Support: Aksara Jawa
On this page, “iOS” means both iOS and iPadOS, version 13.0 or higher.
Which iOS fonts support Javanese characters?
iOS comes with Noto Sans Javanese version 2, a reasonably functional Javanese font. The Aksara Jawa app contains a beautiful Javanese font named “Yogya”, which can be installed from within the app. The font is based on the Pustaka font developed by Aditya Bayu Perdana and Arif Budiarto, but has been reengineered for iOS. Here are the three fonts in comparison:
Which characters are supported by the Yogya font?
The font supports all Javanese characters defined in the Unicode standard.
How do I make the Yogya font available to other apps?
To make the Yogya font available to other apps, go to the Font pane of the Aksara Jawa app, tap the “Yogya” button, and confirm the installation.
Do all iOS apps work with this font?
The Yogya 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 Javanese text. All other apps use Noto Sans Javanese version 2. Most iOS apps will work with the Yogya font once it’s available to them.
Why does Javanese text render differently in other apps?
If you see Javanese text rendered differently in other apps than in the Aksara Jawa app, this can have different reasons. First, you have to make the Yogya font available to other apps, as described in “How do I make the Yogya 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 Javanese text that I post on social media?
You can post Javanese 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 Javanese font installed, just like you:
- For iPhone and iPad, they can upgrade to iOS 13 or higher.
- Android 5.1 and higher should have a Javanese font built in. If it’s missing, there’s unfortunately no way to install one.
- Windows 8.1 and higher have a Javanese font built in.
- macOS 10.15 and higher have a Javanese font built in.
To post as an image, type the text in the Aksara Jawa 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 Javanese keyboard?
The Javanese keyboard provides all Javanese characters defined in the Unicode standard; this includes letters, marks, digits, and punctuation. The keyboard has five layers: commonly used characters, digits and punctuation, less commonly used characters, and two layers for pasangan.
How do I make the keyboard available to other apps?
To make the Javanese keyboard available to other apps, go to the Keyboard pane of the Aksara Jawa app, and follow the instructions there.
Why does the keyboard show some characters in color?
Several Javanese digits look like Javanese letters, for example, the digit one, ꧑, looks like the letter ꦒ (ga). 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.
