What you should do after downloading Azhagi+?

• If you are reinstalling Azhagi+, then check to see whether Azhagi+ is running. If so, close it and exit it completely.
  
  
• If your system is operating in a multiuser/network mode/environment:
  • Please click here to read detailed instructions.
    
    
• If you are using WinXP:
  
  • Click on the downloaded Setup file (usually named 'AzhagiPlus-Setup.exe'), to start installing 'Azhagi+'.
    (Note: In case you downloaded 'AzhagiPlus-Setup.zip', click and open it and you will see 'AzhagiPlus-Setup.exe' inside it. Click on this 'AzhagiPlus-Setup.exe', to start installing 'Azhagi+')
    
    
• If you are using WinVista, Win7, Win2003, Win2008, etc.:
  
  • Under normal circumstances, exactly the same instructions as above (under 'If you are using WinXP') will do. If in case you face any repeated issues during or after installation, then kindly please click here and read the special installation instructions therein.
    
    
• At the end of installation, 'Azhagi+' will start automatically and the opening main editor window of Azhagi+ will get displayed (as shown below).
  (Note: The screen snapshot below is that of Azhagi+ 10.18)
  
  
  
  
• With the Azhagi+ application running as above (i.e. do not close Azhagi+; you can minimise it to the taskbar or hide it to the tray ofcourse), you can now open any external Windows application (say MS-Word), keep the cursor in the application's editing area and press the required "hotkey" (for e.g. 'Alt+3' for effecting Unicode Transliteration in Tamil) and start typing/transliterating directly in Tamil (Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, etc.).
  
  
• Note:
  • Installing Azhagi+ will not disrupt the existing installation (if any) of Azhagi (Classic) in any way.
    
  • If you are using Win Vista/7, no need for using 'AzhagiPlus-Setup.exe'. The portable version of Azhagi+ is enough, unless you are not familiar with portable softwares. The portable version can be downloaded from here.
    
  • If you are using Win XP/2K3, therein too, if Unicode is enabled fully, portable version is enough. Otherwise, necessarily install Azhagi+ using 'AzhagiPlus-Setup.exe' only.
    
  • For step-by-step instructions on how to install and use a portable version of Azhagi+, please click here.
    
    
• More essential info are given below. So, please continue to read ahead.
  
  

System tray icons of Azhagi+

• Whenever Azhagi+ is started, it's application icon will appear in the system tray (i.e at the right bottom of your desktop/computer screen, most often next to the date/time indicator. You can left-click (just a single click; not double-click) on that icon to show/hide Azhagi's main opening screen. You can right-click on that icon to see a menu pop up. See screenshot below for better understanding.
  
  
  
  
• And, whenever you press an Azhagi+ hotkey, based on your LFK (Language + Font Encoding + Keyboard Layout), an additional icon will appear corresponding to the language of your LFK. For e.g. if you pressed the hotkey for the 'Tamil+Unicode+PhoneticTransliteration' LFK, then an additional icon with 'TA' written on it will appear in the system tray. 'TA' means 'TAmil'. Likewise, 'HI' would mean 'Hindi', 'SA' would mean 'Sanskrit' and so on. See screenshot above for better understanding.
  
  

How to type directly in Tamil (Hindi, Sanskrit, etc.) in ANY application?

• Start Azhagi+ by clicking it’s icon in the Desktop (Note: After Azhagi+'s opening window appears, do not click on the 'OK' button, if any).
  
  
• Change focus to any other application window (e.g. Gmail, MS-Word, etc.) and place your cursor in the application's usual typing/editing area.
  Note: Please do NOT close the Azhagi+ application at this point. You can minimise it ofcourse or hide it to the tray. But, do not close it.
  
  
• Press the required hotkey. For e.g. 'Alt+3' is the default hotkey for 'Tamil+Unicode+PhoneticTransliteration'.
  
  
• Start typing in English. And, you will see it in Tamil (if you pressed Alt+3), see it in Hindi (if you pressed Ctrl+1), and so on.
  
