Unicode to Bamini
Convert Unicode to Bamini when your layout or your printer still works in Bamini. Paste Tamil typed on a phone, in Google Docs or in Word, and take out Bamini text for PageMaker or InDesign. The conversion stays in your browser.
Also:Tamil Font Converter
0 characters
What we accept
What goes in and out
Text in
Paste or type
Unicode text
Text out
Copy
Bamini text
Download
.rtf, .docx, .txt
Where it runs
Conversion
In your browser
Your text
Not uploaded
Why people use this tool
For Tamil newsletters and press layouts that still set their text in Bamini.
For print and newsletters
Contributors can type in Unicode on their phones. You convert once, just before layout.
Split vowels handled
Letters such as கொ and கோ are written in two parts in Bamini. The parts are placed where the font expects them.
Bamini already set
The .rtf and Word files carry the Bamini font on the Tamil. English words keep an English font.
Stays in your browser
The conversion runs on your device. Your text is not uploaded to our server.
English left alone
Words in English, numbers and email addresses are kept as they are. Only the old-font text is changed.
Words to check are marked
If a word does not look like a real word after conversion, it is underlined so you can check it.
How to convert Unicode Tamil to Bamini
Four steps, all of them in your browser. Nothing to install and no account.
Paste the Tamil text.
Copy it from the email, the WhatsApp message or your document and paste it on the left.
Check the marked words.
Underlined words have a letter Bamini may not hold. Look at them before you print.
Read it as it will print.
The result shows in Tamil here. The Raw text tab shows what actually gets pasted, such as jkpo; for தமிழ்.
Place it in your layout.
Download the .rtf for PageMaker or InDesign, or copy it. The tips under the result cover each app.
What's kept, and what to check
The text comes across as it was typed. A few things are worth a look before you use it.
What's kept
What comes across
Paragraphs.
Paragraph and line breaks stay as they were.
Tamil letters and vowel signs.
Each one is placed in Bamini key order.
English and numbers.
Copied unchanged, and kept in an English font in the .rtf and Word files.
Check before use
Look at these in the layout
Grantha letters.
Look over any ஜ, ஷ, ஸ, ஹ or ஸ்ரீ in the result; these Grantha letters are the ones to check first.
Tamil digits.
Bamini has no keys for ௧ to ௯. They are left as they are and marked, so type them as 1 to 9.
English words after a plain paste.
If you set the whole frame to Bamini, set English words back to an English font.
Bamini text only looks right in the Bamini font. We do not supply it; use the Bamini font your layout already has.
Tricky letters we test
Letters that trip up Tamil converters, converted by this page when it was built.
| Unicode | Bamini keys | What makes it hard |
|---|---|---|
| Unicodeஸ்ரீலங்காவுடன் | Bamini keys=yq;fhTld; | ஸ்ரீ is four Unicode characters but one glyph, on the = key. |
| Unicodeருக்ஷான் | Bamini keysUf;\hd; | க்ஷ is typed as க் then ஷ, and ஷ sits on the \ key. |
| Unicodeகொழும்பு | Bamini keysnfhOk;G | ொ splits in two: ெ goes before the letter and ா after it. |
| Unicodeகோரிக்கைகள் | Bamini keysNfhupf;iffs; | ோ splits into ே before க and ா after it. The ை later on also goes first. |
| Unicodeகௌதமன் | Bamini keysnfsjkd; | ௌ becomes ெ before the letter and ள after it, the same key as the letter ள. |
| Unicodeஜனாதிபதி | Bamini keys[dhjpgjp | ஜ is on the [ key, so the Bamini word opens with a bracket that must be read as a letter. |
| Unicodeமஹிந்த | Bamini keysk`pe;j | ஹ is on the backtick key, so a symbol, not a letter key, sits in the middle of the Bamini word. |
| Unicodeமக்களை | Bamini keyskf;fis | In க்க the first க takes the pulli (f;) and the second stays plain; then ை goes before ள. |
Questions
Answers to common questions about Unicode to Bamini.
Why does the pasted text look like English letters?
Bamini text is the English keys a Tamil typist pressed on the Bamini keyboard: j for த, k for ம, p for ி, o for ழ and ; for the pulli, so தமிழ் is saved as jkpo;. Set the text to the Bamini font and it shows as Tamil.
Is Latha to Bamini the same thing?
Yes. Latha is a Unicode Tamil font, so Latha to Bamini is the same job as Unicode to Bamini. Text typed in Latha, Nirmala UI or on a phone keyboard is Unicode and converts here.
How do I get the text into PageMaker with the font kept?
Download the .rtf file and place it with File, then Place. The Tamil is already set to Bamini, so you skip selecting it and changing the font.
Can I type in English and get Bamini?
No. This page moves Tamil text from one encoding to another. Typing Tamil by sound in English letters needs a different tool.
My text came out as the wrong letters in the layout. Why?
The text frame is probably set to a Tamil font with another layout, such as a TSCII font. Bamini output needs Bamini or Baamini, which share one layout. The Tamil font converter handles other encodings.
Is my text uploaded?
No. The Unicode to Bamini converter runs in your browser. Nothing is sent to our server.
Other tools in the set
Converters for other old fonts and the other direction. Each one runs in your browser.