TypingPunjabi keyboard layouts: InScript, typewriter fonts and phonetic
Punjabi in the Gurmukhi script can be typed in more than one way, and people preparing for a typing test are often unsure which to learn. This page sets out the choices.
Unicode and the older fonts
There are two technologies, and the difference matters more than the layout itself.
- Unicode Gurmukhi. Every Gurmukhi letter has its own code, recognised by every modern computer, phone and website. Text typed this way can be sent by email, searched and published without any special font. Raavi and Nirmala UI are Unicode fonts that come with Windows.
- Older non-Unicode fonts. These fonts draw Gurmukhi shapes in the places meant for English letters. The file actually holds English characters and looks like Punjabi only while that font is applied. On a computer without the font it turns into meaningless English letters. A number of well known Punjabi fonts are of this kind, and each family has its own key arrangement.
All Punjabi text on this site is Unicode.
InScript
InScript is the standard layout for Indian scripts, and its Gurmukhi version is the Punjabi keyboard built into Windows.
little finger ring middle index (left hand: keys on the left half; right hand: the right half; thumbs: space bar)
Small grey letter: the key's English label. Large: what it types. Top corner: with Shift.
Vowel signs are on the left hand and consonants on the right. A key alone gives the plain letter. With Shift it gives the partner: the full vowel, or the aspirated consonant. The addak, the bindi and the letters written at the foot have keys of their own. You type in the order you speak, so the sihari is typed after its consonant although it is written before it.
Good points. It is a standard and needs no extra software. The text it produces works everywhere. Its plan is shared with Hindi and other Indian scripts, so if you know one you nearly know the others.
Difficult points. The Gurmukhi letters have no link with the English letters printed on the keys. It has to be learnt from the start.
Typewriter style layouts with older fonts
Punjabi typewriters had their own key arrangement, and several older computer fonts follow it or a variation of it. Many people who learnt typing at an institute learnt one of these, and some offices continue to use them.
Good points. A lot of existing training and printed practice material is based on them, and people already trained on them are fast.
Difficult points. The arrangement differs from font to font, so skill in one does not fully carry to another. Documents depend on the font being present. Converting them to Unicode needs a separate tool.
Phonetic typing
With a phonetic keyboard you type the sound in English letters and the tool converts it to Gurmukhi. Phone keyboards commonly work like this.
Good points. Nothing new to learn for someone who types English. Quick for messages.
Difficult points. The tool sometimes picks a wrong spelling, so you have to watch the suggestions, which limits speed on long text. Formal typing tests generally expect a fixed layout.
Which one should you learn?
| Your situation | A sensible choice |
|---|---|
| A typing test or examination | The font and layout named in the official notice. Read it first. |
| Writing for the web, email, long Unicode documents | InScript |
| An office that works in an older font | The layout of that font |
| Chat and short messages | Phonetic typing |
| Starting fresh with no particular need | InScript |
For a test, the notice is the only authority. Punjabi typing tests have been held with particular fonts, and the rules can change from one notice to the next. We do not list the fonts or speeds required by any body, because we have not verified them from official notices. Find the current notice on the official website of the body holding the test and read the part about language, font and keyboard.
Why this site teaches InScript
We teach the Unicode InScript layout because it is a standard, it comes with Windows, and we could read every key directly from the layout that Windows uses. Our keyboard charts are that layout, key by key. The older font layouts differ among themselves and we had no official source to check them against, so we do not teach them.
A few Gurmukhi points that surprise learners
- Full vowels have their own keys. You do not build ਆ from ਅ and a kanna. Shift and the kanna key types ਆ in one press.
- Tippi and bindi share a key. The key alone is the tippi. With Shift it is the bindi.
- The addak is on the number row, at Shift and 4.
- ੜ shares a key with ਰ, and ਣ shares a key with ਮ.
- The sentence ends with a danda, typed with Shift and the full stop key.
The four Punjabi lessons take you through all of these, row by row.
This is an independent practice site. It is not connected with any examination body, keyboard maker or software company. A typing speed measured here is for your own practice. It is not a certificate, and an examination may measure speed in its own way.