Nitartha-Sambhota Support
Frequently Asked Questions
Windows support
Mac support
Q.
What operating systems and platforms are required by Nitartha-Sambhota
version 2?
A.
Version 2 requires either Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000
(Millenium or Professional),
XP or Vista. The Macintosh is not
supported in version 2 of the word processing system, but
we do provide the N-S
Converter for the Mac
system to allow Mac users to transparently work with
Tibetan documents on the Mac platform.
Q.
Why should I upgrade to version 2?
A.
The primary reason to upgrade is the greatly enhanced fonts
of version 2. A special team of Tibetan fontographers have
spent many hours redesigning the Nitartha-Sambhota fonts
to make them the finest available for Tibetan printing.
In addition, the program has been restructured to be more
compatible with a wider variety of publishing programs,
thus further facilitating high-quality Tibetan language
printing. For more reasons, click here.
Q.
What word-processors are required for Nitartha-Sambhota?
A.
The Nitartha-Sambhota program runs as a Microsoft Word add-in
that allows you to type Tibetan directly into Microsoft Word.
Nitartha-Sambhota works properly within commercial versions
of Microsoft Word for Windows (North American editions), specifically
Word 6, Word 95 (aka Word 7), Word 97 (aka Word 8), and Word
2000 (aka Word 9), and Word XP (aka Word 10) and Office 2000, 2003 and 2007 versions. For those using Word 2000+, please read
the following question and answer about macro security (this
is also part of the installation detailed in
the documentation).
For those using the Vista platform, please see the updated security procedures for those systems.
The Nitartha-Sambhota software does not always work properly
with Asian versions of Microsoft Word. The Nitartha-Sambhota
software does not always work properly with Chinese language
keyboards, though version 2.0 is more likely to work. There
is a French version of the version 1 keyboard interface that
works under the French version of Microsoft Word in addition
to the standard English version.
Our software package also includes a conversion program that
allows you to convert Asian Classics transliteration or Wylie
transliteration to RTF documents that those documents can
then be read in Microsoft Word.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON MACRO SECURITY FEATURES
IN WORD 2000 and XP
Q.
Does Nitartha-Sambhota work with newer versions of Microsoft Word runnng under Windows and Vista? (Aka: where are the Nitartha-Sambhota toolbars?)
Q. Why doesn't the Nitartha-Sambhota toolbar
appear when when I open up Word or newly install
the program?
A.
Yes,
Nitartha-Sambhota works in the newest versions of Word running under XP or Vista.
However,
XP and Vista and Word for Windows comes from the factory configured in a way
which disables the Nitartha-Sambhota macros needed to make
the program function properly. This may cause the toolbars
not to appear at first. To make Nitartha-Sambhota
work properly, change the macro security settings as described below in this and the following answer:
Since
Word 97 was developed, there have been a slew of computer viruses
that are built from MS Word macros. To help prevent this,
Microsoft
added macro security settings to Word 2000 and above. By default,
Word 2000+ has "High Security Level" turned on when installing
macros. This setting disables certain macros from being installed
in
Word. Nitartha-Sambhota uses macros, and as a result
of the macro security setting, it may appear at first that
the
Sambhota program does not work with Word 2000 or XP. In fact,
Nitartha-Sambhota does work, if you inform the Word macro
security
function that Nitartha-Sambhota macros are ok. You can do this
in either of the following
two ways:
1. Copy the Nitartha-Sambhota Add-in to the Startup folder
for Word. The Startup folder for Word is typically in C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Startup. When Nitartha-Sambhota
is in the Startup folder, the Sambhota keyboard will automatically
come up whenever Word is started. This allows you to keep
the macro security setting on high and still use the program
whenever you wish.
(Note that the Tibetan input function in Nitartha-Sambhota
can be turned on or off from the toolbar. The presence
of the toolbars will not affect typical input in English.)
2. Alternatively, one can set the Security Level to Medium
or Low. Do this by opening from the menu bar Tools | Macro
| Security. The Nitartha-Sambhota will then work properly
in Word.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON MACRO SECURITY FEATURES
IN WORD on Windows Vista
Q.
I run the Windows Vista Operating System. How do I get Nitartha-Sambhota to install and work properly?
Here are the instructions for installing Sambhota in Vista:
Go to the Office Button in Word (upper left)
Click WORD OPTIONS
Click TRUST CENTER, then click TRUST CENTER SETTINGS.
Be sure the following are checked:
Enable all macros
Trust access to VBA
Then go back to Word, choose the Office Button again.
Click on Add-ins
Check Sambhota (or add it)
Then click on Add-ins on Menu at top to see the Sambhota toolbar
Q.
Does Nitartha-Sambhota work with Japanese Word?
Microsoft
implemented the Japanese version of Word so that it incorrectly
assumes any character code with the MSB set to be half of
a double-byte character, and forces it to be handled using
a double-byte font. Non-ASCII character sets like Tibetan
that use more than 7 bits are not handled properly.
Nitartha-Sambhota 2 re-encodes the Tibetan fonts so that characters
above character number 128 are not used. Initial testing indicates
that this re-encoding has solved the problem typing Tibetan
characters in Japanese Word.
