More than 500 new characters compared
to version 9.90 (released May 2010).
Many additions in the Latin part not
available in standard fonts (especially for transliteration
purposes).
Full set of diacritics - combining (for
use with any base character) or spacing (for display by
themselves).
characters with all historic variants recently admited in
Unicode.
characters - complete set.
All characters from MUFI recommendation
v. 1.0 is included in ALPHABETUM, and also many from v. 2.0 and
3.0 (but not complete coverage yet).
and much more.
If you wish to see all characters the ALPHABETUM
Unicode font contains (6,340 signs in version 10.0) click on the
following link:
(PDF document, 29 pages, 2,6 MB).
ADVICE: The font uses many slots in the Private Use Area
block (PUA) of Unicode (code points E000-F8FF), so it is
entirely possibly, that the same slots are used by other fonts
for other purposes. In general, the PUA contains a)- signs not
included by Unicode in its standard and b)- some alternate
glyphs.
UNICODE INPUT
METHODS
First of all, please note that the fonts do not come
with any keyboard drivers to access all the many charactes
in it! Please use the native tools or keyboard drivers of
your computing platform.
ALPHABETUM is a large font which contains thousands of
characters.
This means that ALPHABETUM (like all Unicode
fonts) operates slightly differently to normal fonts: for
example, the Unicode Greek fonts tend to contain a Roman
font as well as a Greek font, and indeed, the Greek cannot
be accessed directly from the keyboard at all. Pressing
'l' on the keyboard will produce a 'l' on the screen, non
the Greek letter lambda, so some kind of utility is
required to produce a Greek letter of any kind.
Naturally you can use the Symbol/Insert
command to enter characters, however this is a hard,
tedious and laborious task. This is fine for rarely used
characters but too slow for things you use all the time.
Windows contains various keyboard drivers to
type the most common languages including polytonic Greek,
however, unfortunately Windows does not currently offer an
input method for many ancient scripts (Gothic, Runic,
Ogham, Ugaritic, Linear B, Cypriot, Old Italic,
Glagolitic, Avestan, Brahmi etc).
Therefore, users need to use additional input
methods to enter these signs.
There are very good alternatives available,
however.
At the time of this writing, the most
important utilities for inputting ancient scripts are the
following (both for free):
MULTIKEY by Stefan Hagel (with support for many
scripts including polytonic Greek, Gothic, Ogham,
classical Latin, Old Italic and Ugaritic, currently from
my point of view perhaps the most complete keyboard
utility as far as ancient scripts is concerned) and KEYMAN
by Tavultesoft Software.
There are few keyboards designed for
ancient scripts to run under Keyman, furthermore, you can
create your own keyboard to fit your special needs.
The main advantage of Keyman is that this
application allows users to enter Unicode text in all
Windows applications (PowerPoint, Access and Excell) as
well.
I have written a manual (in Spanish only, 21
pages) in which I describe how to configure Keyman and how
to use the keyboards by Manuel A. Lopez and David J.
Perry. The manual includes screenshots.
For those interested in polytonic Greek,
there is also a manual (in Spanish, 26 pages) describing
the ANTIOCH utility, including screenshots and guiding
users step by step.
There is also a guide for Multikey 5.00.
(again in Spanish, 14 pages).
These guides can be downloaded from the
ALPHABETUM Spanish page.
I
have also written a manual in Spanish about configuration
and use of Thessalonica. It is available on request.
Character maps such as BABELMAP (only Windows
version) and POPCHAR (Windows and Mac versions) are very
helpful to insert Unicode signs in any application as
well.
MY
TEMPLATES (MACROS) FOR WORD
Fully
aware of the difficulty to enter Unicode text and in order
to facilitate the insertion of special signs (metrical
symbols, Old English characters etc) I have created
different templates (macros) to use under Word which
provides an easy and suitable way to access directly to
Old English characters (including Saxon typefaces
variants) and metrical signs present in the ALPHABETUM
font by using shortcut keys.
I also provide a document in pdf format with
information on how to install and use the templates (*.dot
files) and the list of keystroke combinations (shortcut
keys) required to get the aforementioned specific
characters on your PC.
If you are interested in these templates,
please click on the following link to download them. Templates
for WORD 278 kb.
However,
note that they are only fully operative with the full
version of the ALPHABETUM font, these templates only work
partially with ALPHA-Demo and evidently they won't
function at all in case you try to use them with other
fonts.
DOWNLOAD AREA:
TRIAL VERSION OF ALPHABETUM
A trial version of ALPHABETUM, named ALPHA-Demo is
available from this site.
