I first published my Diacritic Hotkeys Programme around 15 years ago, and it has served me well since that time. It is also one of the most popular and easy to use programmes for the input of diacritics, and is regularly downloaded from my Ancient Buddhist Texts website.
I have now updated the programme, and simplified the input combinations so that everything now is a combination with the Alt Key. If you are using the old programme then this has now changed, and you will need to learn a few – just a few! – new combinations, if you decide to update.
I have also added a new programme so it is possible to long press on a key and get the diacritic character. So long press on the “a” key will give ā, long press on the “t” key will give ṭ, etc. A full list of the combinations and long presses needed are explained on the page, and in the graphic below.
These functionalities work in Windows only, but in virtually all text input programmes (Word, plain text editors, etc.), and also in search and find widgets. I hope this will make it easier for to write the correct diacritical marks when using Pāḷi and Sanskrit in their documents and when sharing on the internet.
It has been tested, but if anyone has any unexpected difficulties with the programmes please contact me so I can examine and correct it before anyone else has the same problem! They can be used both individually and in combination.
Thank you very much. This works so much easier 🙂 Sādhu, sādhu, sādhu
Big thank you, Bhante.
I’ve been using your program for years. Will try the new version.
Metta