  
• That is all to it. So simple. Isn't it? Well, if you opt to auto-start Azhagi+ with Windows, then it becomes even simpler - just a one-step process as follows: "Open any application, press Alt+3 (Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, etc.) and start typing in Tamil (Hindi, Sanskrit, etc.)". As simple as that.
  
  

Important tips on the above 'one-step' process

• The full list of "English to Indian languages" key mappings are in-built into Azhagi+ and also available online at multi.html.
  
  Note: As of now, for Tamil transliteration alone, the mappings are available only online - at az-tamil-modern.html or az-tamil-modern-2.html
  
  
• You can change the hotkey for any LFK at any time to the one which is convenient for you.
  
  
• Please read this if pressing an hotkey (say 'Alt+3') does not give you the desired results while typing.
  
  
• Kindly be aware that Alt+3, Ctrl+1, etc. are all toggles. For e.g. if you press Ctrl+1 once, you can start typing in Hindi. If you press Ctrl+1 again, you can start typing in English. Same is the case with ALL hotkeys (incl. the global hotkey - e.g. F10).
  
  
• If (and only if) you are using WinXP and if you are not able to type in Indian languages in MS-Word, MS-Powerpoint, etc., please ensure that you have installed Azhagi+ using "AzhagiPlus-Setup.exe". i.e. you should not use the portable version (AzhagiPlus-Portable.zip) of Azhagi+.
  
  
• If you wish to type in TamilNet99, you have to press the appropriate hotkey. The default hotkey for 'Tamil+Unicode+Tamilnet99' is Alt+Shift+3.
  
  

F10 (or F11) and it's global use

• Please note that when you press the hotkey F10 (or F11, as the case may be) in an external application, whichever LFK is highlighted in the hotkeys listbox [i.e the one with caption "List of hotkeys (only the checked ones available for use)"] gets activated.
  
  
• For e.g. if 'Hindi+Unicode+PhoneticTransliteration' is highlighted in the abovementioned listbox, then when you press F10 (of F11) in an external application (say MS-Word), you can start typing in Hindi in Unicode in Transliteration mode.
  
  
• Similarly, if 'Tamil+Unicode+PhoneticTransliteration' is highlighted in the abovementioned listbox, then when you press F10 (of F11) in an external application (say MS-Powerpoint), you can start typing in Tamil in Unicode in Transliteration mode.
  
  
• This means that if you wish to remember and use only one hotkey (like F10 or F11) as a global hotkey to type in different LFKs, then before starting to type in a particular LFK, you have to select and highlight it in the abovementioned listbox.
  
  
• Important Note:
  
  
  1. If you are using a LAPTOP and pressing F10 (or F11) does not give the desired result, either read this help tip or change your hotkey. e.g. Alt+1.
     
     
  2. It is not a must that you should use F10 (or F11) only as your global hotkey. You can set any key as global hotkey (for e.g. F12, Alt+0, Ctrl+Shift+1, Win+F2, etc.) and use the same. If you are particular to use only F10 (or any other function key) and if pressing F10 (or any other function key) is not giving the desired result, as abovementioned, please read this help tip, without fail.
     
     
  3. If the hotkey you wish to set as global hotkey is already registered by the system or some other application, you will be informed of the same with instructions on what to do as an alternative. Act as per the instructions. Please note that the Windows operating system (until this day) only provides information on which hotkeys are already registered. It does not provide the information on which specific applications are using which hotkeys and hence it is not possible for Azhagi+ to inform you as to which "specific" application has alreay registered your desired global hotkey.
     
     
  4. Whenever you start Azhagi+, please ensure that the checkbox for 'Language+FontEncoding+KeyboardLayout' [under the "List of set hotkeys (...)" listbox] appears ticked. If it appears unticked, it means that your global hotkey is not available for use. This in turn means that your global hotkey (for e.g. 'F10') has got registered by some other running application and hence Azhagi+ cannot use it. In such circumstances, register some other global hotkey. However, if you wish to use this particular hotkey (F10) only as your global hotkey, then the only way to achieve that is to close the other application (if at all you know the same) which could have registered this particular hotkey (F10) and then re-register this hotkey (F10) for Azhagi+.
     
