Features/RupeeSign

Rupee Sign

Summary

This feature adds support for the new Unicode character "Rupee Sign". Users with the appropriate keymaps will be able to input the rupee sign with the key combination <Alt_R + 4>.

Owner

• Name: Parag Nemade, Pravin Satpute

• Email: pnemade@fedoraproject.org, pravins@fedoraproject.org

Current status

• Targeted release: Fedora 15
• Last updated: 2011-01-17
• Percentage of completion: 90%

Detailed Description

This new (Unicode point U20B9) will be widely used (banks, financial institutions, websites, and many other organizations), we need to provide an easy method for people to type it. This feature will enable the functionality to type the rupee sign by using the key combination <Alt_R + 4>.

This feature will provide a new keymap variant that is going to be the default for India. New hardware keyboards will get the same new keymap variant (India English with RupeeSign) added under India country. Xkeyboard-config upstream has also added rupee sign as a xkb option, as well as a new keyboard variant. Discussion about this can be seen at [bug30236].

This feature will first add the rupee sign into the Lohit Devanagari font. Then to type it exactly using the <Alt_R + 4> key combination, m17n-lib and ibus-m17n need to handle AltGr modifier (ALT_R key). If people want to use the same English layout with rupee sign then the new xkeyboard-config will give them the new xkb layout "India English with RupeeSign".

Benefit to Fedora

This feature will first add rupee sign into Lohit Devanagari font. Then to type it exactly using the <Alt_R + 4> key combination, m17n-lib and ibus-m17n need to handle AltGr modifier (ALT_R key). If people want to use the same English layout with rupee sign then the new xkeyboard-config will give them the new xkb layout "India English with RupeeSign".

Scope

This feature depends on modification to following packages

• lohit-*-fonts :- Add new Unicode approved rupee sign character on U20B9 code point in all Lohit series fonts.
• m17n-lib :- Needs to handle AltGr key modifier support to handle <Alt_R + 4> to input rupee sign.
• ibus-m17n :- Needs to handle AltGr key modifier support to handle <Alt_R + 4> to input rupee sign.
• xkeyboard-config :- Add new xkb keymap "India English with RupeeSign" for country India as well as new currency option so that users who only want to add rupee sign to their existing keymap.

How To Test

First we need to check whether rupee sign character is showing up correctly in gucharmap. If not present then update the required lohit series font to get this rupee symbol.

then one can use rupee symbol by enabling it using following steps

1) Go to System-> Preferences -> Keyboard

2) Click on Layouts tab and then on Add button

3) Select Country as "India" and Variants as "India English with RupeeSign"

4) Then on same Layouts tab, click on "Options" button

5) search for "key to choose 3rd level" and enable checkbox "Right Alt"

Above steps will give you the same English keyboard with rupee symbol added. Once you done with above steps, switch xkb map from US to IND and you can use rupee symbol by typing Alt_R+4 keys.

In case, If you don't want to use xkb map "India English with RupeeSign" and also want to use rupee symbol in m17n maps then you need to enable it globally using following steps

1) Go to System-> Preferences -> Keyboard

2) Then on the Layouts tab, click on "Options" button

3) search for "key to choose 3rd level" and enable checkbox "Right Alt"

4) also search for "Adding currency signs to certain keys" and enable checkbox "Rupee on 4"

You can type rupee symbol using Alt_R+4 keys anywhere in desktop applications.

User Experience

Users who want to use rupee sign need to either add a new xkb keymap or just add a new currency option that will add rupee symbol to their current keyboard layout. Users need to use gnome-keyboard-properties to add this currency sign.

Dependencies

This feature depends on modification to following packages

• lohit-devanagari-fonts (done in 2.4.3-7.fc15)
• lohit-assamese-fonts
• lohit-bengali-fonts
• lohit-gujarati-fonts
• lohit-kannada-fonts
• lohit-malayalam-fonts
• lohit-oriya-fonts
• lohit-punjabi-fonts
• lohit-tamil-fonts
• lohit-telugu-fonts
• m17n-lib (done in 1.6.2-1.fc15)
• ibus-m17n (done in f15 long time back)
• xkeyboard-config (done in 2.0-2.fc15)

Documentation

No specific documentation should be needed.

Release Notes

• Government of India has got a new currency symbol which got Unicode point at U20B9. This feature will add the functionality to input this new symbol.

Comments and Discussion

• See Talk:Features/RupeeSign