1. Choosing Your Language and Keyboard Layout

Select your target language from the top dropdown. Lipi currently supports 11 Indian scripts: Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, and Assamese.

Next, pick your preferred keyboard layout style: National Standard Inscript (IS 16350) or Nudi-style Phonetic. Inscript is the official bilingual standard used in government exams and civil administration, while Phonetic enables instant typing using intuitive Latin transliteration (e.g. typing "k" gives "ಕ", "K" gives "ಖ").

  • Inscript: Standardized character positions identical across all Indian languages.
  • Phonetic: Familiar QWERTY sound-based mapping based on classic Nudi/Baraha typing rules.

2. Hardware Keyboard Typing vs On-Screen Virtual Keyboard

On laptops and desktop workstations, you can type directly using your physical hardware keyboard without installing any language packs, fonts, or third-party software. Lipi intercepts physical key events in real time and transforms them into proper Indic syllables.

On tablets and touchscreens, or when learning key positions, toggle the interactive on-screen Virtual Keyboard. Keycaps display dynamic primary and shift glyphs, and you can toggle QWERTY physical key hints by pressing the "Q" button in the toolbar.

3. Distraction-Free Fullscreen & Mobile Optimization

Click the Fullscreen icon button to maximize your writing space. On laptops, this triggers native browser fullscreen. On mobile smartphones, Lipi enters full-viewport immersive mode, hiding browser headers and navigation clutter.

Smart Mobile Suppression: When the on-screen virtual keyboard is active, Lipi automatically activates HTML5 inputmode="none", preventing the native mobile keyboard (Gboard/SwiftKey) from popping up and obstructing your writing canvas.

4. Never Lose Your Work: Auto-Persistence and Undo/Redo

Every keystroke, deletion, and edit is automatically saved in your browser storage. If you accidentally close the tab or refresh the page, your typed text, chosen language, layout style, and font size are instantly restored upon re-opening.

Use familiar keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z) to Undo and Ctrl+Y or Ctrl+Shift+Z to Redo. You can also tap the dedicated Undo and Redo icon buttons in the top toolbar.

5. Exporting Text: Unicode, ISFOC, and ISCII

Once your text is complete, click the Settings (sliders) icon to choose your desired export format: Standard Unicode (for WhatsApp, websites, Microsoft Word), Kannada ISFOC Font (for classic DTP fonts like KN-TTUma), or BIS ISCII (IS 13194) 8-bit stream.

Click the vibrant Copy button to copy text directly to your system clipboard, or click Download to save a clean UTF-8 text file directly to your device.