In this country, many computer users don't find it easy to use their native languages on their Windows desktops. There is the simple matter of paying through your nose to get a licensed copy of proprietary software like Akruti, which often requires RAM upgrades if it is to work properly; or else, there is the hassle of finding and installing proprietary fonts, and learning to use them; or of installing the Baraha word processor, a no-cost, simple and closed source deal. Thanks, but not for me-not after finding out that there's considerable support for many Indian languages on the FOSS desktop.

That's right. For the past few years, there's been a healthy volunteer-led emphasis on enabling regional languages on KDE and GNOME. Indian languages have benefited from the attention too. Today, at least nine Indian scripts can be typed on the FOSS desktop; into many of these, the desktop interfaces have been translated, to some extent. More languages are being supported by the year. Therefore, it's safe . to say that most computer users will find their bilingual needs < satisfied on the FOSS desktops.

There are two kinds of Indian-language 'support': the kind where you can word-process in your script; and two, where your desktop, including menus, warning messages and applications, are translated into your language. This article, Part 1 of a series, deals with word-processing on KDE. Another will deal with GNOME. A third will talk of translated desktops.

The ka-kha-ga ...

It all begins with that keyboard on your computer, doesn't it? Q-W-E-R-T-Y-U-I-O. It comprises the English alphabet. This is the same keyboard you'll have to use to type in Indian languages. But how do you do that? This is how: you'll have to use an application called the 'keyboard layout changer'. It instructs the computer how to produce different letters when you press particular keys.

Today, we look at KDE's layout changer. The KDE Keyboard Tool is installed with KDE by default, and ships with many Indian-language layouts. So, languages can usually be enabled in KDE without any downloacling involved, and with very few clicks. In my KDE 3.5.9 (Mandriva 2008.1), there are four Tarpillayouts, three Hincli)ayouts (including OLPC), two layouts each for Bengali and Malayalam, and one layout each for Kannada, Gujarati, Oriya, Telugu and Punjabi. (But, sorry, Marathi users -- use the OLP6 layout; that's right, the dnya and Lla alphabets are not provided elsewhere. Yes, it's the year 2008. Any Marathi font specialists reading this, please do help.) So, as you can see, many of the Indian language layouts are covered.

Changing the layout in KDE

The KDE Keyboard Tool is inv?ked through the KDE Control Centre. Launch it, and you'll see the 'Regional and Accessibility' group of options. In that, select the 'Keyboard Layout' section (Figure 2). Now you'll be confronted with a pane. Here, ensure that 'Enable Keyboard Layouts' is selected. You should now see two columns-'Available Layouts' and 'Active Layouts'. Below, you have the 'Add' and 'Remove' options. Pretty self-explanatory, isn't it? Below that, you can choose a 'Layout variant' -- phonetic or non-phonetic. (Devanagari users will need to select the Bolnagri layout for phonetic use, and perhaps Remington among the non-phonetic choices.) A few words on phonetic layouts later.



Okay, that's done! 'You've selected your languages of choice, but you can configure the keyboard tool further stilL In the Control Centre, you should see three tabs at the top of the window. Choose the :Switching Options' tab from these. Now you'll have the option of changing the language input globally. This will enable you to type in your preferred language globally across applications. There are alternatives to this 'global' option: in the same pane, you can make the language change apply to selected windows only. The choice depends on your style.

Now, if you'll just take a look at your desktop's main panel (usually it's at the bottom of the screen), close to its right comer you'll see the embedded icon of the KDE Keyboard TooL Typically, this icon is the flag of the country whose language is selected. Right-click and select your language from the menu; the flag icon will change accordingly. Easy?

The tool recognises keyboard shortcuts too; you can customise one. You might need a custom shortcut in some distros, though, because the default shortcut sometimes clashes with the 'change desktop' shortcut if you've enabled Compiz Fusion. Personally, I just use the mouse-click method, which takes a few seconds more, since I don't need to change the layout on-the-fly. In KDE 3.5, the keyboard layout application is very stable across distros. For me, it hasn't crashed even once in years, on various platforms.

Phonetic and non-phonetic keyboard layouts

There are the two types oflayouts provided in KDE. Both are radically different plans of linking alphabets to keys, aimed at newbies and pros, respectively. Phonetic, which means 'related to sound', is the type of layout that links the keyboard's keys to similar-sounding alphabets. With Hindi, for example, a phonetic layout means that Key P will produce the Devanagri letter pa. Key N produces na. And so on for all the keys. There it is now, your alphabet distributed according to the QWERTY pattern. Very intuitive, isn't it; something new users would take to. The only thing is, the phonetic layout is not ergonomic. You might find yourself stretching your finger to the edge of the keypad for a letter in frequent use. It's a strain during long typing sessions.

Which brings us to the non-phonetic layout. It links the keys to the alphabets according to ergonomic considerations: their frequency of use, and the reach of your fingers. That is why these layouts are considerably faster to type in than the phonetic ones. Yes, they can be a bit counter-intuitive. For example, in the non-phonetic Hindi layout, OLPC, Key P produces the letter ja. And so on. Presumably, it's a more ergonomic location for that letter, set according to its frequency of use. You'll have to spend some time in learning the layout. But once you do, it's a fair bet to say you won't use the phonetic version again.

A word on saving Indian language documents

Now that you've keyed in text, what format do you save it in? That depends! If your intended reader uses any mainstream FOSS desktop (except for some on KDE4: the desktop may not carry the required fonts by default, and you'll have to download them from your distro's repository), go right ahead and save in whichever format you like; preferably the OpenDocument format. But you're better off u.Wlg PDF if you're not sure your recipient has the fo'flts needed, or if you're sending your document to someone on, dear Lord, Wmdows. They can still read your PDF document if they don't have the fonts.

There is the Unicode text format also, but it is not universally implemented. PDF is a stopgap solution until a popular, universal format emerges for Indian languages across platforms, like plain text for English. The popular applications KWrite, OpenOffice.org or Abiword have inbuilt PDF conversion. (Make sure you print to PDF with the 'embed fonts' option turned on.


A few last words

Indian languages on the FOSS desktop are a viable proposition. As we've seen, they're easy to set up on KDE3.5.x. All that remains to be done is to spread the word around, and most people need not look at expensive and proprietary solutions any more.