Q.
Are there any reported problems with version 2?
A.
Nitartha-Sambhota version 2 was designed as an upgrade to
fix bugs, but some minor problems have been reported. In restricted
format documents, particularly traditional pecha-sized pages,
there have been reports of a baseline formatting inconsistency
that prevents proper alignment with the top of the page. The
currently released version includes a fix for this problem.
Some users have reported printing problems, but this appears
to be isolated to very old printers. All printers tested by
our developers have exhibited no printing problems.
Q.
Why do Tibetan words input in Nitartha-Sambhota 1.0 break
in the wrong place, so that sometimes lines start with the
dot (tshegs) which is supposed to be the last
character in the syllable?
Version
1 fonts and keyboard work well in Microsoft Word 97 (aka Word
8) but unfortunately Microsoft introduced a change in Word
97 so that the Tibetan words are not broken correctly at the
end of lines (sometimes words are broken in the middle). As
a result, the user has to enter hard carriage returns at the
end of lines containing Tibetan. This problem has been fixed
in version 2.
Explanation:
Version 1 of the Sambhota software places the tseg character
in the font slot for the hyphen character. MS Word 6
and 7 will break lines on a hyphen character even in symbol
fonts (note that the current Sambhota fonts are implemented
as symbol fonts). As a result, there are typically no
problems with words breaking incorrectly in MS Word 6 and
7. The latest version of Word (Word 8) does not break lines
on a hyphen character in a symbol font but will break lines
on a hyphen character in standard fonts.
Q.
Can I convert my version 1 documents to version 2 documents?
A.
Not at this time. We have not completed work on a Nitartha-Sambhota
v. 1.0 to v. 2.0 converter, but work on such a program is
underway.
Q.
When I click the download button at this site (for either
an HTTP or FTP download), instead of downloading the file,
it gets displayed as weird looking text in the browser. Why
and how do I fix this?
A:
The reason this is happening is because the browser is getting
confused about what the data is and how to display it or download
it. You either need to manually override your browser action
(in Netscape, by right-clicking on the link or "I agree" button,
then by selecting "save link as"), or change the automated
preferences for your browser to download files that have an
extension like .tar.Z or .tar.gz or .zip or .exe. To do this,
you need to associate an extension with a MIME type. (In Netscape
3.0, click on Options | General Preferences | Helpers and
set the pertinent extension and type as below and set to download.)
Here are some of the common ones we use:
Usual Extension
Type/Subtype
zip
application/zip
bin, sfx, exe
application/octet-stream
Z
application/x-compress
gz
application/x-gzip
sh
application/x-sh
pdf
application/pdf
ps
application/postscript
Character
import glitches in specific programs
Q.
Sometimes importing characters, such as ba with subjoined
ra character, does not work. What can I do?
A.
This problem has been fixed in Nitartha-Sambhota Version 2.
Version 2 uses completely re-encoded
fonts which omit using characters above font cell 128 (the
extended ASCII character set). Often different software
applications handle such characters in different manners causing
character import problems. The re-encoding also solves certain
word wrapping problems that occurring in MS Word 97 (see above).
Relationship
to TIBETAN!
Q.
I read
about Sambhota in the ACIP literature and Snow Lion, and have
seen it demonstrated locally by the owner of the Kawachen
Bookstore in Tokyo. Is this the same product that was
previously available as "TIBETAN!" from the Tibetan
Computer Company?
A.
Nitartha-Sambhota is not the same product as TIBETAN! from
the Tibetan Computer Company although Gerry Wiener, the developer
of Nitartha-Sambhota, did work on the TIBETAN! product initially
for a number of years.
WordPerfect
Compatibility
Q. Will the font
work under Wordperfect 7.0 and Windows 95? We currently
use Wordperfect 6.1 under Windows 3.1, but are planning to
upgrade to 7.0 or 8.0 in the near future, as well as Windows
95.
A. At this point
the Tibetan keyboard will not work within WordPerfect 7.0
and only works within Microsoft Word 6, 7, 8 and 9. There
was a Sambhota product for WordPerfect but we stopped development
owing to the lack of interest. We no longer distribute
the WordPerfect product since we can't afford the time for
support.
We have re-encoded
the fonts in Nitartha-Sambhota Version 2 so that Nitartha-Sambhota
files containing Tibetan can be imported to the various word
processors and text layout programs. If you can type
Wylie or Asian Classics transliteration, such files can then
be converted to Rich Text Format files using the Sambhota
software. They can then be imported into most all of
the word processing software as well as text layout programs.
Can
I use other fonts with Nitartha-Sambhota?
Q.
One
user asked: "My Tibetan teacher created a font on a now-obsolete
system which we would like to use with Sambhota if possible;
any suggestions? Since this product would be used exclusively
for typesetting Dharma texts for our group, it would be wonderful
if we could also use the font."
A.
This
may be possible. Is the font in Postscript or TrueType
format? If so, it can be re-encoded so that it could
work with the Sambhota software. There may be additional
work required in terms of adding characters, etc. for completeness.
