Frequently Asked Questions

Likhi (লিখি) is a free, lightweight, native Bengali phonetic typing application for Windows 10 and 11. It works as a Windows Text Services Framework (TSF) Input Method Editor (IME) — the same mechanism used by built-in Windows language keyboards. Type Bengali using phonetic English letters (e.g. ami → আমি) without memorising any complex Bangla keyboard layout. It is developed by AH Creations and licensed under Apache 2.0.

You type Bengali words using Roman (English) letters that phonetically represent how the word sounds — for example bhalo for ভালো, or bangladesh for বাংলাদেশ. Likhi's phonetic engine converts this input into ranked Bengali Unicode candidates using a 52,000+ word lexicon, unigram frequency data, and bigram context from your previous word. You then pick the correct suggestion from the candidate bar or press Space to commit the top result.

No. Likhi is a phonetic IME — you type using your existing English keyboard exactly as you normally do. There is no layout chart to memorise. Just type how Bengali words sound in Roman script and Likhi handles the conversion.

Yes, completely free. Likhi is licensed under the Apache 2.0 open source license. There are no paid tiers, subscriptions, or in-app purchases.

Likhi requires Windows 10 (version 1903 or later) or Windows 11, 64-bit (x64). It uses the Windows Text Services Framework (TSF) API which is available on all modern Windows versions. 32-bit Windows is not supported.

Likhi uses Windows TSF, which is designed to work with TSF-aware applications including Chromium-based browsers (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge). In-process automated tests with Chrome and Edge text stores have passed. Interactive typing in a live browser session has not been independently verified in a CI environment, but TSF integration follows the same standard protocol used by Windows system keyboards.

Both Microsoft Word and Windows Notepad have passed automated in-process TSF text store validation. Since both are standard TSF-aware Win32 applications, Likhi is designed to work with them through the standard Windows input mechanism. Interactive GUI session testing requires a live user desktop and was not automated in the CI pipeline.

When an application marks an input field as a password or secure field (TS_SS_PASSWORD / ES_PASSWORD), Likhi bypasses composition and suggestions entirely. Keystrokes go directly to the application and are not processed by the IME. Your passwords are never touched by Likhi.

Yes — 100% offline. Likhi requires no internet connection, ever. The entire 52,000+ word lexicon and language model are stored locally. Nothing is sent to any server.

Likhi does not log or store your keystrokes. The composition buffer is volatile memory — it exists only while you are typing a word and is discarded the moment you commit or cancel. Your personal dictionary entries are stored locally at %APPDATA%\PC-Bangla-Typing-App\personal_dict.txt and your settings at %APPDATA%\PC-Bangla-Typing-App\settings.json. These files are only accessible under your Windows user account.

No. Likhi contains zero telemetry SDKs, zero analytics probes, zero crash reporters, and zero background network connections. The application binary does not make any outbound network calls. See the Privacy Policy for full details.

Yes. Open bangla_settings.exe and go to the Personal Dictionary section. You can add custom Banglish → Bengali word pairs — for example, your name, local place names, or technical terms. These are stored locally and given a priority boost in the candidate ranking.

This usually means the installation script did not complete successfully. Make sure you:

1. Right-clicked install.bat and selected Run as administrator (not just double-clicked)
2. Saw the [SUCCESS] confirmation message
3. Logged off and back on, or restarted Windows, for the language bar to refresh

If you see an error message, check that bangla_tsf.dll and data/lexicon.bin are both present in the package folder.

Confirm that Likhi is the active input method. Press Win + Space and check that Likhi (লিখি) is selected (not English or another IME). Also ensure the application you are typing into is focused and TSF-aware (Notepad, Word, Chrome, Edge, VS Code all work).

Right-click uninstall.bat from the release package folder and select Run as administrator. This unregisters the COM DLL and removes Likhi from the Windows language switcher. To fully clean up, also delete the folder %APPDATA%\PC-Bangla-Typing-App\ if you want to remove your settings and personal dictionary.

Open bangla_settings.exe and check that Show Suggestion Window is enabled. The candidate popup appears near your text cursor — make sure the application window has focus and is not in full-screen exclusive mode, which can prevent overlay windows from appearing.