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Aksara Bali Keyboard Help

This keyboard lets you type Aksara Bali (Balinese script) in Unicode. It is a Unicode reimplementation of the Bali Simbar keyboard (the de-facto standard keyboard in Bali for typing in Balinese script).

The keyboard follows the Bali Simbar keyboard as closely as possible. Basic usage is as follows:

  • Type according to Balinese Latin orthography. For example, [W] [A] [Y] [A] [N] [space] types ⟨ᬯᬬᬦ᭄⟩.
  • Right after you type a consonant, a question mark ⟨?⟩ appears after it. This indicates that the input is incomplete and you still need to type a vowel, consonant, or punctuation mark. The question mark automatically disappears after subsequent input.
  • It is important to type [space] at the end of each word. This does not actually insert a space, but tells the keyboard not to apply certain automatic changes. For example, bapan ceningé typed without a space is incorrect: ⟨ᬩᬧᬜ᭄ᬘᭂᬦᬶᬗᬾ⟩. Using [space], the result is the correct ⟨ᬩᬧᬦ᭄ᬘᭂᬦᬶᬗᬾ⟩. In order to use explicit adeg-adeg between words, type [space] twice: ⟨ᬩᬧᬦ᭄‌ᬘᭂᬦᬶᬗᬾ⟩. To insert a space character, type [Shift-space].
  • In order to override certain automatic changes after consonants, you may occasionally need to type [/]. This blocks various changes by inserting adeg-adeg. For example, typing [R] [/] ensures that [ᬭ] will not be converted to surang.
  • The most common modifiers are Shift, Ctrl, and Ctrl-Shift. For example, [B] [E] types ⟨ᬩᭂ⟩, [B] [Shift-E] types ⟨ᬩᬾ⟩, and [Ctrl-Shift-E] types ⟨⟩; [S] types ⟨⟩ and [S] [Ctrl-'] types ⟨⟩.

This keyboard contains several additions to the original Bali Simbar keyboard:

  • [/] types adeg-adeg.
  • [Ctrl-/] types ZWNJ (zero-width non-joiner). This may be used to prevent certain ligatures. For example, [L] [E] [Ctrl-A] types ⟨ᬎ⟩, while [L] [E] [Ctrl-/] [Ctrl-A] types ⟨ᬍ‌ᬵ⟩.
  • [Ctrl-Shift-/] types ⟨/⟩.
  • [Shift-number] types Arabic numerals. For example, [Shift-1] types ⟨1⟩.
  • [Ctrl-Alt-O] types windu⟩.
  • [Ctrl-Shift-,] types ⟨᭚᭜᭚⟩. Repeat for ⟨᭟᭜᭟⟩.
  • [Ctrl-Shift-.] types ⟨᭛᭜᭛⟩. Repeat for ⟨᭟᭜᭟⟩.
  • [Alt-vowel] types a dependent vowel even in places where it normally isn’t allowed. For example, [P] [I] [Alt-U] lets you type ⟨ᬧᬶᬸ⟩, with suku after ulu. This is attested as a way to indicate a scribal error.
  • [Alt-R] types rerekan. For example, [P] [Alt-R] types ⟨ᬧ᬴⟩.

For much more detailed information, read the original Bali Simbar keyboard guide (in Indonesian), included with the permission of author I Made Suatjana. Keyboard instructions begin on page 8.

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