     

Specific hotkey for each LFK

• As you saw above, F10 is a global hotkey.
  
  
• However, you can set specific hotkeys for each LFK and use them to type in different LFKs at different times in any external application.
  
  
• For e.g. if Alt+3 is the hotkey set by you for 'Tamil+Unicode+PhoneticTransliteration' and Alt+4 is the hotkey set by you for 'Hindi+Unicode+PhoneticTransliteration', then when you are in MS-Word, you can press Alt+3 at any time to start transliterating in Tamil.
  
  
• And, as you are typing in Tamil, if you press Alt+4, you can immediately start transliterating in Hindi. And, you can press Alt+3 again to immediately start transliterating in Tamil.
  
  
• Likewise, by pressing a specific hotkey (already set by you for a particular LFK), you can immediately start typing in that LFK.
  
  
• Important Note:
  
  
  1. If you are using a LAPTOP and pressing function-key hotkeys (e.g. 'F12') do not give the desired result, either read this help tip or change your hotkey. for e.g., to Ctrl+Shift+1.
     
     
  2. Whenever you start Azhagi+, please ensure that all the checkboxes under the "List of set hotkeys (...)" listbox appear ticked. If anyone of the checkboxes appear unticked, it means that the corresponding hotkey is not available for use for that 'specific LFK'. This in turn means that that particular hotkey (for e.g. let us say it is 'Alt+3') has got registered by some other running application and hence Azhagi+ cannot use it. In such circumstances, register some other hotkey for that 'specific LKF'. However, if you wish to use this particular hotkey (Alt+3) only, then the only way to achieve that is to close the other application (if at all you know the same) which could have registered this particular hotkey (Alt+3) and then re-register this hotkey (Alt+3) for Azhagi+.
     
     

How to set/change the hotkey for any LFK?

• Let us suppose you want to use 'Alt+6' as hotkey for Sanskrit (instead of the default 'Ctrl+2').
  
  
• In the opening screen of Azhagi+, select 'Sanskrit+Unicode+PhoneticTransliteration' in the "hotkeys" listbox [i.e. the listbox captioned List of set hotkeys (only the checked ones available for use)]. See screen snapshot below for better understanding.
  
  
  
  
• Under the 'Set/change the hotkey' button, untick 'Ctrl' (i.e. remove the tick for 'Ctrl'). Keep ticked "Alt" alone and select "6" from the nearby listbox. See screen snapshot below for better understanding.
  
  
• Then, click the Set/Change the hotkey button. If you did the above steps correctly and if "Alt+6" is not already registered by some other software, "Alt+6" will get set as the new hotkey for 'Sanskrit+Unicode+PhoneticTransliteration'. This change will get reflected to you immediately. i.e. 'Existing hotkey for the currently selected LFK' will show "Alt+6" and 'Sanskrit+Unicode+PhoneticTransliteration' under 'List of set hotkeys (only ... ... use)' will also show "Alt+6" on its right side. See screen snapshot below for better understanding.
  
  
  
  
• Thereafter, you can open MS-Word (with Azhagi+ still up and running) and press Alt+6 to start transliterating in Sanskrit. When you press Alt+6, a new tray icon will appear in your system tray with 'SA' written on it. Once this icon appears, you are ready to type in Sanskrit.
  
  
• Important Note:
  
  
  1. If you are using a LAPTOP and pressing function-key hotkeys (e.g. 'F11') do not give the desired result, either read this help tip or change your hotkey. e.g. Ctrl+Alt+1.
     
     
  2. If the hotkey you wish to set as global hotkey is already registered by the system or some other application, you will be informed of the same with instructions on what to do as an alternative. Act as per the instructions. Please note that the Windows operating system (until this day) only provides information on which hotkeys are already registered. It does not provide the information on which specific applications are using which hotkeys and hence it is not possible for Azhagi+ to inform you as to which "specific" application has alreay registered your desired global hotkey.
     
