Configuring Browsers for South Asian Fonts

Provided you have taken the necessary steps to install international support on your Mac or PC, the most recent versions of popular web browsers should automatically and properly display Unicode fonts. In case you are having difficulties viewing South Asian scripts, or if you would like to specify the fonts used by your browser, here is  some additional support for:

Windows 2000/XP:

• Internet Explorer 6.0
• Firefox (1.0.3)
• Mozilla/Netscape (1.77)
• Opera (8.0)

Mac OSX (10.3+):

• Safari (1.3)

Internet Explorer 6.0:
 

1. To specify preferred languages:

• Select in browser menu: Tools > Internet Options. This opens the Internet Options window.
• Click on the "Languages..." button. This opens the Language Preference window.
• Click on the "Add..." button.
• Choose language from drop-down list and click "OK".
• Click "OK" in the Language Preference window, and then in the Internet Options window to return to your browser.

2. To specify the fonts used for each language:

• Select in browser menu: Tools > Internet Options. This opens the Internet Options window.
• Click on the "Fonts..." button. This opens the Fonts window.
• Select the language you wish to modify in the drop-down menu (e.g., Devanagari).
• In the two lower windows, select the font you wish to use for Web browsing ("Web Page Font") and for plain text ("Plain Text Font").
• Click "OK" in the Fonts window, then in the Internet Options window to return to your browser.

[back to top]

Firefox (1.0.3):
1. To specify preferred languages:

• Select in the browser menu: Tools > Options... This opens the Options window.
• Click on the "Languages..." button. This opens the Languages and Character Encoding window.
• Choose the language in the "Select a language to add..." drop-down menu, and click the "Add..." button.
• click the "OK" button in the Languages and Character Encoding window, and then in the Options window to return to your browser.

2. To specify the fonts used for each language:

• Select in the browser menu: Tools > Options... This opens the Options window.
• Click on the "Fonts&Colors..." button. This opens the Fonts & Colors window.
• select the language you wish to modify in the "Fonts for:" drop down menu (e.g., Devanagari).
• Select the fonts to use for Serif, Sans-serif, and Monospace typefaces using the drop down menus. (The same font may be used for each). The font size may also be specified.
  Note: If you select "Always use my: Fonts", it will override the web page's specifications for this script.
• Click "OK" in the Fonts & Colors window and then in the Options window to return to your browser.

3. To specify character encoding:
Check that "Unicode (UTF-8)" is selected in the View > Character Encoding menu.
To set the default encoding to Unicode (UTF-8):

• Select in the browser menu: Tools > Options... This opens the Options window.
• Click on the "Languages..." button. This opens the Languages and Character Encoding window.
• Select "Unicode (UTF-8)" in the "Default Character Encoding" drop-down menu.
• Click "OK" in the Languages and Character Encoding window, and then in the Options window to return to your browser.

[back to top]

Mozilla/Netscape (1.77):
1. To specify preferred languages:

• Select in the browser menu: Edit > Preferences... This opens the Preferences window.
• Select Navigator > Languages in the category tree. This opens the Languages sub-window.
• Click on the "Add..." button .
• Select the language to add in the menu that appears, and click "OK" in the Add Languages window.
• Click "OK" in the Preferences window to return to your browser.

2. To specify the fonts used for each language:

• Select in the browser menu: Edit > Preferences... This opens the Preferences window.
• Select Appearance > Fonts window in the category tree. This opens the Fonts sub-window.
• Choose script to modify in the "Fonts for:" drop-down menu (e.g. "Devanagari").
• You may specify the fonts Mozilla uses for each typeface: Serif, Sans-serif, Cursive, Fantasy, and Monospace (The same font may be repeated for each).
• Note: De-selecting "Allow documents to use other fonts" will override the fonts specified by individual websites.
• Click "OK" in the Preferences window to return to your browser.

3. To specify character encoding:
Check that "Unicode (UTF-8)" is selected in the View > Character Encoding menu.
To set the default encoding to Unicode (UTF-8):

• Select in the browser menu: Edit > Preferences... This opens the Preferences window.
• Select Navigator > Languages in the category tree. This opens the Languages sub-window.
• Select "Unicode (UTF-8)" in the "Default Character Encoding" drop-down menu.
• Click "OK" in the Preferences window to return to your browser.

[back to top]

Opera (8.0):
1. To specify the fonts used for each language:

• Select in the browser menu: Tools > Preferences... This opens the Preferences window.
• Select the "Advanced" tab, and then the "Fonts" item in left menu.
• Click on the "International Fonts..." button. This opens the International Fonts window.
• Choose the script in the "Writing System" drop-down menu (e.g. Devanagari).
• Choose fonts youd like to use for both normal and monospace typefaces.
• Click "OK" in the International Fonts window, then in the Preferences window to return to browser.

2. To specify preferred languages:

• Select in the browser menu: Tools > Preferences... This opens the Preferences window.
• In the "General" tab, click on "Details...", which appears to the right of the "Select your preferred language for Opera and Web pages" drop-down menu. This opens the Languages window.
• Click on "Add..." to add languages to the "Preferred Languages for Web Pages" list.
• Click "OK" in the Languages window, then in the Preferences window to return to browser.

3. To specify character encoding.
Check that "Unicode (UTF-8)" is selected inn the browser menu. (Go to View > Encoding > Unicode > UTF- 8).
To set the default encoding to Unicode (UTF-8):

• Select in the browser menu: Tools > Preferences... This opens the Preferences window.
• In the "General" tab, click on "Details..." , which appears to the right of the "Select your preferred language for Opera and Web pages" drop-down menu. This opens the Languages window.
• Select "Unicode (UTF-8)" in the drop-down menu titled "Encoding to Assume for Pages Lacking Specification".
• Click "OK" in the Languages window, and then in the Preferences window to return to the browser.

[back to top]

Safari 1.3:
In general, Safari should display Unicode fonts with few problems.
To set the default encoding to Unicode (UTF-8), or to specify fonts:

• Select in the browser menu: Safari > Preferences. This opens the Preferences window.
• Click on the "Appearance" icon to bring up the Appearance window.
• Select "Unicode (UTF-8)" as the Default Encoding in the drop-down menu.
• In this window, you may also specify your preferred Standard and Fixed-Width fonts using the appropriate "Select..." buttons. Note: This specifies the default fonts that Safari will use for browsing.
• Close the Appearance (Preferences) window to return to the browser.

[back to top]