A bunch of volunteers from Assam have banded together to build Jahnabi, a Microsoft Word processor clone that can do Assamese. It is basically a tool which allows people to type out the aforesaid language while employing the Unicode method. And best of all, it’s free to download and use.
The processor integrates an auto-suggestion feature for words it thinks the user wants to punch in. You’d obviously expect such a program to incorporate a dictionary and it does, no surprises there. Jahnabi also has a collection of popular idioms at its figurative fingertips and will serve as a spell-checker too.
You can choose to add words to this dictionary and allot shortcuts for idioms or sentences you fall back on frequently. In the future, the developers behind this software intend to add an Offline Digital Dictionary carrying descriptions of important areas and historical monuments in Assam.
The minimum system requirement for installing the word processor is Windows XP (SP 2)/Vista/7/8. The Assamese Unicode font must be pre-loaded onto the concerned PC and 200MB RAM is also needed. Pre-installed Microsoft .NET 4.0 or above is another condition on the roster.
If you have anti-virus software on your desktop (and hopefully, you’re not one of those people who ignores the security of their PC), then it needs to be disabled. Once Jahnabi has been installed, you can include it in your anti-virus program’s exclusion or white list.
If you’d like to install Jahnabi on your PC, here’s a link to a YouTube video which should be of help. Mind you, the voiceover is in Assamese. This should suit just fine those who understand the language.