Lipikar 3.0.0 RC1

Lipikar is a replacement for the Windows "Character Map" utility with some extra functionality and a better user interface. It allows you to better view the character set of each font. Lipikar resembles "Character Map" in the sense that it also has a kind of virtual keyboard, which you can used to type text into a window. This is where the similarities end, because Lipikar is far more complex.

You can easily select the font name and size that you want to preview. The user interface is composed of three big parts. First, there's a panel, which is used to view a single zoomed character from the current font. This character is updated when you hover over the virtual keyboard. This virtual keyboard represents the second part of the user interface. It can be used both to type text and to preview characters from the current font. The program allows you to select which characters to display on this virtual keyboard by using a custom "FontMap". Finally, there's the panel, which is used to preview sentences or text written using the font selected by the user.

The program displays information about the current character's ASCII code. It also displays the keystroke(s) required to type that specific character. If you see something like "ALT+0188" it means that you have to keep the ALT key pressed and type 0188 on the keypad of your keyboard.

The program's main window cannot be resized by dragging its corners. However, you can adjust its size by using a slider named "Map size". This program features a font browser, which can be used to preview all the fonts. It can also display the keyboard layout of any font.

Pluses: The program is easy to use. Its interface is well structured although not very customizable.

Drawbacks / flaws: First time I started the program I couldn't move the "Map Size" slider. After I pressed the button next to the slider, which increases the font map size, the slider worked fine. I found another small bug in the custom font map editor. I didn't know how to use it so I tried to use drag and drop to populate my virtual keyboard. The program displayed a runtime error and stopped. I later found out that there was a button that should be used to populate the custom font map.

In conclusion: I like Lipikar and I think it's a good utility to have on my computer. If you frequently use the Windows "Character Map" or you are not satisfied with its functionality, I suggest you try this free software.

version reviewed: 3.0 RC1