     
  3. It is not a must that you should use only a combination of 'Alt' (Ctrl,Win,Shift) and a numeral/function key as your hotkey. You can use any standalone 'function key' too as your hotkey. For e.g. You can change Alt+3 to just 'F9'. In that case, under the 'Set/Change the hotkey', keep all four of Alt, Ctrl, Shift and Win unticked and select F9 from the listbox below the 'Set/Change the hotkey' button. That is all to it.
     
     
  4. Your hotkey can be a combination of more than one modifier. For e.g. you can set 'Ctrl+Alt+F10' too as an hotkey. Or, even set 'Ctrl+Alt+Win+Shift+F12' as an hotkey.
     
     
  5. You can also opt not to have any hotkey for a particular LFK. In that case, under 'Set/change the hotkey', keep all four of Alt, Ctrl, Shift and Win unticked and select "None" from the listbox below 'OK' button. That is all to it. When you set "None" for an LFK, it's checkbox will always remain unticked.
     
     
  6. Whenever you start Azhagi+, please ensure that all the checkboxes under the "List of set hotkeys" listbox appear ticked. If anyone of the checkboxes appear unticked, it means that the corresponding hotkey is not available for use for that 'specific LFK'. This in turn means that that particular hotkey (for e.g. let us say it is 'Alt+3') has got registered by some other running application and hence Azhagi+ cannot use it. In such circumstances, register some other hotkey for that 'specific LKF'. However, if you wish to use this particular hotkey (Alt+3) only, then the only way to achieve that is to close the other application (if at all you know the same) which could have registered this particular hotkey (Alt+3) and then re-register this hotkey (Alt+3) for Azhagi+.
     
     

Settings/Options/Preferences

• In the main opening screen of Azhagi+, click on 'Settings->Preferences' menu item.
  
  
• You have quite a few options to set/change under different categories (viz. 'General', 'Tamil', etc.). What each option means in each category is self-explanatory.
  
  
• My personal suggestion for you would be to effect the following settings (the very first time you start using Azhagi+ itself):
  
  
  1. Auto-start Azhagi+ with Windows
     To auto-start Azhagi+ with Windows, click on 'Settings->Preferences' menu item. In 'General' section, tick (check) the box 'Start Azhagi+ along with Windows'.
     
     
  2. Start Azhagi+ silently
     Click on 'Settings->Preferences' menu item. In 'General' section, tick the box 'Start Azhagi+ silently (i.e. show it's tray icon alone)'.
     
     
  3. Close to tray (Or) Hide to tray
     Click on 'Settings->Preferences'. In 'General' section, tick "Clicking 'X' (Close) button minimizes Azhagi+ to tray".
     
     
• Here below are some snapshots of the 'settings' screen (as of Azhagi+ 10.17):
  
  
  
  
  
  

Key features

• Please see plus.html#keys
  
  

What is in the offing?

• 'Android' Azhagi. :) [ for 'smart' phones and 'tablet' PCs ].
  
  
• Many more LFKs . For e.g. 'Aplus-Tamil-Unicode-TypewriterOld.xml', 'Aplus-Tamil-TAB-Tamilnet99.xml', etc. etc.
  
  
• 64-bit version of Azhagi+.
  
  
• Azhagi+ is not working in IE8 in Win Vista/7/8. Will provide a permanent fix for this problem. A temporary fix is here, anyway.
  
  
• Note: I am sure you know the situation under which I work and hence will await the above enhancements with patience/understanding.
  
  

English to Tamil (Hindi, Malayalam, etc.) Key'mappings

• In-built (offline) help is available for ALL key mappings. The offline help includes 'dynamic' (see-as-you-type) help too for ALL languages and LFKs (except Tamil+Unicode+Phonetic).
  
