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SILConverters 2.5
Microsoft Word/COM support for TECkit, CC, and ICU

Bob Eaton, Mark Penny, 2007-02-27; 2289 reads

Obsolete version

Please note that this product has been replaced by SILConverters 3.1 and you are strongly encouraged to use that product. This page is retained for those who, for whatever reasons, are unable to use the new version and require an older, unsupported, version.

Upgrade!

SILConverters 2.5 was recently released in FieldWorks 4.0.

    Overview
    Quick Installation Overview
    Downloads
    Related resources
    Contact information

Overview

This package provides tools through which you can change the encoding, font, and/or script of text in Microsoft Word documents, XML documents, and SFM text and lexicon documents. It also installs a system-wide repository to manage your encoding converters and transliterators (TECkit, CC, ICU, Perl, or Python based, as well as support for adding custom transduction engines). For developers, it provides a simple COM interface to select and use a converter from the repository. It is easy to use from VBA, C++, C#, Perl, Python or any .NET/COM enabled language. This package is fully integrated with SIL FieldWorks, AdaptIt, and the forthcoming SpeechAnalyzer software, providing the same system-wide registry of installed and available encoding converters for all of these user programs. Additionally the package includes some extra utilities such as a clipboard converter for manipulating text between cut and paste operations.

The following picture illustrates the suite of tools, utilities, and applications that are available and how they interact:

Figure 1. SIL Converters Suite

Figure 1 shows the three distinct layers to SIL Converters.

At the top are various client applications. These user-oriented programs use the EncConverters core assembly to provide encoding conversion and other transduction facilities to their users.
The EncConverters core provides an abstraction layer so the client applications can access the various transduction engines without having to implement the interface to each one separately.
The transduction engines are the server applications that provide the actual conversion/text processing capability.

If you are an end user, you are probably most interested in how to use EncConverters with client applications—for example:

Using the Data Conversion Macro in Microsoft Word to convert the encoding of a document to Unicode, or
Using Bulk SFM Converter to convert SFM documents into Unicode (typically texts and lexicons from Shoebox to Toolbox)

If you are a developer, you may be interested in

Using EncConverters to gain access to the different transduction resources available by writing to the single EncConverters’ interface. See this webpage for details and code snippets.

Quick Installation Overview

Note

Please note that the installation procedure for SILConverters is completely different from the old EncCnvtrs. You must have a good internet connection while you are installing as a live internet connection is required.

You will need Administrator privilege on the computer to install this software.

The Master Setup program runs a series of installers:

Software prerequisites—Necessary system updates and add-ons are installed on your computer (e.g. Microsoft’s .NET framework version 2.0).
SIL Encoding Converters2.5 Setup—Conversion applications are installed and conversion Maps and Tables are copied to your hard drive.
SIL Converters for Office 2003—An operating system update required to allow SILConverters to be used in Word 2003.
Converter Installer—A utility that allows you to activate the conversion Maps and Tables you want to use.

Full installation instructions can be found here: SIL Converters 2.5 Installation. This document is intended to guide you through the Master Installer installation screens and initial SIL Encoding Converters2.5 Setup. This guide may be sufficient for many users. However, to make full use of SIL Encoding Converters 2.5, you should refer to the Help for SIL Converters 2.5 documentation

Downloads

Web installer

A live internet connection is required for this installer.

Run SIL Encoding Converters 2.5 (interactive web-based installer)

This web installer is recommended for users that only want certain core functionality (e.g. TECkit, CC, and perhaps the Data Conversion Macro) and who do not have a good internet connection. This ‘on-demand’ installer will then only install the components you select; potentially reducing the total download size compared with the other two installer options below.

This web installer (you must have a live internet connection!) will lead you through the installation process. If you do not have .NET or other addins it will guide you through installing those as well. Use the Installation Guide to help you through the process.

Encoding Converters package only (no addons) for offline installation

SIL Encoding Converters 2.5: installer only
Bob Eaton, 2007-02-01
Download "SILConverters25Installer.exe", Windows application, 13MB [971 downloads]

MD5 hash: 1ee92a2ebb1dbd9ee0c336434780b7bf

This download is recommended for users that have a fairly good internet connection and want to download an installer that can be run off-line. This is also recommended if you intend to install SILConverters on multiple machines since this link will download the total install set (less required components, such as .Net 2.0—see Standalone installer)

Download, Extract files and run setup.exe. There are no specific Installation instruction for this. However, you should find the installation instructions for the web installer helpful: SIL Converters 2.5 Installation

Standalone installer (includes addons like .NET) for offline installation

SIL Encoding Converters 2.5: full package (includes supporting software)
Bob Eaton, 2007-02-01
Download "SILConverters25FullPackage.exe", Windows application, 103MB [1831 downloads]

MD5 hash: c4c3ce7b88d931083c1e3d1b60e0ce8f

This download is recommended for users that have a very good internet connection and want to download an installer that has all potential prerequisites and can be run off-line. This is also recommended if you intend to install SILConverters on multiple such machines since this link will download the total install set (including all required components).

Previous versions

SILConverters 2.2, SILConverters 2.1 and the older Encoding Converters products are still available for those who require it. Please note, however, that we strongly recommend using the newer version from this page.

Related resources

Encoding Conversion Frequently Asked Questions and Known Issues Lorna A. Priest, 2009-05-15; 19073 reads

Frequently Asked Questions and Known Issues concerning conversion of legacy data to Unicode.

Structured data conversion Lorna Priest and David Rowe, 2003-03-03; 12010 reads

By the end of this tutorial you should be able to convert (roundtrip) structured data and test it by bringing it into various applications. Any issues discovered in this process should be fixed in the mapping files.

SIL IPA93 Data Conversion Lorna A. Priest, 2009-02-16; 54927 reads

Step-by-step instructions on how to convert Microsoft Word, text or Standard Format (sfm) documents that use SIL IPA93 fonts in order to use Unicode fonts.

To compose or decompose, that is the question Bob Hallissy, 2005-02-15; 5291 reads

In our workflow, should we standardize on composed (e.g., NFC) or decomposed (e.g., NFD) character encoding for our Unicode data?

Contact information

Contact mailto:silconverters_support@sil.org for limited support.