View source for Preparing Computers for Tibetan Editing

This article describes how to install the required software in order to be able to display and edit texts encoded in [[Tibetan Unicode]].<ref>This is based on an article I wrote on the [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Tibetan_Unicode_Installation dharmadictionary.net] wiki</ref>
==Overview==
In order to be able to view and edit Tibetan texts encoded in [[Tibetan Unicode]] you need three components:

* A operating system that supports displaying ''complex scripts''.
* [[Tibetan Fonts]] in Unicode format
* A [[Tibetan Input Method]]

One of the major advantages of [[Unicode]] is that Unicode applications do not need to understand the rules how to create glyphs for a given language. The actual knowhow how to create Tibetan stacks resides within the Unicode font and the ''complex script'' support of the operating system. 

Once all three components above are available, standard Unicode applications can be used to create, edit and display Tibetan texts.

A particularly useful Unicode application is [http://www.openoffice.org OpenOffice]. OpenOffice 3.1 is available for Windows, Linux and Mac, so Unicode documents created with OpenOffice can efficiently be shared across platforms. ''See also:'' [[Configuring OpenOffice for Tibetan script]].

Use the [[Tibetan Unicode Test Page]] to verify your installation.

==Preparation Guides for different Operating Systems==
* [[Preparing a Computer running Windows XP for Tibetan Editing]]
* [[Preparing a Computer running Windows Vista or Windows 7 for Tibetan Editing]]
* [[Preparing a Computer running Mac OS-X 10.5.x for Tibetan Editing]]
* [[Preparing a Computer running Linux for Tibetan Editing]]

'''Note:''' for mobile devices, see:
* [[Tibetan Input Method for Apple iOS 4.2 devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch)|Tibetan keyboard for iPad, iPhone iOS 4.2 devices]]

==Additional helpful tools==
A number of [[How to edit Tibetan texts|Tibetan text editors]] and [[How to convert different legacy formats of Tibetan texts into standard Unicode Tibetan|font conversion programs]] are available mainly for Windows that can be used to convert existing legacy documents in various different Tibetan encodings of the pre-Unicode era.

==Additional information==
* Information on [[Tibetan Unicode]]
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* [[Developing Tibetan Software]]
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==Internal links==
* [[Configuring Microsoft Office 2003, 2007 or 2010 for Tibetan script]]
* [[LibreOffice / OpenOffice configuration for Tibetan script support]]. 
* [[Formatting rules for Tibetan text]] - This article explains the basic rules for formatting Tibetan texts, and shows how to use LibreOffice to create properly formatted Tibetan documents.
* [[How to edit Tibetan texts]] - This article explains the basic setup to be able to work with Tibetan texts in Office (LibreOffice or Microsoft)
* [[Tibetan Formatting LibreOffice Extension]] - The extension allows left/right justification of Tibetan text including automatic Rinchen Spungs Shad handling.
* [[Tibetan Unicode]]
* [[Unicode]]

==External Links==
* http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Tibetan_Unicode_Installation (main source)
* http://www.thdl.org/xml/showEssay.php?xml=/tools/fonts/unicode-explain-eng.xml (preparing Windows XP)

==References==
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[[Category:Tibetan Software]][[Category:tools]][[Category:How-to]]