Unicode Gurmukhi Fonts and Information

NOTE: This web-page is updated in October, 2022 and some Unicode fonts are updated and some new fonts are added.

This web page provides information and downloading links about Unicode Gurmukhi fonts, related Language Keyboards (software that controls typing of Unicode font characters) and related files made by Kulbir Thind, MD.

What is Unicode: The Unicode Consortium is a non-profit organization founded to develop, extend and promote use of the Unicode Standard, which specifies the representation of text in modern software products and standards. Unicode is the accepted international standard that includes support for all major scripts of the World and is adopted by all current major computer operating systems. This is a 16 bit standard that allows use of more than 65000 characters in one font. It has support for major Indic (Indian) scripts that include Devanagari (Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit), Bengali (Bengali, Assamese), Gurmukhi (Punjabi), Gujarati, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Microsoft Windows XP/ Vista has full support for Indic scripts, including Gurmukhi. All future development regarding scripts will be based on Unicode.

Advantages of Unicode relating to Gurmukhi script: The purpose of this write-up is not to give any detailed information on this topic, but some points are worth mentioning. Migration to Unicode may not be painless as one has to adapt to new ways (but it is not a big deal) and for editing purposes, one has to have a software that has support for Unicode. However, all current computer/smart device operating systems and almost all current software has support for Unicode. There are many advantages in using Unicode text. Documents and web-pages made with Unicode text, when viewed with an appropriate web-browser on a computer with support for Unicode, will always be viewed in the right script even if the font in which web-pages are made is not installed into the system (just as English text is always English, even if the font in which it is made is missing). One can name files and folders in Gurmukhi, search web pages in Gurmukhi, sort text with ease, exchange Gurmukhi data without having to worry about fonts and avoid the hassles of upper-case lower-case and spacing problems that happen when many available non-Unicode Gurmukhi fonts are used. The implementation of Indic scripts by Unicode has been done as per recommendations by the Indian government and it is done in such a way that transliteration (phonetic) between Indic scripts will be easier (compared to if non-standard fonts are used) as code points for corresponding characters are well defined . You may read more on this topic.

Before you attempt to install and use Unicode Gurmukhi fonts and Language Keyboards, for which downloading links are at the bottom of this page, you must understand the following:

Unicode is the accepted international standard for rendering fonts on computers with different operating systems. Computers with different operating systems have adopted this as the ultimate standard for the future. It is 16 bit standard and is a major step forward compared to other standards for use of fonts on the computers.
All Windows PCs since Windows-XP have been Unicode compliant. And all Microsoft Office software has had full support for Unicode since 2003. Free Office software such as Liber Office or Open office also support Unicode.
The user usually have do some setup items to be able to type and edit languages other than the default language (English in most cases). One simple way to accomplish activation of the Punjabi is by installation of Gurmukhi/Punjabi keyboards provided on this web-page (near the bottom of this page). Otherwise, this is achieved through the “Control Panel”, by double clicking on the “Regional and Language Options” icon and then by making the appropriate selections.
Once an appropriate Punjabi Language Keyboard software (that controls typing of Unicode characters) is installed into your Windows PC; one has to switch/toggle to the Punjabi keyboard input to be able to type Gurmukhi characters. The switching between the Gurmukhi and English typing input can also be achieved by pressing the Alt+Shift keys on the keyboard or by selecting the input language through the task bar. The default Gurmukhi font that comes with Windows based computers is ‘Raavi’. However, one can install other Gurmukhi Unicode fonts (such as made available here), which may then be used instead.
There are some peculiarities of typing Gurmukhi Unicode fonts, which must be understood. For example Sihaaree (ਿ) is always typed afterwards and you cannot type Eerhee followed by Sihaaree OR Bihaaree, instead you must type a compound "SihaareeErhee" (ਇ) OR "EerheeBihaaree" (ਈ). This also applies to "UrhaaAunkarh" (ਉ), UrhaaDulainkarh" (ਊ), "EerheeLaavaa" (ਏ), "AirhaaDulaavaan" (ਐ), "UrhaaHorha" (ਓ) and "AirhaaKanaurhaa" (ਔ). If you try to type the wrong way you will not get the desired output, but instead, at each wrong step you will get a letter followed by a dotted circle symbol followed by LagaaMatraa. (NOTE: Regarding these special situations, it is possible to achieve natural writing method thorough modifications of the keyboard/text input method and that has been achieved in the keyboards available for downloading through the links given at the bottom of this page).
The default keyboard input method (from Microsoft) is not very intuitive (at least not for me). The keyboards provided at the bottom of this page are more suitable to users already familiar with certain NON-Unicode fonts made by me. However, expert users can modify keyboards to one’s liking by using a freeware from Microsoft that can be downloaded from: http://microsoft.com/globaldev/tools/msklc.mspx With this program one can design a Keyboard (input method) to one's liking that can then be installed onto any computer with Windows operating system.

