Tools Links

Welcome to the Tools section of Resources in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies. This section is not fully operative, but we have opened it with reference to a few major resources.

Nitartha International (www.nitartha.org/)

Nitartha International is one of the most prominent institutions involved with digital initiatives in the Tibetan religious world. It has been one of the leaders in providing high quality fonts and input software, as well as inputting Tibetan texts into electronic versions and organizing translation and reference projects for Tibetan Buddhism. Their Web site provides an attractive guide to their operations and goals. Nitartha is the source of one of the main Tibetan fonts in use internationally (Sambhota 1 and 2), as well as excellent word processing software (1 is available for free download, while the cross-platform 2 is sold). It also provides documentation for using Tibetan script with HTML, and a database utility for viewing electronic Tibetan dictionaries. Few of their other resources are available on-line at present (such as their electronic texts).

Resource type: · organizational info, tools, documentation, commerical,
Content classification: Community:Institutions:General, Tools: Fonts and input tools: Tibetan, Tools: Databases, Tools: XML & HTML
Publisher: · Non-government organization
Interface language: English
Other language(s): Tibetan
Region: Tibet
Web site rating: Useful
Reviewed by: David Germano on June 14, 2003

Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library (http://orion.lib.virginia.edu/thdl/tools/index.html)

Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library is probably the largest international collaboration of Tibetan and international programmers dedicated to tools for Tibetan uses. This includes a suite of Java and Word-based input systems for Tibet organized around the free Tibetan Machine Web font, as well as the QuillDriver-Savant suite of software for transcribing and displaying transcript-associated audio and video files. All are available free and as open source.

Resource type: tools
Content classification: Tools: Databases, Tools: Digital Library systems, Tools: Fonts and input tools: Chinese/Devanagari/Diacritics/Tibetan/Unicode, Tools: Audio-Video, Tools: Images, Tools: XML & HTML
Interface language: English
Other language(s): Tibetan, Chinese, Nepali
Region: Tibet
Web site rating: Essential
Reviewed by: David Germano on June 12, 2003

Tibetan Computing Company (tibet.dk/tcc)

Tibetan Computing Company, directed by Tony Duff, has been the source of one of the main Tibetan fonts in use internationally (Tibet Machine/Web and associated fonts), as well as powerful word processing, database software and traditional Tibetan "pecha" literature formatting software using those fonts. Tibet Machine and its cross-platform version Tibet Machine Web is now available free, as is the corresponding input software for utilizing it within Word. The other fonts and programs are sold commercially.

Resource type: tools, commercial
Content classification: Tools: Fonts and input tools: Diacritics/Tibetan, Tools: Databases
Interface language: English
Other language(s): Tibetan
Region: Tibet
Web site rating: Essential
Reviewed by: David Germano on June 12, 2003