Urdu under Ubuntu (Breezy Badger 5.10) Linux and GNOME 2.12

Urdu Writing Support is easy to install by following the steps given below:

Keyboard Installation

1. Download Phonetic Urdu Keyboard∞ (courtesy: www.crulp.org)
2. Copy this file to both /etc/X11/xkb/symbols and /etc/X11/xkb/symbols/pc folders.
3. Edit “xorg.lst” found in /etc/X11/xkb/rules and add “ur Urdu Pakistan” line as shown below:
   .
   .
   .
   th_tis Thai (TIS-820.2538)
   th_pat Thai (Pattachote)
   tr Turkish
   tr_f Turkish (F)
   ua Ukrainian
   gb United Kingdom
   ur Urdu Pakistan
   uz Uzbek
   .
   .
   .
   
   
   
   
4. After this you should go to Applications->System Tools->Configuration Editor as shown in the following figure and add “ur” (without quotes) in the list of already installed layouts in /desktop/gnome/peripherals/keyboard/kbd (Please click on figure)

∞

Urdu Layout Addition

1. Urdu keyboard is now installed. You can install keyboard switcher applet by going to panel, right-clicking and selecting “Add to Panel->Keyboard Indicator". By clicking on this switcher, you can easily change between English(or any other language)/Urdu layouts.
2. Once Urdu keyboard is installed, you can write Urdu anywhere in Linux including Firefox and Thunderbird. As an example, I am giving below a screenshot of Urdu in OpenOffice.org Word Processor.

∞

Urdu Font Installation

To install Urdu fonts you need to download them. You can download most widely used Urdu fonts from this location∞. This is a compressed file containing Nafees Web Naskh, Urdu Naskh Asiatype and Tahoma fonts. Download the file to your desktop, right click on it and select "Extract Here". This will create a folder 'urdu-fonts' on your desktop. Now you are ready to follow the instructions below.

Installing Fonts For Current User

To install fonts for yourself or a single user, follow this procedure. Open Terminal ( Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal) and type these commands:



The first line makes a hidden folder in your home directory. Second line changes the current working directory to Desktop (remember Linux is case sensitive). The third copies urdu-fonts folder to .fonts directory.

You can also do this with out writing commands.

1. Go to Places -> Home Folder
2. A nautilus window would appear showing your home folder. In the file menu click on View -> Show Hidden Files. This will make several hidden folders and files visible. The hidden files and folders begin with a dot like .foldername. Now right click in an empty space and create new directory, name it .fonts and double click to open it. Drag and drop your urdu fonts folder or copy paste your fonts in this directory.

Installing Fonts System Wide

If you want to install fonts for every one using the particular computer. Then follow this procedure. It is similar to the above process but now we are going to copy paste font folder or files into /usr/share/fonts folder. In order to write in this folder you need administrative rights. Type this in Terminal:

Drag and drop or copy paste your fonts (files or the folder) in this folder.

It would be better (not mandatory) to update your font cache after installing new fonts. Type this in Terminal:


More detailed information is available on Ubuntu Wiki Font Install Howto∞. Check this out if you are using Kubuntu or need detailed instructions.