Convert Bamini legacy text to modern Tamil Unicode

Bamini is a legacy Tamil font encoding used in many older documents. The text can look correct when the matching font is installed while storing non-Unicode character codes underneath. Converting those sequences to Tamil Unicode makes the text more portable and searchable.

Use this tool for selectable Bamini text from documents or text files. It does not perform OCR on scanned pages.

Why Tamil Unicode is easier to reuse

Unicode Tamil can be copied between modern browsers, mobile apps, databases and office software without depending on the Bamini font mapping. You can still choose different Tamil Unicode fonts for appearance after conversion.

Check text copied from PDFs

PDF files may embed fonts or custom character maps. The text copied from a PDF can therefore differ from the original Bamini keystrokes. If the output contains unexpected characters, compare it with the source and test text copied from the original editable document when possible.

How to identify Bamini text

The original document font name is the best evidence. Bamini text can look like normal Tamil on a computer that has the legacy font, yet show Latin letters or symbols when the font is removed. That behavior is a strong sign that the stored text is not Tamil Unicode.

Do not assume every older Tamil font uses Bamini encoding. If a sample converts into the wrong letters, confirm the actual source format before changing the document.

Bamini conversion for Word and publishing files

For editable documents, copy a small section from the source, convert it and paste the Unicode result into a new file. Check names, punctuation and repeated vowel combinations. Once the sample is correct, continue section by section and keep the original legacy file as a backup.

For publishing systems that still require Bamini, keep a Unicode master elsewhere. Unicode is the more portable format for search, websites, mobile apps and future editing.

Bamini to Unicode is not Tamil translation

This tool preserves the Tamil text that is already encoded in Bamini and changes how its characters are represented. It does not translate from English or Sinhala into Tamil. If you are typing Tamil phonetically with Latin letters, use the Tamil Unicode/Tanglish converter instead.

Technical references

Standards and references

For deeper technical context, these external references explain the Unicode standard or the legacy-conversion background used by this workflow.

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

What is Bamini?

Bamini is a legacy Tamil font encoding widely found in older Tamil documents. Its underlying codes are different from standard Tamil Unicode.

Can I paste the Unicode result into a website?

Yes. The result is intended to be standard Tamil Unicode that works in Unicode-aware websites and apps.

Does the converter read images or scans?

No. Scanned pages need OCR first. This converter processes selectable text.

Why might PDF text convert incorrectly?

A PDF can alter or subset its font character mapping. The copied text may therefore no longer match the original Bamini encoding exactly.