| Key | Output | Key | Output | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | z | க | . | . (Period) | | x | இ | / | ப | | c | ச | Shift | Modifier | | v | ஞ | | | | b | ஞ் | | | | n | த | | | | m | ந | | |
In the digital age, preserving the purity of the Tamil language while typing quickly and accurately is a challenge faced by millions. While Unicode Tamil has become the global standard, a significant portion of professional designers, newspaper editors, and government document creators still rely on legacy non-Unicode fonts. Among these, the stands out as one of the most widely used and historically significant typing standards.
Right-click the font file on and select Install . On macOS , double-click the file and click Install Font in Font Book. Step 2: Set Up the Keyboard Mapper dci tml ismail tamil font keyboard layout
The DCI TML Ismail keyboard layout does not follow the standard Tamil 99 layout or phonetic (transliteration) methods. Instead, it uses a .
Set your system keyboard input language to . Do not switch to Windows Tamil Input, as the font relies on English key mappings. 3. Typing Compound Characters To type a compound character like கா (Kaa) : Type F to generate the base consonant க . Type A to append the vowel sign ா . Troubleshooting Common Issues Characters Appearing as English Letters | Key | Output | Key | Output
| Key | Output | Key | Output | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | a | அ / ப் | ; | ர | | s | ஆ / ப | ' | ற | | d | இ / ம | | | | f | ஈ / ம் | | | | g | உ / வ | | | | h | ஊ / வ் | | | | j | எ / ன | | | | k | ஏ / ய | | | | l | ஐ / ல | | |
: Works across various versions of Windows, Mac, and Linux. While Unicode Tamil has become the global standard,
Shift keys are frequently used to toggle between short vowels (e.g., அ) and long vowels (e.g., ஆ).
Consonants form the base of the typing matrix. In the Ismail layout, the most frequently used consonants are placed on the home row to optimize typing speed.
Despite its proprietary nature, the DCI TML Ismail layout gained a loyal following for several reasons:
If you copy text typed in DCI TML Ismail and paste it onto Facebook, WhatsApp, or a Google search bar, it will turn into random English text.