Nudi to Unicode Converter (Kannada, Baraha Too)

About the Nudi to Unicode Converter (Kannada, Baraha Too)

Kannada typed in the older Nudi and Baraha fonts looks like PÀ£ÀßqÀ as soon as it leaves a computer with the font: in an e-mail, on a website or on a phone. This converter turns it into standard Unicode Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ), which every phone, app and website shows and which can be searched and copied. It also works the other way, turning Unicode Kannada into Nudi codes for offices and presses whose documents still use those fonts.

The codes are pieces of letters typed in the order they are drawn: a letter's body, then its vowel sign, the vattakshara hung under it and the arkavattu written after it. The converter rebuilds each syllable in Unicode's order, joins the length marks to their vowel signs, and opens Word files in place: text in Nudi and Baraha fonts is converted, everything else is kept. Without a pass, the free preview shows the first words of the result; a Pro pass unlocks all of it.

Common uses

• Moving circulars, notices, articles and books typed in Nudi or Baraha into e-mail, websites, Google Docs and phones.
• Making old Kannada files searchable and readable on any device.
• Converting a whole Word file of Nudi text while its English parts stay as they are.
• Preparing text for offices and presses that still use the Nudi or Baraha fonts.

Why Nudi and Baraha text looks like Latin letters

The older Nudi and Baraha fonts are 8-bit fonts that share one table of codes: the file holds ordinary Windows characters (P the body of ಕ, À the talakattu, Ä the u sign, ß ನ hung under a letter …) and the font draws a piece of a Kannada letter for each. Without the font, or once the text is copied to a website or phone, you see the codes. Unicode stores the Kannada letters themselves (Unicode Kannada chart), so the text stays Kannada everywhere.

What the converter fixes

• Vattaksharas, typed after the letter they hang under (Ì ್ಕ, ß ್ನ, æ ್ರ, å ್ಯ …), become virama + letter: PÀÌ → ಕ್ಕ.
• The arkavattu ð, typed after the letter it sits on, is the ರ್ in front of it: PÀ£ÁðlPÀ → ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ.
• Length marks: Ã (ii, ee, oo) and Ê (ai) join their vowel sign, so ಕಿ + Ã is ಕೀ and ಕೆ + Ê is ಕೈ, written as the single characters Kannada keyboards type.
• Letters drawn in pieces (ಮ, ಯ, ಝ, ಧ, ಫ, ಭ …) and the one-piece syllables (Q ಕಿ, « ವಿ, ¤ ನಿ …) are read as letter and sign.
• ರ with a vattakshara (ರ‍್ಯ in ರ‍್ಯಾಂಕ್) gets the zero-width joiner the Unicode Standard gives it, so it does not turn into an arkavattu; a virama typed on its own before a letter keeps showing.

Word documents

When you open a .docx file, the runs of text set in a Nudi or Baraha font are converted in place and set in Tunga, the Kannada font that comes with Windows; text in English and other fonts, tables, pictures, headers and footers keep their look. In Unicode → Nudi / Baraha, runs with Kannada letters are converted and set in Nudi 01 e. Old .doc files need saving as .docx in Word or LibreOffice first.

Unicode → Nudi or Baraha

The codes show as Kannada only in a Nudi or Baraha font: paste them into a document set in that font. English words must stay in an English font, because these fonts draw Latin letters as pieces of Kannada letters; the page lists any English letters it finds. Kannada digits (೧೨೩) have no code in the table and are kept and listed too.

Limitations

• Nudi and Baraha’s shared table only; legacy Kannada fonts with tables of their own are not supported. Text typed with Unicode fonts is Unicode already.
• Typing mistakes the font hid (pieces in the wrong order) are converted as typed.
• Pasted text has no fonts: if it mixes English typed in an English font with Nudi text, convert only the Nudi part, or open the .docx file so fonts decide.
• Letters show in your device’s fonts; a very old device may lack a Kannada font.

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