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Support: Aksara Bali

On this page, “iOS” means both iOS and iPadOS, version 13.0 or higher.

Which iOS fonts support Balinese characters?

iOS comes with Noto Serif Balinese, a reasonably functional Balinese font, which however lacks characters added more recently. The Aksara Bali app therefore contains a Balinese font named “Ubud”, which can be installed from within the app. The Ubud font is a significantly enhanced version of Noto Sans Balinese 1.0. Here are the three fonts in comparison:

comparison Ubud-Noto

Which characters are supported by the Ubud font?

The font supports all Balinese characters defined in the Unicode standard version 16.

How do I make the Ubud font available to other apps?

To make the Ubud font available to other apps, go to the Font pane of the Aksara Bali app, tap the “Ubud” button, and confirm the installation.

Do all iOS apps work with this font?

The Ubud font only becomes available in apps that let users choose fonts using an OS-provided font menu, including Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Notability, Affinity Designer, Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint. Users can then choose it from the font menu to apply it to Balinese text. All other apps use Noto Serif Balinese. Most iOS apps will work with the Ubud font once it’s available to them.

Why does Balinese text render differently in other apps?

If you see Balinese text rendered differently in other apps than in the Aksara Bali app, this can have different reasons. First, you have to make the Ubud font available to other apps, as described in “How do I make the Ubud font available to other apps?”. Second, the font only becomes available in apps that let users choose fonts, and users have to choose it from the font menu, as described in “Do all iOS apps work with this font?”.

Why can’t my friends see Balinese text that I post on social media?

You can post Balinese text either in the form of text, or in the form of an image.

If you post in the form of text, then to see that text displayed on their devices, your friends need to have a Balinese font installed, just like you:

To post as an image, type the text in the Aksara Bali app, then tap the Share button. This creates an image and brings up a dialog that lets you choose what to do with the image.

Which characters are provided by the Balinese keyboard?

The Balinese keyboard provides all Balinese characters used for the Balinese, Kawi, and Sanskrit languages; this includes letters, marks, digits, and punctuation. It also enables direct input of conjunct forms (gantungan and gempelan). The keyboard for iPhone has five layers: commonly used characters and their conjunct forms, less commonly used characters and their conjunct forms, and digits and punctuation. The keyboard for iPad has four layers: commonly used characters and their conjunct forms, less commonly used characters including digits and punctuation and their conjunct forms.

How do I make the keyboard available to other apps?

To make the Balinese keyboard available to other apps, go to the Keyboard pane of the Aksara Bali app, and follow the instructions there.

How do I type consonant clusters with gantungan and gempelan?

In Aksara Bali 2.0 and later, the keyboard has dedicated layers for gantungan and gempelan, so just press the key showing the gantungan or gempelan you need. Use the key for the character ◌᭄ (adeg adeg) only if you want it to remain visible.

In Aksara Bali 1.9 or earlier, in order to type consonant clusters with gantungan and gempelan, insert the Balinese character ◌᭄ (adeg adeg) between Balinese consonants. For example, for the Balinese word ᬦᬗ᭄ᬓ (jackfruit), type ᬦ ᬗ ◌᭄ ᬓ.

Why does the keyboard show some characters in color?

Several Balinese digits look like Balinese letters, for example, the digit eight, , looks like the letter (pa kapal). However, in Unicode digits are separate characters, and some software, such as spreadsheets, may depend on the distinction. The keyboard therefore highlights the digits in color.

Other questions?

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