Overview

This is a language-neutral touch (only) keyboard for mobile devices. The keyboard provides all Ethiopic letters in active use on a single layer in a circular, semi-clockwise orientation. It is meant to be intuitive for new typists but supports faster typing for experienced typists compared to the similar Mesobe Fidelat Keyboard keyboard.

Using this Keyboard

Mobile Layout & Layers

The mobile keyboard uses the “Mesob” style layout of letters where letters are arranged in a series of 4 rings. Modifier keys that will change the vowel of a letter appear dynamically on screen in selection “Halos”.

The Mesob layout also has the goal of providing all letters actively used b the languages written with Geʾez script in a single keyboard “layer”. Given the high number of letters appearing on the keyboard, it is a better fit for larger size mobile phones. Consider using the more compact GFF Amharic Keyboard for regular sized mobile phones.

Letters

The most frequently used letters generally appear in inner rings, and less used letters appear in the out rings. Letters are arranged in a semi-alphabetic arrangement in the clockwise direction, but not strictly so. Some effort is made to group related letters together (related either by sound or shape).

Tapping a key once enters it on to the screen in the 6th (ሳድስ) form and a “halo” appears on the keyboard of the related letters. Tapping a related letter will update the first letter, or tap the 6th letter again to go back to the starting keyboard.

Note the highlighted arrow button, ▶, above the Enter key, it will appear for large families of related letters. When you need them, the ▶ button will bring up a 2nd halo of letters that are used less frequently. Note the reverse ◀ button which will go back to the first halo.

Punctuation

On the letter keyboards, the ። and ’ keys are the use popup menus to offer the most frequently used punctuation that did not fit easily on the keyboard. Tap the @ key to access all available Western punctuation as shown:

Numerals

Tap the 1/፩ key on the letter keyboards to shift to numerals. The numerals layer presents the Western numbers, Geʾez numbers, and all Geʾez punctuation.

Troubleshooting

It is expected some of the newer letters introduced for the Gurage language will not appear on screen when using Keyman with other apps, such as for text messaging. This will be resolved in the near future when companies like Apple and Samsung update their products.

For any other questions, contact us.

Further Resources

Technical Information

System Requirements

Due to the keyboard's width it is ideally suited for tablet devices but is also suitable for larger mobile phones.

Unicode Version

This keyboard complies with Unicode 14

Keyboard Authorship

This keyboard was created by the Geʾez Frontier Foundation. SIL International graciously acknowledges the contribution made by the authors in developing this keyboard and making it freely available for use with Keyman Mobile. Their effort assists in enabling people to communicate in their own language.

Copyright and Terms of Use

The Harege Fidelat keyboard layout for Keyman Mobile is Copyright 2022-2023 Geʾez Frontier Foundation. It may be freely distributed and used under the terms of The MIT License.