Keyman Update for 05 July 2024

This blog reports on significant Keyman product and keyboard development updates over the period from 24 June 2024 — 05 July 2024.

As always, you can follow all of our development online at github.com/keymanapp/keyman, and you may find the Keyman Development Status Site at status.keyman.com both interesting and slightly overwhelming!

Excitingly, Keyman has recently released a recruiting video. To join our team, apply at keyman.com/jobs.

Keyman minor releases

Keyman 18.0.61 alpha through 18.0.68 alpha were released in this cycle.

Significant updates in these versions include:

• Android: removed highlight on globe key (#11826) 
• Linux: added SimulateAltGr option (#11852, #11851, #11850)
• Optimized keyboard touch layout (#11265)
• Enhanced predictive texts suggestion (#11854)
• Tidied code for Windows (#11920)

The full list of updates can be viewed in the version history.

Keyboard updates

Guidelines for working on our Keyboards repository has been updated (#2834).

New keyboards

• Many thanks to sku21 for actively contributing two new keyboards:
  • An experimental Wayana keyboard is a QWERTY-based keyboard for the Wayana language (#2835, #2842, #2873).
  • Arbore keyboard is designed to type the Arbore language of Southwestern Ethiopia (#2843, #2877).
• Appreciation to HopsAndHops for creating two new keyboards to type the languages of the Eastern Subarctic region of Canada:
  • The ᐁᓂᔑᓇᐯᒧᐏᓐ (Ojibwa, a-finals, right w-dot) keyboard builds for the ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯᒧᐎᓐ (Ojibwa) language (#2849, #2862).
  • The ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᒧᐏᐣ (Severn Ojibwa, right w-dot) keyboard designs for the ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᒧᐏᐣ (Severn Ojibwa) language (#2851, #2862).
• The sil_tchad_qwerty keyboard enables the typing of all Chadian languages using the Chadian National Alphabet (#2853); credit goes to jeffheath-sil.
• The Saurashtra Inscript keyboard uses the Suarashtra script to type Saurashtra language (#2847).
• The latest Sharada Inscript keyboard is based on an Inscript layout to type the Kashmiri and Sanskrit languages (#2857).
• The Soyombo keyboard allows typing Classical Mongolian, Sanskrit, and Tibetan languages possible (#2867).

Keyboards enhancement

• The Naija Type keyboard v61 updates provides additional rules, variety of supported languages, and an improved documentation (#2846, #2863). Appreciation to rowbory.
• Many thanks to HopsAndHops for modifying the desktop layouts and mobile layouts, and polishes the documentation for:
  • The ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯᒧᐎᓐ (Ojibwa, a-finals, left w-dot) keyboard v10.0.1 (#2848, #2862).
  • The ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᒧᐎᐣ (Severn Ojibwa, left w-dot) keyboard v10.0.1 (#2850, #2862).
  • The Diidiitidq keyboard v9.2.1 (#2870).
  • The Anishinaabemowin – Anihšināpēmowin keyboard v10.1 (#2875).
• The Laz keyboard v1.0.3 receives a new welcome page, and adds support for ' (#2858). Thanks to okandale.
• The Cipher Music (SIL) keyboard v1.2 has the ability to type ‒ (Figure dash) (#2839).
• The Polytonic Greek (SIL) keyboard v1.7 adds support for the AltGr key strokes (#2871).
• The Mende Kikakui (SIL) keyboard v1.0.3 On-screen keyboard is temporary removed (#2878).
• The Hebrew (SIL) keyboard v2.0 comes with new On-screen keyboard font (#2879).

Predictive text dictionary update

• A new text prediction of Mingrelian language is now available for Colchis Latin keyboard (#254).