  
• To access 'dynamic help', click on "Key Mappings - Dynamic Help" button in the opening screen of Azhagi+.
  
  
• Detailed online help is also available for all languages - for phonetic (transliteration) mode of input. It is at multi.html. For non-phonetic keyboard layouts (TamilNet99, etc.), online 'key mappings' help is available at multi-np.html.
  
  

LFK

• LFK refers to "'Language + Font Encoding + Keyboard Layout' combination", wherever it appears in this page.
  
  
• Whenever Azhagi+ starts, in the opening screen, you can see a listing of the various LFKs in which you can type using Azhagi+. For e.g.
  
  
  • An LFK of "Hindi + Unicode + PhoneticTransliteration" means that you can type in Hindi (Language) in Unicode (Font encoding) in Phonetic mode (Keyboard layout).
    
    
  • Similarly, an LFK of "Tamil + Unicode + TamilNet99" means that you can type in Tamil (Language) in Unicode (Font encoding) in TamilNet99 mode (Keyboard layout).
    
    

How to change (modify/add/delete/customize) the key mappings for any LFK?

• Please click here
  
  

How to create your own keyboard layout (LFK, as such)?

• Please click here
  
  

Creating websites in Tamil (Hindi, Malayalam, etc.)

• A comprehensive FAQ on how to create Unicode websites in Tamil can be read here. Similar instructions are to be followed for creating websites in Hindi, Sanskrit, Telugu, Malayalam, etc.
  
  

More free Tamil fonts

• Click here to get more free Tamil fonts - in Tscii, Unicode, TAB, TAM and various other font encodings.
  
  

More free Indian language Unicode fonts

• Click here to get more free Indian language Unicode fonts.
  
  

Help tips, FAQ, My contacts, Online support forums

• Please see support.html and helptips.html. The most frequently asked questions are answered in these pages, clearly.
  
  
• As such, all the answers/solutions you need are present in the home page of azhagi.com itself. So, if you need any quick help, you can always visit azhagi.com and scroll down the home page to see 'Help' under various sections listed therein and read the ones which answer your queries.
  
  
• Even after reading the abovementioned pages (helptips.html, support.html and the home page of azhagi.com), if doubts persist, please read contacts.html fully and act accordingly. For your kind information, the aforesaid 'contacts.html' page has my full list of contacts (including my phone contacts).
  
  
• If you require any 'urgent' help and cannot take time to go through any of the abovementioned 'help' pages, please do feel free to email me at noblehearted@gmail.com. I will definitely help you out. But, depending on my situation, I may either mail you back the required solution(s) as early as possible or request you to call me (if affordable) or request you to write to the online forums of 'Azhagi' (as given below).
  
  
• The google group of Azhagi+ (and Azhagi) is groups.google.com/group/azhagi and this is the primary online support forum. The Yahoo! group is groups.yahoo.com/group/azhagi
  
  
• Please note that you can read ALL the messages of the abovementioned online support forums, even without joining. Hence, in case you have a doubt, kindly read the messages in these two forums.
  
  
• If you join (for free, ofcourse) Azhagi's support forums (click here if you need details on how to join the forums):
  
  
  • You will get to know answers to ALL your frequently asked questions on how to Type, Email, Chat, Blog, Facebook, Tweet, Document, Print, Publish (as well as create Websites) in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Sanskrit, Malayalam, Kannada, etc.
    
    
  • You will get up-to-date news on updates to Azhagi+. i.e., whenever a new version of Azhagi+ is released, you will get to know it at once.
    
    
  • You will get information on various other* softwares (related to computing in Indian languages) too.
    
    (*) Other Indic softwares developed by various other individuals and commercial entities have been listed by me at india.azhagi.com
    
    

Your contribution

• Kindly please see contribute.html and helpus.html. Therein, I have NOT sought any monetary contribution for me. So, please do visit and read the aforementioned pages and see what best you can do, if at all possible.
  
  

About me

• Please see author.azhagi.com
  
  

My contacts

• Please click here