Superscript tone numbers in FLEx

My friend Hilaria asked me recently about how to use superscript tone numbers in FLEx.  Since the initial set up is fairly complicated, I thought I would post the steps here.  (Other FLExperts feel free to let me know if there is a simpler way to do some of this...)

To get tone superscripts there are a few steps.  What I did is

a.) Within FLEx, go to Tools | Configure | Set up Writing Systems

b.) Select Copala Triqui (Phonetic)   -- You would use whatever you want to be the main writing system for your language, then click Modify.  Then you will see this screen

c,) One tab says Font.  We are using Doulos SIL, but you can use any Unicode font.  Make sure that you have a phonetic font selected here.

d.) Another tab says Characters.  Click the button that says Valid Characters.

e.)  You'll see a screen that shows the valid characters for you language.  (The ones that you are allowed to use for this language.) Here you want to make sure to add the superscript numerals.

f.) You can find the Unicode values for the superscript numerals in various places.  We use only 1-5, so the values are

superscript 1 = Unicode U+00B9

superscript 2 = Unicode U+00B2

superscript 3 = Unicode U+00B3

superscript 4 = Unicode U+2074

superscript 5 = Unicode U+2075

g.) As for how to enter them, I think it will work to click Unicode value and cut and paste the numbers above, one by one.  After you put the number in, you click the button that says Add.

h.) After you click Add, it is possible that the number will end up in the Numbers group, rather than the Word Forming group.  If this happens, you click on it and then the Up arrow.  (I drew a red arrow next to it in the screenshot.)

i.) After you've done this for all the numbers you need, you click OK.

j.) Now click the tab that says Keyboard.  You need some convenient way to type these numbers, so you probably want a special keyboard setting.  We are using Keyman, and we downloaded a keyboard that comes with it called the BU keyboard.  Other options are possible here.  Keyman is not free, but it is not expensive. http://www.tavultesoft.com/keyman/

k.) Possibly there is some better way to do this, but for us, it worked best to add a new language in the Windows Keyboard settings and to associate the BU keyboard with that.  We picked Bulgarian because the initial BU is mnemonic for the keyboard name.

To add a new language in Windows, you go to Control Panel | Regional and Language Options |Language tab, and click the button that says Details.  This gives you a screen that says Text Services and Input Languages.  Click the Button that says Add and pick Bulgarian.  Also click the button that says Keyboard Layout and pick BU.

l.) Go back to FLEx and select Bulgarian as the System Language and BU as the Keyman keyboard.

I think at this point, the system will work.

Once Keyman and BU are installed, you can find documentation there with a complete list of the abbreviations  that give you various symbols.  For the superscript numbers, the convention is that you type the number, followed by Ctrl-6.

You can use similar FLEx procedure for selecting the keyboard you want for English and Spanish.  For every field in FLEx, the program wants to know what the writing system is, and then it automatically switches to that keyboard and font for you.