Ize Compose 1.0

[Dievesa]

Ize Compose — Initial Public Source Release

Ize Compose is now open source.

Originally created to enable Korean writing on the Zerowriter Ink, Ize Compose has grown into a multilingual writing firmware with 92 selectable keyboard layouts across a wide range of scripts.

Highlights

• Multilingual plain-text writing on the Zerowriter Ink
• 92 selectable keyboard layouts
• Korean phonetic composition with cho/jung/jong assembly
• Script-specific input handling for Arabic, Indic scripts, Thai, Myanmar, Khmer, Lao, Tibetan, Sinhala, Ethiopic, Japanese, Hebrew, and more
• Right-to-left text mode for Arabic-script layouts and Hebrew
• Latin accent cycling
• Internal clipboard copy and paste
• Text search, word count, and character count
• SD card document storage and file browser
• Configurable line spacing, typing speed, and refresh behavior
• WiFi-based text transfer and firmware OTA update mode

Important: Initial Installation

The initial firmware installation must be performed through USB-C.

On the Zerowriter Ink, the keyboard occupies the USB connection during normal use. To install Ize Compose for the first time:

1. Open the device enclosure.
2. Disconnect the keyboard cable.
3. Connect the device to a computer using USB-C.
4. Build and upload the firmware with PlatformIO.
5. Disconnect USB-C after the upload completes.
6. Reconnect the keyboard cable and close the device.

After the initial installation, future firmware updates can be performed through the built-in WiFi OTA update page without reopening the device.

SD Card Requirements

Latin characters are embedded in the firmware. Additional script fonts are loaded from the SD card.

Copy the required hwalja_*.bin font files into:

/ize_compose/hwalja/

An optional 800×600 initial.png image may be placed in:

/ize_compose/

for the boot and sleep screen.

Notes

• This firmware currently targets the Zerowriter Ink / Inkplate 5 V2 only.
• Writing mode is unavailable while WiFi or BLE transfer mode is active.
• Only plain-text .txt documents are supported.
• Keyboard layouts and script handling have been implemented across many languages, but not every layout has been validated by a native user. Corrections and feedback are welcome.

Source Code

The source code, build configuration, and installation instructions are included in this repository.

Thank you to the Zerowriter community and to everyone interested in writing in their own language on dedicated writing hardware.

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This discussion was created from the release Ize Compose 1.0.