"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 <hiero> tag.
The <hiero> tag produces an HTML table (of class='mw-hierotable') that will separate the surrounding text into paragraphs. For inline WikiHiero images, manually add <div> tags around the paragraph and <span> tags around the hieroglyphs.
For example, the code:
<div>[[Aleph]] is thought to be derived from the West Semitic word for "[[ox]]", and its shape is ultimately based on a [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyph]] depicting an ox's head, <span style="display:inline-block"><hiero>F1</hiero></span>, in Egyptian reading a [[Egyptian biliteral signs|biliteral sign]] with the phonetic value {{lang|egy-Latn|ı͗ḥ}}.</div>
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, hash or asterisk, the <div> tags are not necessary.)
Template {{hiero}} is intended for boxes containing hieroglyphic script.
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.
Example
correct
A1-B1
allowed
A1 B1
incorrect
A1B1
A1B1
Superposition
To superpose hieroglyphs, use the colon character (":") instead of the hyphen.
Example
normal layout
p-t
superposed
p:t
Juxtaposition
To juxtapose hieroglyphs, use the asterisk character ("*"). Juxtaposing hieroglyphs is only relevant when they are part of a block which is superposed.
Example
normal layout
p-t
juxtaposed (same as normal layout)
p*t
correct
p*t:a
p*p*p:t*t*t
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.
Examples
correct
A1-B1-!-C1-D1
allowed
A1-B1 ! C1-D1
allowed although apparently not fully functional
A1-B1! C1-D1
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
Default
A1-B1-C1-D1
Reversed orientation
A1\-B1\-C1\-D1\
Horizontal (default)
Y1
Rotated (vertical)
Y1V
Inline
G47-Z1
Raised
G47-Z1:H_SPACE
Note that the Gardiner number for the rotated form, "Y1a", is not supported.