The current version of the Gurmukhi Unicode standard does not have support for some special characters that are used in Gurbani/ old Gurmukhi. My Unicode fonts do provide support for most of such characters, as explained below.

To achieve the desired results in the fonts that provide support for Gurbani, I have used Uniscribe's built-in support for typing Paireen characters (subjoined forms) with Virama+Consonant method of typing. Aditional support for characters that Uniscibe can not support in the Gurmukhi range is provided through the use of Private Use Area of Unicode.

How to type special characters provided in my Unicode fonts: [NOTE: The first 4 situations are universal (generally present in all Gurmukhi Unicode fonts), but the remaining are specific to most of my Unicode Gurmukhi fonts.

Other Paireen characters (subjoined forms) are present in many of my fonts are shown below (Note: The Sasaa characters shown below are used to illustrate placement). These are typed by typing Virama (Halant) followed by the corresponding character.

These specialized characters that are presnet in most of my fonts are some times required for special situations.

1	Akaash.ttf (A Gurmukhi Unicode font that also contains English characters, updated on Dec 27, 2021)	116 KB	Download
2	Akaash-Bold.ttf (This font is a bold version of Akaash font, updated on Dec 27, 2021)	105 KB	Download
3	Akaash Ambi.ttf (This font is a semibold version of Akaash font, added to this list on Dec 27, 2021)	140 KB	Download
4	Akaash Ambi-Bold.ttf (This font is a bold version of Akaash Ambi font and is added to this list on Dec 27, 2021)	103 KB	Download
5	NEW. Akaash-Tight.ttf (This font is a narrow version of the Akaash font. With this font more of text can fit in the same space as compared to the Akaash font. This font is added to this list on Oct 4, 2022)	112 KB	Download
6	NEW. Akaash-Tight-Bold.ttf (This font is a bold version of Akaash-Tight font and is added to this list on Oct 4,, 2022)	109 KB	Download
7	Akaash Elegant.ttf (A Gurmukhi Unicode font that also contains English characters, added to this list on Sept 26, 2021 & Updated on Oct 7, 2021).	126 KB	Download
8	Akaash Elegant-Bold.ttf (This font is a bold version of Akaash Elegant font, added to this list on on Sep 26, 2021 & Updated on Oct 7, 2021).	170 KB	Download
9	Akaash Elegant Medium.ttf (A Gurmukhi Unicode font that also contains English characters, added to this list on Oct 20, 2021. The letters of this font are thicker than those of Akaash Elegant font).	161 KB	Download
10	Akaash Elegant Medium-Bold.ttf (This font is a bold version of Akaash Elegant Medium font, added to this list on on Oct 20, 2021. The letters of this font are thicker than those of Akaash Elegant Bold font).	170 KB	Download
11	Akaash Elegant Raised.ttf (This font is a variation of Akaash Elegant that gives an apprearance of depth and is added to this list on on Oct 29, 2021).	360 KB	Download
12	Akaash Elegant Outlined.ttf (This font is an outlined variation of Akaash Elegant and is added to this list on on Oct 29, 2021).	263 KB	Download
13	Akaash Sundar.ttf (This font is essentially a speckled version of "Akaash Elegant-Bold" font and is added to this list on on Oct 5, 2021. Updated on Oct 24, 2021. See its beauty at a large size of text).	330 KB	Download
14	Akaash Sundar-Bold.ttf (This font is a bold version of "Akaash Sundar" font. The speckels of this font are more intricate than that of the regular version. This font is added to this list on on Oct 12, 2021. See its beauty at a large size of text).	509 KB	Download
15	Akaash Mohni.ttf {The Gurmukhi letters of this font have artistic touch. The font include English letters. This font should be good for Punjabi headlines and banners etc. On the commonly used resolution monitors/screens the intricacies of letters become clear at about 24 point size or above. However, at high quality printing (330 DPI or more) even 12 point size will show intricacies clearly. This font is added to this list on on Nov 9, 2021}.	238 KB	Download
16	Akaash Mohni Striped.ttf {The Gurmukhi letters of this font have artistic touch and are also striped. The font include English letters. This font should be good for Punjabi headlines and banners etc. On the commonly used resolution monitors/screens the intricacies of letters become clear at about 30 point size or above. However, at high quality printing (330 DPI or more) even 20 point size will show intricacies clearly. This font is added to this list on on Nov 15, 2021}.	324 KB	Download
17	Akaash Striped.ttf {The Gurmukhi letters of this fonts are striped. This font should be good for Punjabi headlines. This font is added on Oct 24, 2021. Includes English characters. On the commonly used resolution monitors/screens the stripes of letters become clearly visible at 20 point size or above. However, at high quality printing (330 DPI or more) even 12 point size will show stripes clearly}.	150 KB	Download
18	Akaash Striated.ttf {The Gurmukhi letters of this fonts are striated. This font should be good for Punjabi headlines. This font is added on Nov 15, 2021. Includes English characters that are also striated. On the commonly used resolution monitors/screens the stripes of letters become clearly visible at 20 point size or above. However, at high quality printing (330 DPI or more) even 12 point size will show stripes clearly}.	567 KB	Download
19	Akaash Raised.ttf {A Akaash font where characters have depth (3D appearance) including those of English characters. This font should be good for Punjabi headlines etc.}.	359 KB	Download
20	Akaash-Chibi.ttf {This is a modified regular Akaash font where character shapes are distorted for a different appearance}.	122 KB	Download
21	Akaash Vakhri.ttf {This is a modified regular Akaash font with some artistic touch. This font should be good for Punjabi headlines etc. This font is added to this list on Dec 1, 2021}.	178 KB	Download
22	Akaash Vakhri Two.ttf {This is a modified regular Akaash font with a different artistic touch. This font should be good for Punjabi headlines etc. This font is added to this list on Dec 1, 2021}.	184 KB	Download
23	Akaash-Chhabi.ttf (This font is is good for Punjabi headlines. Added on Sep 11, 2021. Includes English characters.)	150 KB	Download
24	NEW. Akaash-Hathwali.ttf (A Gurmukhi Unicode font that also contains English characters. It is added to this list on July 30, 2022).	131 KB	Download
25	Akaash Squarish.ttf (A Gurmukhi Unicode font that also contains English characters. It is added to this list on Nov 3, 2021).	112 KB	Download
26	Akaash Squarish Bold.ttf (A bold version of Akaash Squarish font. This is added to this list on Nov 3, 2021).	101 KB	Download
27	AmbarKalmi.ttf (A stylish Gurmukhi Unicode font)	76 KB	Download
28	AmbarNarrow.ttf (A Gurmukhi Unicode font with narrow characters)	80 KB	Download
29	AmbarNeon.ttf (A Neon type Gurmukhi Unicode font)	112 KB	Download
30	AmbarOutlined.ttf (An Outlined Gurmukhi Unicode font)	100 KB	Download
31	AmbarRaised.ttf (A 3D type Gurmukhi Unicode font)	108 KB	Download
32	AmbarUbhri.ttf (A 3D Gurmukhi Unicode font)	116 KB	Download
33	AmbarSlim.ttf (A slim version of AnmolUni type of Gurmukhi Unicode font)	76 KB	Download
34	ChatrikUni.ttf (A regular Gurmukhi Unicode font with slightly reduced white space)	80 KB	Download
35	AmbarLight.ttf (A ligher version of AnmolUni type of Gurmukhi Unicode font)	80 KB	Download
36	AmbarLight-Bold.ttf (a bold version of AmbarLight)	76 KB	Download
37	AmbarShadow.ttf (an outlined Ambar font with shadow)	134 KB	Download
38	Gurmukhi-UCSB-Uni.ttf (a stylish font)	134 KB	Download
39	Oankaar.ttf (a stylish font with characteristis Oankaar character, and because of this, this font has more space between lines)	134 KB	Download

