Unicode

[syoung]

Hi,

 

My feature request is unicode entry. I just started using the user notes and switched my keyboard over to my Greek keyboard and alas no unicode entry. Any indication of when Accordance will get this feature?

 

If it won't be for quite awhile, a quick "hack" would suffice. This hack would allow for unicode entry while not requiring fundamental rewrites of the text engine. All Accordance needs to do is capture the keyboard input on text entry, detect the typing of either Greek or Hebrew script (relatively easy because of the nature of unicode) and then convert it in realtime into the Accordance Greek/Hebrew font/s. This should be relatively easy and would at least allow for Accordance to fit into the contemporary workflow of those using unicode on a regular basis.

 

Thanks,

Steve Young

[Rick Bennett]

What keyboard layout do you use for Unicode input for Greek/Hebrew?

[Rod Decker]

You can type or paste Unicode text into the search box now and Accordance will convert it. (I do so using standard Mac language features with a Greek keyboard that I wrote to match beta code input.)

[syoung]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Rick: I use Greek Koine RD. Hi Rod. I'm not looking to fit my unicode keyboard to the mappings of helena (I'm assuming that's were you're going...sorry if it's not).

I could do this but its not a great solution from a software point of view. Software should be doing the workaround and not the user.

 

Rod: I want to be able to input unicode greek into my user notes... regularly. Copying and pasting doesn't cut it.

 

Overall, the programming "clean hack" that I'm suggesting should be extremely easy to implement until Accordance is brought over to unicode (which is inevitable). Catch keyboard input->(if unicode->convert to appropriate biblical language character) (if not->do nothing). This makes for a universal feature that anybody can use with any unicode setup... no fuss... no matching of keyboards to helena, etc (shudders).

 

Should add: I love Accordance. Thanks for the software.

[Rick Bennett]

I was going to suggest using the preference for Greek Polytonic if that was the layout you were accustomed to. I can't officially comment on your suggestion…I imagine it possible given enough time and effort, but not sure where it might rank in our growing development roadmap for 9.x.

[syoung]

I was going to suggest using the preference for Greek Polytonic if that was the layout you were accustomed to. I can't officially comment on your suggestion

[Rod Decker]

I can't officially comment on your suggestion

[Joe Weaks]

This is the best one-liner I've seen in awhile:

Copying and pasting doesn't cut it.

 

Of course, the Unicode writing is on the wall. So difficult to figure on a way out with the text-encoding already in modules I'm sure.

But, it does seem to me that Unicode User modules, with their limited text encoding, would actually be the first place they could add it. But, alas, the new Unicode bibles are here.

 

I do think the conversion on the fly while typing into user modules is worth exploring.

[jkdoyle]

So, the short answer for now is that there is not unicode support (for keyboards like Greek Polytonic and Hebrew)? What is this quick work-around that you are describing? I agree that the cut and past isn't "cutting it", and I have too many fonts to scroll back and forth between Lucida and Helena (since the user tools don't remember recently used fonts).

 

Thanks

Jimmy

[Helen Brown]

I agree that since we now accept pasting of unicode Greek and Hebrew into the entry box, we should be able to add typing using Apple's unicode directly, but it may take a while for our very busy developers to get around to it.

 

For now, you must use Helena and Yehudit to enter the text. Here are a number of hints:

 

1. In Preferences: Greek and Hebrew you can choose to use the Israeli and Greek Polytonic keyboards which are very similar to unicode.
2. The Copy and Paste Style items in the Copy As submenu and right-click menu, command-[ and ], let you simply click in a portion of text and copy its font, size, style and color, and then paste that at your current insertion point so that you are immediately entering in that font etc. I recommend entering 2 spaces, backarrow once, and paste the new style, so that you can forward arrow over the space to get back to your main font. This is especially helpful in Hebrew.
3. Long font menus should not be a problem. The number of fonts in user tools is extremely limited, since only one Roman font is allowed, and the display font is changed in the settings. In user notes you can use any font, but in Preferences: User Notes and Edit Windows you can select which are your default fonts for new notes, and choose to show only these Roman fonts (plus our fonts) in the menu.

I hope this is helpful.