Converting Unicode Hindi to Kruti Dev for Office Drafts and Government Forms

Where this guide comes from

MyKrutiDev began in an office. Part of the daily work of its maintainer, at a startup, was turning ordinary Hindi documents into Kruti Dev, and the free converters of the time were slow, cluttered and left people frustrated with the work still not done. The converter on this site was built for that job and is still used for it. The checklist below is what the work taught. It is the same work many visitors do: office drafts, government forms, and court papers that keep Kruti Dev templates.

First, choose how the text goes in

There are two ways in, and they behave differently when a document mixes Hindi and English.

• Paste into the box. Quick for a paragraph or a form field. The result is one stream of Kruti Dev code, and the Download .docx button under the boxes sets every line in Kruti Dev 010, English words included.
• Upload the Word file. The Upload Word file tab converts a whole .docx. A run that mixes the two scripts is split: the English keeps its own font and only the Hindi becomes Kruti Dev 010. Tables, headers and formatting stay where they were.

So a letter with a reference number, an email address or an English name in it is best uploaded as a file. A block of plain Hindi can simply be pasted.

Why English words need their own font

Kruti Dev draws Hindi on the English keys. Set an English word in Kruti Dev 010 and the font draws each of its letters as a Hindi shape, so the word turns into nonsense. After pasting and applying Kruti Dev, select each English word, email address and web address and set it back to Arial or Times New Roman.

Punctuation sits on other keys

Kruti Dev keeps several punctuation marks on unexpected keys, and the converter writes them where the font expects them. In Kruti Dev they look right. The trouble starts when some of that text is later shown in an English font, because then the keys show through:

• a full stop becomes - and the danda । becomes A
• a comma becomes ], a hyphen &, and brackets ¼ and ½
• a colon, as in विषय:, becomes %, because the colon key of Kruti Dev draws रू and the colon you see is really the visarga

So if the subject line fo"k;% lands in an online form field that does not use Kruti Dev, it reads as code. A portal field needs the Unicode original, not the converted text.

Numbers and dates

English digits are never changed, so an amount or a file number keeps its value, and Kruti Dev 010 draws them as English digits. Hindi digits such as १२३ are written as the Alt-code characters Kruti Dev 010 draws them on, ƒ„…. They show as Hindi digits in the font and as odd symbols anywhere else. The Kruti Dev Alt codes page lists every one.

With the checkbox under the boxes ticked, which is the default, a date such as 15/08/2024 is kept exactly as typed, for text that stays in an English font. If the whole document will be in Kruti Dev, untick it, and the slash is typed with the Kruti Dev key that draws it.

Before you send it: five checks

1. The font. Click into the Hindi and read the font box. It should say Kruti Dev 010. Text that shows letters like Hkkjr has lost its font, as the guide to Kruti Dev text in English letters explains.
2. The English parts. Every English word, address and email in an English font.
3. Half letters and matras. Read a few words with joined letters against the Unicode draft, such as कार्यालय and प्रार्थना-पत्र. The short i sign should sit before its letter and the reph over the right one.
4. The numbers. Amounts, dates and file numbers, one at a time.
5. The next computer. Kruti Dev text reads as Hindi only where the font is installed. If the file goes to another office, make sure they have Kruti Dev 010, or send a PDF with it. The installation guide covers the font.

Correcting the result by hand

In Kruti Dev the apostrophe is part of letters: 'k is श. Word's AutoCorrect can turn it into a curly quote as you type. If you fix words by typing Kruti Dev keys, switch that off under File, Options, Proofing, AutoCorrect Options, AutoFormat As You Type, so the keys stay exactly as the font expects. This converter reads either form when you convert back.

When to leave it in Unicode

A document going to a website, a portal, e-Office, an email or a phone should stay in Unicode. Kruti Dev is for templates, printing and the offices that still ask for it, and the Kruti Dev or Unicode guide sets out which to use where.