The download also includes an extensive manual in
English (93 pages in PDF format) which contains
information about how to type ancient languages with a
computer. The manual includes the description of several
ancient scripts showing samples written with the font as
well.
Font package ZIP
file 2.65 MB (ALPHABETUM
user's manual 
93
pages + demo font 
)
This is
a large file; therefore, please be
patient!
ADVICES:
Note that this demo version lacks many characters (around
500) that the full version contains.
A small crossed rectangle, or the legend "DEMO" will
appear instead of them to indicate you the missing
characters.
PRICE OF
THE FONT
ALPHABETUM is the result of long hours of investigation
and hard work.
Font development is a painstaking, time-consuming task and
ALPHABETUM is a single person's work.
This font is not free. Nevertheless, it has the lowest
possible price*.
Registration
costs
€15 (approximately* US $21
or
£13) for individual users and €60 (approximately* US $83
or £52) for educational institutions that wish to
put the font on a network (on multiple computers, for
example for all members of a Department) or if you will
use this font for any publication.
*ADVICE: Due to the current
fluctuation in the exchange rate among different
currencies, only prices in Euro can be guaranteed. The
prices in US$ and other currencies depend on the actual
exchange rate (at the date of this writing, March 2012,
1 euro is equivalent to 1,35 US dollars).
Do not worry about
converting the Euro price into your currency, PayPal
will do this when you make your payment.
If you like to have ALPHABETUM and the different
templates I have created (Metrics, Old English and Gothic) to use under Word
which provide an easy and convenient way to access
directly to many characters present in ALPHABETUM by using
shortcut keys, with their corresponding user's guides,
plus other additional programs (keyboard controlers for
Windows, Mac and Linux, Unicode editors, character maps
etc) mailed to your address on a CDRom, there is extra
cost, please see information given below.
Disclaimer: The aforementioned
software bundled with the font on the CDRom is evidently
freesoftware or shared programs which can be freely
distributed and all documentations which the different
authors provide remain intact. The original programs have
not been altered at all. I do not charge users a fee for
these programs. I only charge users for shipping and
handling.
The
full version of the font is available on request. Please
read the manual (chapter 50) for further information about
the different methods of acquiring ALPHABETUM.
ONLINE
PAYMENT
If you own a credit or debit card (Visa®,
MasterCard®, Discover® and American Express®,
you can pay online, which means purchase can be made in a
matter of clicks.
This payment is being backed by PayPal®, a global leader in
online payment solutions. To make payments with PapyPal is
easy, fast, free and secure for buyers. Naturally, your
transaction will be confidential and the information you
give will not be used for any reason other than the use
intended. PayPal protects your security. (Note:
You are not required to have a Paypal account. By
following the instructions on the Paypal page, you may
make your payment by credit card.)
Depending on your choice, click on the corresponding
button below to purchase ALPHABETUM online. In order to
avoid errors, please read carefully the information given
below before clicking on the PayPal button to order
ALPHABETUM. Please be careful with your choosing since
depending on it you will get one item or other.
Option 1) -
Restricted individual license. Only
ALPHABETUM (€15, approximately US $21 or £13, please read ADVICE
above*). The font will be sent as attachment to your email
account. Note that the font contains PDF restriction, id
est embedding is disabled. This means that you won't be able to
generate PDF files running Adobe Acrobat, for instance. A
error message will appear on your screeen if you try to
produce a PDF document. Print and preview is allowed, however. You also are not
entitled to use the font in printed books nor to publish
electronic documents in the web. If you wish a version of
the font with unrestricted embedding, choose below option
Full operative individual license 2.
Option
2) - Full operative individual license. Only
ALPHABETUM (€30, approximately US $42 or £26, please read ADVICE
above*).
The font
will be sent as attachment to your email account. The font has not
restrictions at all. All features are enabled. Even
embedding is allowed: this means that the font may be
embedded in documents to produce PDF documents running
Adobe Acrobat. You also are
entitled to use the font in a printed book or to produce
electronic documents which can be uploaded into your web
page and distributed in the internet. If you wish, you can
use it as a dynamic
font in a webpage as well.
Option
3) - Colective/Institutional license or full
operative individual license. All features enabled.
Enhanced version shipped on a CDRom. ALPHABETUM+OTHER
UTILITIES
(€60, approximately US $83
or £52, please read ADVICE above*). You will receive ALPHABETUM on
a CDRom mailed to your postal address and without
restrictions to produce PDF files or to use ALPHABETUM as
a dynamic font in your web site, since the font can be
embedded in your documents. You also will entitled to use
the font in a printed book or to publish electronic
documents in the web.
