XP

Dzongkha Unicode will work correctly in versions of Windows XP and Windows 2000 only if certain conditions are met:.
  • First you need to have at least one Dzongkha Unicode font installed .
  • Second you need to enable Complex Script support in Windows
  • Third, you need to upgrade Uniscribe (USP10.DLL), the complex-script shaping engine which comes with Windows XP, to a version which has support for the Dzongkha & Tibetan script.
  • Fourth, you should install a Dzongkha keyboard or input method to enable you to type & edit Unicode Dzongkha.
  • Fifth you may have to configure individual applications on your computer to use complex script languages and Dzongkha correctly.

Follow the links for detailed instructions.

 

Macintosh OSX

The Safari web-browser can display Unicode Dzongkha properly using AAT Tibetan script fonts. A number of such fonts are available or in development - commercial fonts are available from XenoType Technologies. OpenType Dzongkha fonts may have limited functionality on Mac OSX.

Macintosh OSX 10.5 “Leopard” comes with two AAT Tibetan script fonts, Kokonor and Kailasa, which may be used for Dzongkha.