Jskad/source/org/thdl/tib/input/jskad_doc.html

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<title>Help on Jskad</title>
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<h2>Jskad Documentation</h2>

<ul>
   <li><a href="#install">Running Jskad</a></li>
   <li><a href="#start">Getting Started</a></li>
   <li><a href="#tibetan">Typing Tibetan</a></li>
   <li><a href="#english">Typing English</a></li>
   <li><a href="#copypaste">Copying and Pasting</a></li>
   <li><a href="#wylietotmw">Converting Wylie to Tibetan</a></li>
   <li><a href="#tmwtowylie">Converting Tibetan to Wylie</a></li>
   <li><a href="#keyboards">Changing Keyboards</a></li>
   <li><a href="#advancedkeyboards">More on Keyboards</a></li>
   <li><a href="#preferences">Preferences</a></li>
   <li><a href="#trouble">Troubleshooting</a></li>
   <li><a href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/jskad.html">Jskad Home Page</a></li>
</ul>

<a name="install"></a>
<h3>Running Jskad</h3>

<p>
Jskad is launched via Java Web Start.&nbsp; Java Web Start is a
technology from Sun which allows users to launch Java applications
directly from a web browser.&nbsp; Java Web Start is supported by
Windows, Linux, Solaris, and Mac OS X 10.1, and so Jskad should work
on all of these platforms.
</p>

<p>
Note that after you've run Jskad twice, it will ask you whether or not
you want to create a shortcut to Jskad on your desktop.&nbsp; If you
say yes, then you can launch Jskad from your desktop in future,
without having to visit our web site.&nbsp; Every time Jskad runs, it
will automatically check our site for updates - unless you're offline,
in which case Jskad will just run the version which is cached on your
computer.
</p>

<p>
Note that to run Jskad you no longer need to have the <a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/tmw.html">Tibetan
Machine Web</a> family of fonts installed; they are now embedded in
Jskad itself.&nbsp; But if you wish to copy and paste into another
application, then you do need the <a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/tmw.html">Tibetan
Machine Web</a> family of fonts installed.
</p>

<p>
Note also that due to a bug in earlier versions of Java, you should
run Jskad under Java Runtime v. 1.4.&nbsp; If you are running Windows,
Linux, or Solaris and you have an earlier version installed, please
uninstall it, and then install <a
href="http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/download.html" target="_blank">Java
Runtime v. 1.4</a>.
</p>

<p>
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</p>

<a name="#start"></a>
<h3>Getting Started</h3>

<p>
When you fire up Jskad, a glitz-free window will pop up in the center
of your screen.&nbsp; Start typing and you'll get Tibetan.&nbsp; If
you get garbage instead, that probably means that you haven't <a
href="#install">installed the TibetanMachineWeb fonts</a>.
</p>

<p>
A menu bar appears at the top of the window.&nbsp; If you are running
Jskad as an application, you'll see four menus: File, Edit, Tools, and
Info.&nbsp; If you're running Jskad as an applet, you'll only see
Edit, Tools, and Info.
</p>

<p>
'File' provides basic options for opening, closing, saving, and
printing Rich Text Format (RTF) documents.&nbsp; To start a new
document, choose 'New'.&nbsp; To open an already existing document,
choose 'Open'.&nbsp; In either case, if there is any text in the
current Jskad window, a new window will be opened up.&nbsp; To close a
Jskad window, choose 'Close' or press the 'X' button.&nbsp; You will
be prompted to save if you haven't already done so.
</p>

<p>
To save, choose 'Save' or 'Save As'.&nbsp; Like other applications,
'Save' saves under the current name, while 'Save As' lets you save
under a new name.
</p>

<p>
The 'Edit' menu lets you cut, copy, and paste Tibetan text and set
document preferences.&nbsp; These topics are covered elsewhere, in <a
href="#copypaste">Copying and Pasting</a>, <a href="#tibetan">Typing
Tibetan</a>, and <a href="#english">Typing English</a>.
</p>

<p>
The 'Tools' menu provides options to help users who are <a
href="#wylietotmw">Converting Wylie to Tibetan</a> and <a
href="#tmwtowylie">Converting Tibetan to Wylie</a>.
</p>

