UniKey (software)

UniKey is the current most popular software and input method editor (IME) for encoding Vietnamese for Windows. The core, UniKey Vietnamese Input Method, is also the engine for many Vietnamese software-based keyboards in Android, Linux, macOS and iOS. UniKey is free and the source code for the UniKey Vietnamese Input Method is distributed under GNU General Public License.[1] The official website of UniKey is unikey.org, which supports both English and Vietnamese.

This article is about the Vietnamese keyboarding software. For the United States home security company, see UniKey.
UniKey
UniKey 4.3 RC4 settings dialog
Developer(s)Phạm Kim Long
Initial release2000 (2000)[1]
Stable release
4.3 RC5 / 15 October 2020 (2020-10-15)
Written inC++
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows, Linux,[2] MacOS[3]
Available inEnglish and Vietnamese[4]
TypeInput method editor
LicenseGNU General Public License
Websitewww.unikey.org

Overview

UniKey supports:

  • Many Vietnamese character sets/encodings:
    • TCVN3 (ABC), VN Unicode, VIQR
    • VNI, VPS, VISCII, BK HCM1, BK HCM2, etc.
    • Unicode UTF-8, Unicode NCR Decimal/Hexadecimal for Web editors.[4]
  • All 3 popular input methods: TELEX, VNI and VIQR.
  • Win32 platforms: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, 2000, XP, 9x/ME.

UniKey is a minimalistic software and does not require additional library.

About UniKey

UniKey for Windows was released as a free program in 1999. It gained popularity for encoding Vietnamese thanks to its speed, simplicity, and reliability. It became the most popular keyboard program for inputting Vietnamese.

The core engine, UniKey Vietnamese Input Method, is open source and was first released as a part of the x-unikey Vietnamese keyboard for Linux in 2001. Since then, the engine has been integrated in input methods in different OSes and software frameworks. ibus-unikey (developed by Le Quoc Tuan, using UniKey engine) is widely used for Linux distributions.[1]

From Mac OS X Leopard onwards, released in 2007, Apple has integrated the UniKey Vietnamese Input Method to the built-in Vietnamese input of Mac OS. From 2010, the engine has also been integrated to the built-in Vietnamese keyboard in iOS (starting from iOS 4.0). The UniKey engine is also now running in iPhones, iPads, etc. that uses Vietnamese input.[5]

UniKey is developed by Pham Kim Long.

References
  1. Huy An (25 March 2014). "Bộ gõ tiếng Việt phổ biến nhất đã ra đời thế nào?" [How did the most popular Vietnamese input method editor come about?]. VnEconomy (in Vietnamese). Vietnam Economic Times. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  2. https://www.unikey.org/linux.html
  3. https://www.unikey.org/apple.html
  4. "Hướng dẫn sử dụng UniKey 3.5" [UniKey 3.5 User Guide]. UniKey (in Vietnamese). April 2004. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  5. Huy An (26 March 2014). "'Trận chiến' mới của cha đẻ Unikey" [A new "battle" for the father of Unikey]. VnEconomy (in Vietnamese). Vietnam Economic Times. Retrieved 30 March 2015.


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