We
have a program that will convert IBM PC L-Tibetan texts and
other font systems compatible with Wylie to the Nitartha-Sambhota
fonts, using our converters.
Does
a translator exist to convert the Robillard font to the Sambhota
font?
A.
We have
a converter that will convert from the Robillard font to the
Sambhota font. It generally does a good job but there
are cases where it does not convert properly. We currently
support an extensive list of Sanskrit character stacks and
our current release contains approximately 500 Sanskrit character
stacks, representing every Sanskrit character stack found
in a Sanskrit-Tibetan dictionary.
Q. Does the software support dot matrix printers?
A.
Yes if the printers support TrueType. Note that some
print problems may occur when using dot matrix printers even
if they support TrueType.
Mac
Support
Does Nitartha-Sambhota support the Mac?
We support
the Mac, but do not currenly have a keyboard for input (see
next question). We support the Mac as much as possible through
the N-S Converter for the Mac package.
At the present time we do not have a keyboard for inputting
Nitartha-Sambhota fonts directly into a Mac system.
The
N-S
Converter for the Mac package makes
available to Mac users the high-quality Nitartha-Sambhota
Dedris Tibetan fonts in Nitartha-Sambhota 2.0. Combined with
the N-S Converter for the Mac, Mac users can work with Nitartha-Sambhota
created documents on their Macs. Mac users can also create
documents in Wylie and Asian Classics transliteration and
create Tibetan documents on their Macs.
The program converts the transliteration files to Rich Text
Files containing Tibetan script. These Rich Text files can
be read by Microsoft Word and can then be formatted and printed.
Documents containing the new Tibetan fonts are easily transportable
between the Mac and PC. No additional conversion or special
procedures are necessary. Also, documents produced using Nitartha-Sambhota
2.0 on the PC can be transported to the Mac and vice-versa.
Does
Nitartha-Sambhota have a word processing system or keyboard
for Mac users?
No.
At the present time, there is no Macintosh version of the
Nitartha-Sambhota word processing system with keyboard. We
plan to release a keyboard for Mac OS X. More information
on our development plans is available here.
We no longer distribute our Mac product based on Nitartha-Sambhota
version 1 for working in Microsoft Word for the Mac versions
5 and earlier. Nitartha-Sambhota for the Mac became quite
buggy in versions of Microsoft Word 6 and later for the Mac.
Microsoft did not release a new upgrade to Word 6 on the Mac
for a number of years. It finally released Word 8 on
the Mac in 1999, but we determined not to port the old version
of Nitartha-Sambhota to Word 8. However, work is underway
on version X.
What
happened to Nitartha-Sambhota version 1.0 for the Mac?
We
have discontinued the distribution of this product for a number
of reasons due to known program limitations in the Sambhota
1.0 program for Word 6 on the Macintosh.
- The program will not run unless there is sufficient memory
available for Word 6 to run on the Macintosh. At a
minimum one needs 7 megabytes of memory beyond what is used
by System 7. This typically means that at least 16
megabytes of physical memory are required on the machine.
- When using the Sambhota interface to Word on the Mac,
virtual memory and the modern memory manager must be turned
off.
- One may also have to check that there are no problematic
extensions running using the Extensions Manager.
- Finally Microsoft Word 6 on the Mac will gradually lose
memory. This means that after one has typed four or
five pages in Tibetan, one has to save the current work,
exit Word and then restart Word.
Most importantly, due to bugs in Word 6 on the Mac, one can
only use the Tibetan keyboard for a limited number of pages
before a dialog box appears announcing that there is insufficient
memory for Word. When this warning appears, you should
save all your work and close Word altogether. You can
then restart Word and reinstall the Tibetan keyboard and continue
on with your work using your original file. The insufficient
memory warning may occur after differing periods of time.
Even though such problems exist, some of our users are successfully
using the product. We conveyed the Word 6 problems to
Microsoft. They stated that Word 8 fixes these problems, but
we were unable to confirm this and discontinued work on this
generation of Mac products in view of the revamp in OS X.
How
do I import PC documents to the Mac?
A.
We
have redesigned Nitartha-Sambhota version 2.0 documents for
transparent use on the Mac. Documents using version 2.0 Dedris
fonts are written
to transport easily between PCs and Macs. In addition, our
N-S
Converter for the Mac package
provides even greater ease
of use for Mac users in working with Nitartha Sambhota documents.
We have now
discontiued active support for version 1, so If you have version
1 and wish to transport documents, you must work within the
significant limitations discussed above. In order to transfer
a version 1 Sambhota file (using sam* fonts) from the PC to
the Mac, try saving it as a Mac Word 5 file on the PC, not
an RTF file. Note that Microsoft has not maintained a backward
compatible RTF file standard, i.e., newer RTF files will not
work with older versions of the Mac software. We have tried
using the Mac Word 5 approach with a document containing all
the Tibetan characters and did not see any conversion problems.
There may be a few minor character conversions (there should
not be more than 2) which you can correct using a global search
and replace in MS Word.
Importing
version 1 Mac files into Pagemaker
- Try saving the file as an RTF file and then opening the
file in Pagemaker
- Make sure that Smart Quotes are turned off in Pagemaker
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