<p>
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</p>

<a name="tibetan"></a>
<h2>Typing Tibetan</h2>

<p>
Jskad lets you input Tibetan text according to several popular
keyboard input methods.&nbsp; The default keyboard is the <a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/jskad_docs/Wylie_keyboard.rtf"
target="_blank">Extended Wylie</a> keyboard.&nbsp; Other supported
keyboards include <a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/jskad_docs/TCC_keyboard_1.rtf"
target="_blank">Tibetan Computer Company Keyboard #1</a>, <a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/jskad_docs/TCC_keyboard_2.rtf"
target="_blank">Tibetan Computer Company Keyboard #2</a> , and
Nitharta's <a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/jskad_docs/Sambhota_keymap_one.rtf"
target="_blank">Sambhota Keymap One</a>.&nbsp; There is an ACIP
keyboard also, but it is pre-alpha; there are various known bugs with
it.
</p>

<p>
Jskad automatically opens up in Tibetan-entry mode upon starting it
for the first time, so all you have to do to get Tibetan is start
typing.&nbsp; Jskad subsequently remembers the keyboard you were using
when you last exited Jskad.&nbsp; If you are in Roman-entry mode, then
you will need to first switch to Tibetan-entry mode.&nbsp; Do this by
selecting "Tibetan" from the "Input mode:" selection.&nbsp; The
default point size for Tibetan text is 36.&nbsp; To change this go to
'Preferences' in the 'Edit' menu.
</p>

<p>
Due to a bug in Jskad, the keyboard may freeze and do nothing if you
type something which is not a Tibetan character in the currently
installed keyboard.&nbsp; To regain control press the spacebar or a
number key.
</p>

<p>
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</p>

<a name="english"></a>
<h2>Typing English</h2>

<p>
With Jskad you are not restricted to just typing Tibetan.&nbsp; You
can also type English or other European languages.&nbsp; If you are in
Tibetan-entry mode, you can switch to Roman entry-mode by selection
"Roman" from the "Input mode:" drop-down box.&nbsp; If this doesn't
get you into Roman-entry mode, then Roman entry-mode has been
programmatically disabled by your alterations to your
<tt>my_thdl_preferences.txt</tt> file.
</p>

<p>
You can change the font and/or point size of Roman-based text entry by
selecting 'Preferences' from the 'Edit' menu.
</p>

<p>
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</p>

<a name="copypaste"></a>
<h3>Copying and Pasting</h3>

<p>
Jskad supports RTF copy and paste.&nbsp; That means that you can copy
Tibetan back and forth between Microsoft Word and Jskad.&nbsp; To do
so, you can use standard keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl-A for select all,
Ctrl-X for cut, Ctrl-C for copy, and Ctrl-V for paste).&nbsp; Note
that you must have the <a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/tmw.html">Tibetan
Machine Web</a> family of fonts installed on your computer for
applications besides Jskad to be aware of them.
</p>

<p>
Note that not all applications support RTF copy and paste.&nbsp;
Therefore, you cannot, for example, copy from Jskad and paste into
Microsoft Excel.&nbsp; You can, though, copy into Word, select the
snippet of Tibetan again, copy again, and then paste into Excel.
</p>

<p>
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</p>

<a name="wylietotmw"></a>
<h3>Converting Wylie to Tibetan</h3>

<p>
One of the most useful features of Jskad is its ability to convert
from Extended Wylie to Tibetan.&nbsp; There are three ways to do this:
</p>

<ol>
<li><b>Copy and Paste from Another Application</b>
<br>Copy a block of Wylie text from Microsoft Word, and then paste it in Jskad.

<p><li><b>Select Text and Convert to Tibetan</b>
<br>Select the block of text you want to convert, and then choose 'Tools - Convert Wylie to Tibetan' from the menu bar.&nbsp; Note that if you try to convert a chunk of text in which Tibetan text is surrounded by Wylie, the Wylie will convert, and the Tibetan will remain unchanged.

