Help:WikiHiero syntax

"WikiHiero" is a PHP script to render Egyptian hieroglyphs as PNG images. Since Egyptian hieroglyphs are currently only partially supported by Unicode, this is the only way of rendering hieroglyphs in article texts short of uploading custom images.

The script is invoked by the, in Egyptian reading a biliteral sign with the phonetic value ı͗ḥ.

produces:
 * Aleph is thought to be derived from the West Semitic word for "ox", and its shape is ultimately based on a hieroglyph depicting an ox's head,, in Egyptian reading a biliteral sign with the phonetic value ı͗ḥ.

(If the paragraph is set off with a colon, pound sign or asterisk, the  tags are not necessary.)

Template hiero is intended for boxes containing hieroglyphic script.

See mw:Extension:WikiHiero for the project page on MediaWiki.

Hieroglyphs
There are two ways of encoding hieroglyphs:
 * using Gardiner's sign list code (e.g. )
 * with the more frequent phonemes (e.g. )

Gardiner's sign list
A hieroglyph is encoded by: NB until the appropriate software is enabled, the encoding will be displayed instead of the hieroglyph.
 * a letter that represents the category
 * a number that represents rank within the category

A. Man and his Occupations
Expected quantity: 55

B. Woman and her Occupations
Expected quantity: 7

C. Anthropomorphic Deities
Expected quantity: 9

D. Parts of the Human Body
Expected quantity: 63

E. Mammals
Expected quantity: 34

F. Parts of Mammals
Expected quantity: 52

G. Birds
Expected quantity: 54

H. Parts of Birds
Expected quantity: 8

I. Amphibious Animals, Reptiles, etc.
Expected quantity: 15

J. None
There is no J category, perhaps to avoid confusion with I.

K. Fish and Parts of Fish
Expected quantity: 7

L. Invertebrates and Lesser Animals
Expected quantity: 7

M. Trees and Plants
Expected quantity: 44

N. Sky, Earth, Water
Expected quantity: 42

O. Buildings, Parts of Buildings, etc.
Expected quantity: 51

P. Ships and Parts of Ships
Expected quantity: 11

Q. Domestics and Funerary Furniture
Expected quantity: 7

R. Temple Furniture and Sacred Emblems
Expected quantity: 25

S. Crowns, Dress, Staves, etc.
Expected quantity: 45

T. Warfare, Hunting, Butchery
Expected quantity: 35

U. Agriculture, Crafts, and Professions
Expected quantity:

V. Rope, Fiber, Baskets, Bags, etc.
Expected quantity: 38

W. Vessels of Stone and Earthenware
Expected quantity: 25

X. Loaves and Cakes
Expected quantity: 8

Y. Writings, Games, Music
Expected quantity: 8

Z. Strokes, Signs derived from Hieratic, Geometrical Figures
Expected quantity: 11

Aa. Unclassified
Expected quantity: 31

Codes
Codes are characters that:
 * Separate hieroglyphs
 * Indicate the organization of the hieroglyphs in space (that is, the position of hieroglyphs in a block)

Separator
The official hieroglyph separator is the hyphen character (" ", also called block separator) but you are also allowed to use a space because it is a widespread practice.

Superposition
To superpose hieroglyphs, use the colon character (" ") instead of the hyphen.

Juxtaposition
To juxtapose hieroglyphs, use the asterisk character (" "). Juxtaposing hieroglyphs is only relevant when they are part of a block which is superposed.

End of line
To make a new line of text, use the exclamation character (" "). Normally, the "end-of-line" must be surrounded by separators (as ), but space or nothing are also allowed.

Orientation
Asymmetrical characters may be reversed by appending the virgule. This does not change the direction of the text.

A few characters may be rotated by appending 'V' for 'vertical'.

A character may be raised or lowered by pairing it with H_SPACE.

Examples
Note that the Gardiner number for the rotated form, "Y1a", is not supported.

Cartouche
A cartouche is created with <-...->.