Download IPA Palette 2.0b3 (1.3M). Finally! Some documentation.
Please note that this software is a beta version; it is very usable but may have some bugs still lurking.
The Component Manager version has been (minimally) tested on an old Blue and White running Tiger.

Download the previous IPA Palette 1.0 (616K).

Superscripts are the same as in 1.0:
Enter a superscript by holding down either shift or option and clicking the "regular" consonant or vowel.

Compatibility

This software is only for Mac OS X 10.2.8 and later.

Fixed or Added in beta 3

• IMKit version uses Quartz event taps for image map mouse tracking (and modifier key tracking); performance improved dramatically.
• New Dutch, Spanish, and Italian localizations (done by me and probably buggy).
• Server runs only 32-bit to work around Core Text weirdness on (Snow) Leopard.
• Ability to edit custom symbols from the Settings tab.
• Cleanup of some weirdness I had introduced into the German localization (thanks to Manfred Sellner).

New Features in 2.0

• Leopard and Snow Leopard compatible, using Apple's new (and very cool) IMKit framework.
• Now includes an installer for the new IMKit flavor; you may not have to log out for the Palette to be available. (10.5 & 10.6 only)
• Resolution-independent PDF image maps instead of millions of tiny buttons with illegible titles. Displays correctly even if SIL fonts are not installed.
• Insert character by dragging from the image map.
• Added VOQS symbols in the extIPA section.
• New localizations: British English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dutch, French, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese.
• Preview will warn you when the selected font does not contain the character your mouse is over.
• Hold down the control key when you click a character, and the character will be inserted in the font selected for the character preview.

Potential Problems

• I've seen a screenshot of the palette running on a German system with the strings unlocalized (i.e., still bearing Onizuka placeholders like __VOWEL__). Haven't been able to reproduce this.
• I did all these added localizations myself, and I do not speak any of the languages. There will be errors! Please point them out. I hope some of them are funny.
• Only tested on Intel at this point. Component Manager version minimally tested.
• If you have an existing IPA Palette 1.0, you should probably disable it and then install.

What Folks Are Saying

• I have a great appreciation for the computer programmers that see a need and go all the way to meet it.
  -- A.W.
• How the heck did you finally come up with an IPA system that actually WORKS?  You're a genius! Thank you!
  -- K.S.
• DUDE! You rock. Thanks so much for putting that together. It is MIRACULOUS!
  -- C.J.
• IPA Palette (mentioned above) is pure gold.
  -- M.D. (from a blog post)
• ...lovely little unit it is too, takes a lot of the blood sweat & tears out of the task of transcription.
  -- C.H.
• I'm taking my first linguistics course and hit a serious note-taking roadblock when we started to use IPA. I take my notes on my Mac laptop and just couldn't keep up the insert->character->etc routine fast enough to catch what my prof. was talking about. Enter IPA Palette.
  -- L.G.
• I want to thank you very much for that software I was waiting for for quite a long time.
  -- B.S.
• just a word of thanks for a very nice ipa input device.... your palette has a made an odious task much more manageable.
  -- S.W.
• Hey, THANK YOU so much for creating this incredibly useful tool.
  -- D.M.
• Thanks again for the great tool. It is very helpful.
  -- T.R.

Feel free to subscribe to my IPA Palette announcement list if you want to be notified about new versions.

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