In MS Word / LibreOffice:
Very tedious for large texts — hence automated converters are preferred.
Several free Gujarati font converter websites allow you to paste Harikrishna text and get Shruti output.
Recommended online tools:
Step-by-step guide:
Pros: No installation, free, fast for small to medium documents.
Cons: Requires internet, not suitable for highly confidential documents.
It is a software tool or script that:
Important: Both fonts may look similar visually, but their internal encoding is different. The converter only changes encoding, not the visual appearance.
I can produce a complete mapping table and a full working script if you provide a short Harikrishna-encoded sample (1–3 lines) or confirm you want a full converter file.
The Ultimate Guide to Harikrishna Font to Shruti (Unicode) Conversion harikrishna font to shruti converter
In the world of Gujarati digital typesetting, moving from "legacy" fonts like Harikrishna to modern standards like Shruti is a critical step for compatibility and searchability. This article explores why this conversion is necessary and how you can easily perform it using online tools. What is the Harikrishna Font?
Harikrishna is a popular non-Unicode (legacy) Gujarati font often used in older documents and publications. Unlike modern fonts, non-Unicode fonts map Gujarati characters to standard English keyboard keys (ASCII). If you don't have the Harikrishna font installed, the text appears as a jumble of English characters like "a(nd[
Several other fonts share the same keyboard template as Harikrishna, including: Sugam, Hari, Amish, and Amrut Nilkanth, Virat, and Yogi Ghanshyam and Mangalam What is the Shruti Font?
Shruti is the standard Unicode font for Gujarati that comes pre-installed with most modern operating systems like Windows. Because it follows global Unicode standards, text written in Shruti is:
Searchable: You can find specific words within a document or on the web.
Universally Readable: It displays correctly on smartphones, tablets, and computers without needing to install special font files. Web-Friendly: Ideal for social media, emails, and websites. Gujarati Unicode to Harikrishna - Anirdesh.com
Converting Harikrishna font (a non-Unicode legacy font) to (the standard Unicode font for Gujarati) allows your text to be searchable, compatible with modern web browsers, and readable on all devices without requiring specific font installations. Anirdesh.com Core Features of a Harikrishna to Shruti Converter
A robust converter typically includes the following features to ensure accurate transliteration: Bidirectional Conversion : Most tools support both Harikrishna-to-Unicode (Shruti) and Unicode-to-Harikrishna for legacy compatibility. Batch Processing
: The ability to convert large blocks of text or entire documents at once rather than line-by-line. Font Template Support In MS Word / LibreOffice:
: Recognition of "Harikrishna-like" fonts. Because many legacy Gujarati fonts share the same character mapping, these converters often work with fonts like Sugam, Amish, Amrut, Ankit, Ghanshyam, and Nilkanth Character Mapping Accuracy : Precision in handling complex Gujarati conjuncts (like ) and vowel signs (
) that differ significantly between ASCII-based legacy fonts and Unicode standards. Live Preview
: Real-time display of the converted text, allowing users to verify the output immediately before copying. Anirdesh.com How to Use the Converter Paste Text : Copy the text currently formatted in the Harikrishna
font into the input area. It will likely look like gibberish English characters (e.g., ) if the font isn't active. Select Font Type : Ensure the source font is set to Harikrishna or a compatible variant like : Click the button to transform the text into Unicode. Verify & Copy
: The output will now appear as readable Gujarati script in the
font (or your system's default Unicode font). You can now safely copy this into Google Sheets, Word, or emails. Anirdesh.com For a reliable online tool, you can use the Anirdesh Harikrishna to Unicode Converter
, which also offers macros for Microsoft Word to automate the process in documents. Anirdesh.com Kruti Dev to Unicode Converter – Accurate Online Tool
To convert text from Harikrishna (a non-Unicode/legacy font) to Shruti (the standard Windows Unicode font for Gujarati), you can use several dedicated online tools and macros. Conversion Tools & Methods
Anirdesh Harikrishna to Unicode Converter: This is the most widely used online tool. You paste your Harikrishna text into the box, and it generates the Unicode equivalent, which will then display correctly in Shruti. Very tedious for large texts — hence automated
Gujarati Typing - Krishna to Unicode: Another direct online utility that converts "Krishna-like" fonts to standard Unicode text.
Microsoft Word Macros: If you have a large volume of documents, you can use specialized VBA macros designed to batch-convert legacy Harikrishna text into searchable Unicode text.
A Short Paper: Bridging Legacy and Unicode in Gujarati Typography
AbstractThis paper explores the technical transition from legacy ASCII-based fonts, specifically the "Harikrishna" font, to the universal Unicode standard (represented by the "Shruti" font). It examines the mapping challenges and the tools developed to preserve digital Gujarati heritage.
1. IntroductionIn the early days of digital Gujarati typesetting, fonts like Harikrishna used ASCII character mapping to represent Gujarati glyphs. While visually effective, this "legacy" method lacked interoperability and searchability, as the underlying data remained English characters (e.g., "a" might represent "અ").
2. The Move to Unicode (Shruti)The introduction of the Shruti font by Microsoft brought Unicode standardization to Gujarati. Unlike legacy fonts, Unicode assigns a unique hex code to every character, ensuring that text remains "Gujarati" regardless of the font applied.
3. Conversion MechanicsConverting Harikrishna to Shruti requires a character-map algorithm. Because Harikrishna uses specific English keystrokes to form complex Gujarati conjuncts (like kru or shree), a simple "find and replace" is insufficient. Converters must: Identify character clusters.
Reorder vowel signs (Matras) that appear before consonants in legacy typing but after them in Unicode logic. Map legacy glyph IDs to specific Unicode points (
? or box) or incorrect conjuncts.# Harikrishna to Shruti (Unicode Devanagari) - minimal skeleton
# NOTE: You must fill `mapping` with the full legacy->unicode table.
import re
import unicodedata
mapping =
'f': '\u0915', # क
'd': '\u0916', # ख
'k': '\u0924', # त
'e': '\u093E', # ा
';': '\u094D', # ्
']': '\u0902', # ं
# ... add full mapping ...
# Re-order function for vowel signs that appear before consonant in legacy fonts
pre_vowel_chars = set(['\u093F']) # example: 'ि' needs reordering
def convert_text(text):
# naive one-to-one replacement
result = []
for ch in text:
result.append(mapping.get(ch, ch))
s = ''.join(result)
# Example reordering: move pre-base vowel signs after previous consonant
s = re.sub(r'(\u0915|\u0916|\u0924)(\u093F)', r'\1\2', s) # placeholder
return unicodedata.normalize('NFC', s)
if __name__ == '__main__':
sample = "fek" # legacy sample
print(convert_text(sample))
Once you have converted your text to Shruti, follow these steps to ensure quality: