The Jaghbub font package

A sample of the Jaghbub font:

There are three TrueType fonts in the normal range of Roman, Bold, Italics and BoldItalics. They are:

• Jaghbub, which is based on Times
• Koufra, which is based on Palatino
• Bairut, which is based on Helvetica.

In the following the complete set is described as the "Jaghbub package". The three fonts share the same characters, so that a text written in one of them can be changed to any other of the three with all diacritics intact.

Unicode or not Unicode

The font package comes in two versions. One follows the font standard called Unicode. This is a standard shared with Windows, so it makes exchanging documents with Windows users easier. It can be used with Mac OS X programs that support Unicode, such as Microsoft Word 2004, Nisus Writer Express, AbiWord, and others, but not with older Mac applications. It is called JaghbUni.

The other, called Jaghbub, does not follow Unicode, and can thus be used with any Mac application, Classic, OS 9, or OS X. Each of these packages is accompanied with a keyboard layout for easy typing in each type of fonts.

There is no absolute answer to which version you should pick. Unicode is certainly the format of the future, and if you use mainly e.g. Microsoft Office 2004, JaghbUni is probably the best alternative. But many other Mac applications still cannot display Unicode diacritics, so for these the "classic" Jaghbub fonts are the only option. You can also install both, for different purposes.
See more on this below.

Downloads

• Jaghbub "Classic": The three fonts, Jaghbub, Koufra and Bairut, OS X-compatible, with the US Diacs keyboard layout.
• Jaghbub Unicode: JaghUni, KoufrUni and BairUni with the American Diacs keyboard layout.
• Jaghbub additional keyboards etc. : Extra keyboard layouts and other additional files.
  

For Windows versions, see below

Installation

The files are packed as .zip files, and should open directly into a folder. (*)

Install the fonts using either FontBook or by placing them in their appropriate Fonts folder. Remember to make Jaghbub available to Classic, if you use this.
All the keyboard files you wish to install (with extensions .rsrc, .icns, .keylayout) go into the Keyboard Layouts folder inside your Libraries folder (you must log off and on again, then go to International, to activate the keyboards).
For Classic, you should add a copy of the .rsrc files to the Classic System folder's Appearance folder, to access this keyboard in Classic applications.

For more details, see the ReadMe files of each package

-- (*) Older versions of StuffIt Expander have problems with zip files. If you find e.g. that the folder you downloaded appears to be empty, upgrade StuffIt Expander to version 9 or higher. (Safari may also download correctly) --

Details on the package

• The standard A-Z character set and normal European diacritics, unchanged from the origin font. Thus these fonts may be used for normal non-tranliteration texts as well.
• SDTHZ with dot under (all in upper and lower case)
• DT with line under
• G with dot above
• G with caron (small v above)
• H with curly line below (for German translit. of kh)
• AIUEO with macron (line above)
• Dotless i / Dotted I
• Hamza
• 'Ain
• Schwa (upside-down e)
• Yumushak G (= g with breve; curve above) *

• Dot below
• Dot above (low position for lower case, high for upper case letters)
• Macron (low / high)
• Non-width accent aigu / grave (low / high)
• Caron
• Cedille
• Two dots below *
• Line under *

These last diacritics are simply characters without spacing. Thus their placement under / above another character will be approximate and often off-centre. It is thus advisable to use the complete characters above for optimal quality.

With the fonts follows a keyboard layout that places the diacritics in relatively logical places. E.g., for typing emphatic s, press the Option key + s; for long a, press Option + a, etc. Similar keyboards exist for other nationalities, in the "JaghbAdd" supplementary package.

(See also the enclosed table showing the Jaghbub diacritics with the Arabic characters they may correspond to.)

These fonts are provided free from all restrictions in both directions: anyone (with a Mac) may use them to whatever purpose s/he wants (short of selling them!), and I take no responsibilty for them -- they are presented "as is".

"Old" and "new" versions of Jaghbub

The two versions of Jaghbub - the Unicode JaghbUni and the "classic Jaghbub" - are mutually incompatible, that is: an s/dot under in classic Jaghbub will appear as ß in JaghbUni; a JaghbUni s/dot under as nothing in Jaghbub. They do not follow the same system for their diacritics.

"Classic" Jaghbub works everywhere on the Mac, so for simplicity you can simply choose this and be done with it. End of problem.

However, the newer JaghbUni has some advantages that you will then forgo: Because Windows also uses the Unicode standard, a text written in JaghbUni will move effortlessly to Windows, while classic Jaghbub will not. Also, there are a number of other Unicode fonts on the Mac which contain some or all of our characters, and these can easily be integrated with JaghbUni, less so with classic Jaghbub.

That is why we provide both versions; it lets you have a choice. But you may also want to change from one to the other; if you e.g. have written a document in old Jaghbub and want to "convert" it either to JaghbUni on the Mac, or for a Windows user. I have made some tools (for Word 2004 and NisusWriter) that help in this: Changing Jaghbub characters to Unicode, so that you can send e.g. your existing manuscript to a PC-based publisher with diacritics in place. You will see more detail in the Additions package.

If you are an existing Jaghbub user, and are interested in the upgrade only, check here for more detail.

Jaghbub and Windows

Although the fonts were originally made for Macintosh, you will also find versions in the PC .ttf format, which Windows users may install on their machines. The Jaghbub package also provides some tools for typing it in MS Word, for JaghbUni, use the regular Unicode methods [e.g. "Insert Symbol" shortcuts].

• Jaghbub "Classic" package in PC .ttf format.
• Jaghbub Unicode package in PC .ttf format.

Caveats and restrictions

Enjoy.

Knut S. Vikør