Downloads
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| Unicode Maps | alphabetical | alphabetical | keyboard |
| Limon Maps | alphabetical | alphabetical | n/a |
Basics
If you’re reading this page, I’m going to assume that you know Khmer and want to learn how to type Khmer. If that is the case, then there are a few things you need to know from the get go:
1. There is no easy way to type Khmer.
- This is due in large part to it’s enormous alphabet. With 33 consonants, 23 vowels, and 12 independent vowels, is is the the largest in the world!
2. Until recently, there was no agreed upon standard for computing in Khmer.
- This changed when the the Cambodia national government agreed to support the use of “NiDA Standard Khmer Unicode”.
3. Legacy fonts are still in widespread use.
- Most Khmer who type do not yet know how to type in Khmer Unicode so they continue to use legacy fonts, namely Limon and ABC. Unfortunately, both of these fonts are inferior to Unicode in numerous ways.
4. Khmer Unicode has significant advantages:
- Standardized keystrokes: Each Khmer consonant and vowel must be entered as a distinct key stroke AND in the correct order. This makes it possible to create databases in Khmer which is impossible with legacy fonts.
- Formatting: It allows easy insertion of “zero width whitespace” by simply tapping the space bar. This allows for appropriate automatic line breaks to occur with in a document. This is a critical advantage in using Khmer Unicode on websites and when reformatting you documents.
5. Khmer Unicode has some disadvantages:
- Instability: When typing Khmer Unicode in Windows XP Home, SP1 and SP2, there are constant crashes. Updating the USP10.dll to the appropriate version helps a great deal. I’ve heard, but don’t know for certain, that Windows Vista has native support for Khmer Unicode. Fortunately, Khmer Unicode works flawlessly with linux (Ubuntu 6.10-7.10 at least), except on OpenOffice 2.3.
- Incompatibility: There is a great deal of software out there that can’t deal with Khmer Unicode. Most of my Windows software, with the exclusion of Office 2003 and OpenOffice can’t deal with it at all. Thankfully both FireFox and Internet Explorer have no problem displaying Khmer Unicode.
— March 31, 2007