Getting a Hindi keyboard layout for...

• Hindi on X Windows
  • Special Notes for People of the KDE Kind
• Hindi on Windows XP

Inscript(Devanagari) XKB Layout

This page illustrates my implementation (devanagari.xkb) of the Inscript(Devanagari) keyboard layout for the XFree86 >=4.3.0 and X.Org servers. For a brief rational on why I've created "yet-another-keymap", check out my Indic-Unicode Resources page at the WPI ISO's web site. To install and test this map, try the following instructions.

1. Copy devanagari.xkb to your X keymaps directory and call it "dev":

   cp -i devanagari.xkb /etc/X11/xkb/symbols/pc/dev

2. Load the keyboard map with:

   setxkbmap -rules xfree86 -model pc104 -layout "us,dev" \
        -option "grp:shift_toggle" -option "lv3:switch"
   

3. Your keyboard should still be set to the English ("us") layout.
4. Switch to the Devanagari ("dev") layout by pressing both shift keys simultaneously and then releasing them.
5. Try typing Devanagari. You may need a Unicode (UTF-8) aware application.
6. Switch back to the "us" layout by pressing both shift keys simultaneously again.

KDE Setup Notes - KKBSwitch Control Module

1. Copy devanagari.xkb to your X keymaps directory and call it "dev":

   cp -i devanagari.xkb /etc/X11/xkb/symbols/pc/dev

2. If you are using KDE's "KKBSwitch" utility (a KDE Control Module), be sure to specify a third level chooser key under Xkb options, or you will not be able to access the third or fourth levels on layouts where the author(s?) didn't force this option for you:
   

No Modifiers

This table presents the symbols you would obtain when pressing any key and not holding down other "shifting" keys like shift or control.

Modifiers: Shift

This table presents the symbols you would obtain when pressing any key and holding either shift key.

Modifiers: R_Ctrl

This table presents the symbols you would obtain when pressing any key and holding down the right control key.

Modifiers: R_Ctrl+Shift

This table presents the symbols you would obtain when pressing any key and holding down either shift key and the right control key.

Hindi on Windows XP

These are a few quick screen shots I saved when enabling the Microsoft Devanagari layout on a friend's XP laptop.

1. Open "Regional and Language Options" in the Control Panel:
   
2. Go to the "Languages" tab, check "Install files for complex script...", and then click the "Details..." button:
   
3. Click the "Add..." button:
   
4. Select "Input Language:" as "Hindi", "Keyboard layout/IME:" as Devanagari - INSCRIPT", and click "OK":
   
5. Back at the "Text Services and Input Languages" dialog, click the "Key Settings..." button:
   
6. The "Advanced Key Settings" dialog lets you change which keys switch between input languages:
   
7. Press "OK" to close and save the dialogs, and when prompted to "apply the keyboard layout changes now", select "Yes":
   
8. Give Notepad a try. Press Left Alt+Shift to switch languages. (unless you changed this in the previous dialog boxes)
   
9. When saving text files, be sure to select "UTF-8" under "Encoding":