A complete
package which contains the ALPHABETUM font + Word
templates for Greek and Latin metrics, Old English and
Gothic + user guides + keyboard controllers (Greek, Hebrew,
Runic, Sanskrit, Gothic, Old Italic, Esperanto, Avestan,
IPA etc)
for Windows, Mac and Linux + Unicode text editors +
Unicode viewers + character maps + PDF generator programs
+ Unicode converters + other useful font utilities will be
shipped on a CD to your postal address. Concerning the
different programs included in the CDRom, please read
disclaimer above.
Option
4) - Upgrade to the newest version of ALPHABETUM (v
10.00 July 2011). Only for registered users of
previous versions of the font. If you are a
registered user of ALPHABETUM, update to version 10.00
for only €8 (approximately US $12 or £7, please read ADVICE
above*).
The font
will be sent as attachment to your email account.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE:
1.- Whatever option you choose, please send me a
message after making the payment to confirm that you
are really who ordered the font.
2.- In most cases I will reply to your message in due
time (normally within a day or so), unless I was on
holydays, then it will take a little more time, since
I only will be able to check my emails from time to
time, (usually every three days, more or less or even
a little more during the summer) so be patient,
however, be sure that you will receive my response.
Sorry for this inconvenience.
3.- The delivery period of a CDRom mailed to your
postal address will take several days, evidently
depending on your country. In most cases the CDRom
will arrive at your home in approximately six days.
4.- Evidently, any modification or public distribution
of ALPHABETUM is not permited under any circumstance.
CUSTOMIZED SERVICES
If
you acquire the full version of ALPHABETUM Unicode font
you will get:
-
Technical support: Registered users get free
technical support. I will try to resolve problems
that are reported to me.
- Finding
what you need: ALPHABETUM contains all the regular
characters for the languages mentioned above in
precomposed characters or combining diacritical
marks. I have taken much care over this piece of
work and I have read many documents relating to
different languages, but, clearly, I don't know all
these languages, and, perhaps some important
character that you need may be missing or badly
drawn. If this occurs, please send me a message
detailing exactly what you need and I shall include
it, free of any additional charge, of course. For
other more important corrections or additions,
consult me.
For more
information, please read the User's Manual.
AUTHOR
Just in case you are wondering who is
Juan-José Marcos, click
here and you will find some information
about the author of the ALPHABETUM Unicode
font and this website.
SUGGESTIONS
AND QUERIES
I have taken care to see that
ALPHABETUM works as well as possible, but this font
is the work of only one person, any errors or faults
which it contains are mine, so if you find any wrong
code or any “bug” in the font, feel free to email
me.
Although you do not purchase the font, please, send
me comments, suggestions for improvements or
anything else regarding ALPHABETUM. I would like to
know your opinion about the font.
I really would appreciate having
users' feedback.
Such reaction from users will be the deciding factor
in my decision of carrying on with the development
of ALPHABETUM.
Do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks.
If ALPHABETUM is well received, it will be expanded
in the near future (basic
Aegyptian hieroglyphics, Linear A, Byzantine
musical notation, more kerning pairs, more
characters, “Open Type” version and so forth).
PALAEOGRAPHIC FONTS 
NOTICE: If you wish to imitate more
accurately in your electronic documents the Latin
handwriting as it appears in medieval manuscripts,
please visit the page entitled “Palaeographic fonts”
which I have recently created; there you will find
information about the different Latin handwriting
models and a collections of fonts (namely Capitalis
Rustica, Capitalis Elegans, Uncialis, Insularis
minuscula, Semiuncialis, Carolingia minuscula, Gothic
Textura Quadrata, Humanistica antiqua etc) which try
to reproduce properly the characteristics of their
corresponding ancient lettering: Capital Rustic,
Uncial, Insular minuscule, Half-uncial, Caroline or
Carolingian, Gothic and Humanistic.
These fonts
are based on hand-drawn renderings of medieval
handwriting styles, genuine calligraphy and they
include specialty characters, abbreviations, ligatures
and alternate forms for some letters.
For further
information and visual samples, please visit the
Palaeographic fonts page devoted to my
fonts for Latin palaeography.
Fonts for palaeography. Samples:
juanjmarcos
yahoo.es
Plasencia
(Cáceres) Spain.
This page last updated on March 2012.
Please
revisit this page from time to time for updates.
Page views since 1 May 2003.
July 2011
, Old
Persian cuneiform, Coptic,
Glagolitic, Phoenician, Old Cyrillic,
Old Church Slavonic, Linear
B, Brahmi
