Urdu Keyboard

The Urdu keyboard is any keyboard layout for Urdu computer and typewriter keyboards. Since the first Urdu typewriter was made available in 1911, the layout has gone through various phases of evolution. With time, the variety of layouts introduced in the 1950s for mechanised compositions have reduced to very few that are compatible with the new digital age. Modern improvements in Urdu keyboard were pioneered by the National Language Authority (Muqtadra-e-Qaumi Zaban) in Pakistan, which standardised the linguistic aspects such as orthography and lexicography. These developments helped the keyboard layout to evolve from the typewriters to be compatible with computers, to increase the productivity and textual efficiency of the language, especially through modern electronic media.