<p><li><b>Import Wylie and Save as RTF</b>
<br>Choose 'Tools - Import Wylie as Tibetan' from the menu bar.&nbsp; You will be prompted to 'Import Wylie'.&nbsp; Use the file chooser to select a .txt (text) file which contains nothing but Extended Wylie.&nbsp; Then you'll be prompted to 'Save as Tibetan'.&nbsp; Type a new name for your document.&nbsp; If the Wylie is valid, it will be converted and saved as RTF.&nbsp; This document can then be opened in Jskad.
</ol>

<p>
All three of these options are suitable for most situations.&nbsp;
However, if you are converting a lengthy document, you are advised to
use the 'Import' option.
</p>

<p>
In all cases, Wylie can only be converted to Tibetan if it is valid
Extended Wylie.&nbsp; If there is any invalidity, the entire
conversion will halt.&nbsp; An informational message will appear, with
a guess as to what the problem is.&nbsp; Take special note of the fact
that Microsoft Word's 'smart quotes' cannot be converted.&nbsp; If you
are copying from Microsoft Word, please turn off smart quotes (see <a
href="#trouble">Troubleshooting</a>).&nbsp; Remember also that Jskad
does not know the difference between Wylie and English.&nbsp; Just
because you can see that a string of text is Wylie doesn't mean that a
computer knows that it is!
</p>

<p>
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</p>

<a name="tmwtowylie"></a>
<h3>Converting Tibetan to Wylie</h3>

<p>
Another useful feature of Jskad is its ability to convert from Tibetan
to Extended Wylie.&nbsp; Simply select the Tibetan you want to
convert, and then choose 'Tools - Convert Tibetan to Wylie' from the
menu bar.&nbsp; The text will be converted, and will appear as Wylie
in the default Roman font and point size (see <a
href="#english">Typing English</a>).&nbsp; Jskad is fairly smart about
determining which Tibetan letter is the root letter when there is
ambiguity.
</p>

<p>
Remember that Jskad only works with the TibetanMachineWeb family of
fonts.&nbsp; Therefore, it will only recognize TibetanMachineWeb as
Tibetan.&nbsp; Any other Tibetan fonts will be assumed to be
non-Tibetan.
</p>

<p>
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</p>

<a name="keyboards"></a>
<h3>Changing Keyboards</h3>

<p>
As already mentioned, Jskad supports four different keyboard input methods:
</p>

<ol>
<li><a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/jskad_docs/Wylie_keyboard.rtf"
target="_blank">Extended Wylie</a></li>

<li><a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/jskad_docs/TCC_keyboard_1.rtf"
target="_blank">Tibetan Computer Company Keyboard #1</a></li>

<li><a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/jskad_docs/TCC_keyboard_2.rtf"
target="_blank">Tibetan Computer Company Keyboard #2</a></li>

<li><a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/jskad_docs/Sambhota_keymap_one.rtf"
target="_blank">Sambhota Keymap One</a></li>

<li>Pre-alpha ACIP keyboard.</li>
</ol>

<p>
The default keyboard is Extended Wylie.&nbsp; To change to another
keyboard, choose 'Tools - Keyboards' and then select the keyboard you
want to use.
<p>
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</p>

<a name="advancedkeyboards"></a>
<h3>More on Keyboards</h3>

<p>
If you are brave, you can create your own keyboards.&nbsp; A keyboard
file has five parts:

<ol type=a>
<li>Comments</li>
<li>A list of parameters</li>
<li>A list of characters</li>
<li>A list of vowels</li>
<li>A list of punctuation</li>
</ol>

<p>
Sections (c)-(e) are structured in exactly the same way.&nbsp; A line consists of a value, an equals sign, and another value, for example &quot;k=K&quot;.&nbsp; This means that to get the Tibetan character associated with Wylie 'k', you must press 'K'.&nbsp; If there is no right part of the equation, then there is no way in this keyboard to get the relevant character.&nbsp; For example, if you see &quot;k=&quot;, that means that there is no way in this keyboard to get the Tibetan character associated with Wylie 'k'.&nbsp; Be careful with whitespace, which is not ignored: for example, &quot; = &quot; means [space bar] = [space bar].
</p>

<p>
Although the three additional production-quality keyboards included in
this installation always define only one keystroke per
character/vowel, it is possible to define a keyboard in which multiple
keystrokes correspond to single characters/vowels, as in the Extended
Wylie keyboard.&nbsp; However, punctuation is only ever allowed to
correspond to a single keystroke.  Below is a sample (partial)
keyboard, with key parts explained, and much omitted:
</p>

<p>
Sambhota keyboard //Everything before &lt?parameters?&gt; is taken to be a comment.
</p>

