UNICODE INPUT METHODS
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 keyboards 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 2.6 MB (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*.
*ADVICE: Due to the current fluctuation in the exchange
rate among different currencies, only prices in Euro can be guaranteed.
The prices in US$ depend on the actual exchange rate (at the date of
this writing, March 2009, 1 euro is equivalent to 1,30 US dollars).
Registration
costs US $19,
£12 or €15 for individual users and US $78,
£48 or €60 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.
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 (US
$19, £12
or €15). 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 (US $38,
£24 or €30). 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 (US $76, £48 or
€60). 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 9.75 March
2009).
Only for registered users of previous versions of the font. If you are a registered user of
ALPHABETUM, update to version 9.75 for only US $10 or
€8. 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, 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 26 November 2009.
Please
revisit this page from time to time for updates.
Page views since 1 May 2003.
March 2009
, Old Persian
cuneiform, Coptic, Glagolitic,
Phoenician, Old Cyrillic, Old Church Slavonic, Linear B, Brahmi,
Kharosthi, Cypriot, Avestan
