'a' button of the English keyboard contain an Urdu word which is similar to the sound of 'a' and same is the case for other characters. Phonetic keyboards works with the sound of the words, e.g. Phonetic Keyboard Layout of Urdu Phonetic KeyboardĪlong with the UZT keyboards, phonetic keyboards have been developed for Urdu. In 2001, the National Database and Registration Authority of Pakistan fully adopted this keyboard for Data Entry operations of the Computerized National Identity Cards. The Keyboard version 1 was finalized by NLA on December 14, 1999. Based on this version, Urdu language support was incorporated into the Versions 3.1 and 4.0 of Unicode. In July 2000, UZT 1.01 was standardized for all kinds of electronic computing, communications, and storage. This resulted in the formation of Urdu Zabta Takhti ( اردو ضابطہ تختی) (UZT). Attash Durrani's supervision started working on a research and development project to standardize the Urdu encoding.

In 1998 National Language Authority, under Dr. These issues were addressed through the standardization of keyboard. However, with the arrival of the digital age, the layout became inadequate for computerized processing that required software backup to select the shape of the character appropriate to the context, and the ability to store multiple language character sets. The keyboard had 46 keys to type 71 Urdu consonants, vowels, diacritics, and punctuation marks, and 21 key symbols for arithmetic calculations and digits. In 1980, the National Language Authority of Pakistan developed a new keyboard layout for typewriters based on Naskh script.

This underscored an urgent need for a standard form of keyboard adaptable for diverse users. However, differences remained in the order of the keys and the number of characters. When Urdu was declared as the national language of the independent Pakistan in 1947, a variety of keyboard designs were quickly brought into the market by various individuals and organizations.

These developments helped the keyboard layout to evolve from the typewriters to be compatible with computers, to increase the productivity and textual efficiency of the language, especially through modern electronic media. Modern improvements in Urdu keyboard were pioneered by the National Language Authority ( Muqtadra-e-Qaumi Zaban) in Pakistan, which standardized the linguistic aspects such as orthography and lexicography. With time, the variety of layouts introduced in the 1950s for mechanized compositions have reduced to very few that are compatible with the new digital age. Since the first Urdu typewriter was made available in 1911, the layout has gone through various phases of evolution. The Urdu keyboard is any keyboard layout for Urdu computer and typewriter keyboards.

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