<p>
&lt?parameters?&gt; //describes the logic of the keyboard
<br>has sanskrit stacking=true //is there a stack key for sanskrit stacks?
<br>has tibetan stacking=true //is there a stack key for tibetan stacks?
<br>is stacking medial=false //is the stack key medial, ie like '+' in g+y, or not, as in +gy
<br>stack key=f //what is the stack key? must be single character
<br>has disambiguating key=false //is there a key to distinguish between Wylie gy and g.y?
<br>disambiguating key= //if so, what is it?
<br>needs a chen before vowels=true //for a-chen plus vowel, must you type a-chen first?
<br>has 'a' vowel=false //is there a dummy 'a' vowel?
<br>is achung consonant=true //can achung take part in consonantal stacks?
<p>
&lt?characters?&gt; //characters include consonants and numerals
<br>k=k
<br>kh=K //left value is Extended Wylie &amp; right is equivalent in Sambhota
<br>g=g
<br>ng=G
<br>f= //no equivalent of 'f' in Sambhota
<p>
&lt?vowels?&gt;
<br>a=a
<br>i=i
<br>u=u
<br>e=e
<br>o=o
<p>
&lt?punctuation?&gt;
<br> = //read as [Space] = [Space]
<br>/=,
</p>

<p>
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</p>

<a name="preferences"></a>
<h3>Preferences</h3>

<p>
Jskad remembers your preferences for a few things, such as the working
directory, the keyboard to use, the font size, etc.&nbsp; Your
preferences are saved at program exit.&nbsp; If you want to reset your
preferences, you must delete the file
<tt>my_thdl_preferences.txt</tt>.&nbsp; See the Edit menu's &quot;Save
preferences to ...&quot; item to learn the precise location of this
file.
</p>

<p>
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</p>


<a name="trouble"></a>
<h3>Troubleshooting</h3>

<p>
The following are some common problems:
</p>

<ul>
<li><b>I get garbage when I type Tibetan.</b>

<br>This shouldn't happen now that the fonts are bundled inside
jskad.jar.&nbsp; But if it does, make sure the TibetanMachineWeb fonts
are installed.&nbsp; See <a href="#install">Running Jskad</a>.

<p><li><b>When I paste Tibetan into another application, it shows up
as garbage like <tt>0C-&lt;m=-0+{;-{</tt>.</b>

<br>Either you haven't installed the <a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/tmw.html">Tibetan
Machine Web</a> family of fonts, or the application you're pasting
into doesn't support RTF copying and pasting.&nbsp; To work around
this latter problem, try pasting into an application that does support
RTF copy and paste (such as Microsoft Word), and then select the
Tibetan from there, copy it again, and paste into the third
application.

<p><li><b>The vowels don't look right.</b>

<br>Due to <a
href="http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/bugParade/bugs/4498203.html"
target="_blank">Java Bug Id 4498203</a>, Tibetan vowels do not display
properly in some versions of Java.&nbsp; Problematic versions include
1.3.0-02, 1.3.1, and the 1.4 beta 2.&nbsp; Uninstall Java, and
reinstall Java 1.4.&nbsp; The vowels should look better.

<p><li><b>I can't convert from Wylie to Tibetan.</b>

<br>Make sure the Wylie you are using is <a
href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/tibet/tools/jskad_docs/Wylie_keyboard.rtf"
target="_blank">valid Extended Wylie</a>.&nbsp; Also, check to make
sure you aren't using any illegal characters such as Microsoft Word's
'smart quotes'.&nbsp; If smart quotes occur in your Microsoft Word
document, you can eliminate them by choosing the 'Save As Text Only'
option under 'Save'.&nbsp; Be warned that 'Save As Text Only With Line
Breaks' does not remove smart quotes.

<p><li><b>I opened up an RTF document in Jskad and some of the formatting was lost.</b>

<br>Java's RTF support has some problems.&nbsp; Therefore not all
formatting information will be retained when an RTF file is opened in
Jskad.

<p><li><b>Jskad runs slow or is error-prone on my Mac.</b>

<br>We are aware of this problem, and hope that things will get better
as both Jskad and Apple's implementation of Java improve.
</ul>

<p>
If all else fails, remove Java and Jskad from your computer, and then
reinstall both.
</p>

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