BOD_XUNI Tibetan Unicode

In Microsoft systems Unicode treatment is still difficult, due to a lack of easy and powerful system function for Unicode management.
Therefore in this Unicode version of BOD_X, edit and display are still raw.
Input is done always using Wylie transliteration.

BOD_XUni v.9 adds the Tibetan Unicode data to Glossaries, Texts, Dictionaries, :
opening previous BOD_X databases with BOD_XUni, the structure is changed: a new field is added for Tibetan Unicode, and the files are no longer usable with BOD_X v.7 or before.
A message warning appears before every structure change.

Obviously is best to operate tests in a separate folder with copies of original databases.
If you are already BOD_X users, create a new folder (e.g. C:\BOD_XUNI), copy all file from your working BOD_X folder into the new folder, unzip the downloaded file BOD_XUNI901.zip creating the new EXE.

For new users:
RUNTIME LIBRARIES for BOD_X_
VFP6R.ZIP containing VFP6R.DLL download vfp6r.zip 1994 Kb
and VFP6RENU.ZIP containing VFP6RENU.DLL runtime library download vfp6renu.zip 195 Kb
Unzip into your directory, the runtime library files will be created and from now you can run all the .EXE from this directory.

BOD_XUni program is here:
it has been developed and tested on Windows 2000 and XP, not yet on Linux with WINE.
download bod_xuni901.zip
This version needs also the RICHED20.DLL usually contained into \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 or \WINNT\SYSTEM32 folder.

For general features of BOD_X see other web pages or PDF documentation file.
In this page are shown specific features of BOD_Xuni.

The behavior of Tibetan Unicode display depends on:

the Tibetan Unicode font used (Tibetan Machine Uni from The Tibetan & Himalayan Digital Library - University of Virgina is preferable)
the version of Microsoft Uniscribe support library USP10.DLL, ( VOLTSupplementalFiles.exe version 1.473.4067.0 from Microsoft VOLT gives good results),

See Updating Uniscribe to a Version with Tibetan support by Chris Fynn & David Germano in THDL web site.
Wrong display, particularly with subjoined characters and RA superscribed, depends on USP10 version not supporting Tibetan.

The main page shows, as usual, the available archives.

Here the user selects one of the Tibetan Unicode font installed.

The UNICODE DATA button activate a form containing a list of Tibetan Unicode defined characters, syllables are built clicking on cells in UNICODE hexadecimal column.
Clicking on header of "UNICODE" or "character name" columns, the table is presented in ascending Unicode order or in Tibetan letters order.
[display problem: the refresh of first column, displaying character glyph, is not always done automatically, solicit the refresh clicking on a cell in "character name" column]

In glossaries (..._DX), text (..._TX) and dictionaries (..._DZ files) the Tibetan Unicode font display is done in separate text areas outside the grid.

The HEX UNICODE button displays the hexadecimal equivalent of the Tibetan Unicode string of current entry. The edit >.TXT button copies the Tibetan Unicode data into Notepad, where in Format Character menu the Unicode Font is selected.

In Notepad other Tibetan input tools as TISE can be used.
For TISE see: The Tibetan & Himalayan Digital Library or Gregory Mokhin TISE web site
Unfortunately tise does not work directly into the BOD_XUni window.
The < edit .TXT replaces into the database the text saved from Notepad using a "BOD_UNI_xx.TXT" file name.

Inserting record in databases, the Tibetan Unicode is composed automatically from Wylie syllables, checking against a list of near 4000 regular syllables.

Tibetan syllables can also be composed with the UNICODE Builder where the Tibetan text is built by clicking with the mouse in the cells of the various glyphs.
The CLEAR button empties the Tibetan Unicode string and the DELETE button deletes the rightmost character.

It is possible to add single Unicode characters in Hex format pressing the + button.

Editing of translation fields in glossaries is activated by right clicking.

changes are confirmed with "SAVE" or discarded with "RETURN"

Dictionaries are, as usual, read only files, but entries can be transferred to the actually open glossary and
output in RTF format is realized with the COPY RTF buttons.

A well known Winword problem: in some configuration occurs that, if the Arial Unicode font is installed, this font is used by Winword instead of Tibetan Unicode font and the Tibetan script in the document appears wrong.

A personal syllable database built in the previous BOD_X, containing non regular Wylie syllables, is not fully converted in Tibetan Unicode and the Unicode strings need to be rebuilt.

Send your comments and suggestions to Leonardo Gribaudo

home page

mail for any comment or request.