Gnome-Utils Feature request

[Nazmul Hossain <Nazmul Hossain tafensw edu au>]

Hi,

I use several non-english language (i.e. Arabic, Bengali etc.) on Linux
using TTF fonts and StarOffice. The major problem with the non-english
language is the keyboard mapping (as different font/glyphs from the same
language may have completely different encoding because of lack of a
standard encoding for the language). It is really hard to use keyboard
with these language if you are a beginner or casual user.

I use StarOffice "Insert Special Character" feature to compose my
document. Its slow but hey it works. I have few problem with this
method, a) the buffer for this utility is pretty small, requiring
several session of "Insert.." to compose just one line, b) the font list
is too small and the preview sometimes fails to display the character
properly if the glyph is not exactly in the center position and c) this
can be used only with StarOffice.

I had a look in the "Gnome Character Map" utility. This utility can be
re-designed to be a "Gnome Font Map" with the following feature:

    1. Bigger key-in buffer area with Select/Copy/Cut/Paste feature.
    2. Available keys are the Glyphs and Code for user selectable TTF 
fonts.
    3. Inclusion of few standard keys (i.e. Del, Backspace, Esc ...).
    4. When the mouse is over a key, it will be zoomed to a larger size
(like WinWord Ins. Spec. Char.).
    5. Optionally, the key-in code can be directed to other Gnome
application like an on-screent keyboard.

This will greatly enhance the usability of the Gnome/Linux for
non-english languages.

Please comment.

Thanks.

Nazmul Hossain.