40	AnmolUni.ttf (Regular Gurmukhi Unicode font)	135 KB	Download
41	AnmolUni-Bold.ttf (Bold version of #1)	112 KB	Download
42	AnmolUniHeavy.ttf (Heavy version of #1)	112 KB	Download
43	AnmolUniBani.ttf (Gurmukhi Unicode font for Gurbani)	136 KB	Download
44	AnmolUniBani-Bold.ttf (a thicker version of AnmolUniBani font)	127 KB	Download
	DOWNLOAD ALL (44 fonts) AS ONE ZIP FILE	3.8 MB	Download

1	Akaash Dotted.ttf It is a Gurmukhi Unicode font that also contains English characters. The characters in this font are dotted to help teachers design printed material to help students learn to write.	582 KB	Download
2	Akaash Dotted-Bold.ttf It is a Gurmukhi Unicode font that also contains English characters. The characters in this font are dotted to help teachers design printed material to help students learn to write. The dots in this font are bigger than those of Akaash Dotted.ttf font as this font is a bold version of that. (NOTE: Always install regular version before installing the bold version of the same font).	450 KB	Download

1	Punjabi Unicode keyboard-my best, based primarily on AnmolLipi (a zip file). Updated on April 9, 2012	484 KB	Download
1	Punjabi_Gurmukhi Unicode keyboard based on AnmolLipi (a zip file). Updated on Feb 24, 2007	462 KB	Download
2	Gurmukhi Unicode keyboard based on DrChatrik font Updated on Nov 18, 2011	407 KB	Download
3	Punjabi Unicode keyboard based on Asees font (a zip file). It is based on Ramington Punjabi typewriter keyboard layout (the file is updated)	306 KB	Download