← Back to Comparisons
FM Abhaya to Unicode Converter & Comparison
FM Abhaya to Unicode Converter — Encoding Comparison
Feature Comparison
| Feature | FM Abhaya (Legacy) | Unicode Sinhala |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Legacy font encoding | Unicode (U+0D80–U+0DFF) |
| Compatibility | Only with FM Abhaya font | Universal — all modern software |
| Web Support | Broken without font install | Works natively |
| Search Engines | Cannot index text | Fully indexable |
| Copy/Paste | Breaks across apps | Works everywhere |
| Mobile Support | Very limited | Full support |
| Font Options | FM Abhaya only | Iskoola Pota, Noto Sans, etc. |
| Government Use | Still used in some depts | Recommended standard |
| Year Introduced | 1990s | 2003 (Unicode 3.2) |
| Future-proof | Deprecated | Active standard |
FM Abhaya (Legacy)
Pros
- ✓ Still in use by some government offices
- ✓ Familiar to older generation of typists
Cons
- ✗ Not compatible with modern software
- ✗ Text appears garbled without font installed
- ✗ Cannot be searched or indexed
- ✗ Copy/paste breaks across applications
- ✗ No mobile support
- ✗ Deprecated standard
Unicode Sinhala
Pros
- ✓ Universal standard — works everywhere
- ✓ Searchable and indexable by Google
- ✓ Works on web, mobile, desktop, print
- ✓ Multiple font options available
- ✓ Future-proof and actively maintained
Cons
- ✗ Old FM Abhaya documents need conversion
Verdict
Unicode is the modern standard for Sinhala text. If you have FM Abhaya encoded documents, convert them to Unicode using the free Singlish.lk PDF Converter. All new documents should be created in Unicode.
Frequently Asked Questions
Upload your FM Abhaya PDF or text to the Singlish.lk PDF Converter (singlish.lk/pdf-tools). It auto-detects the encoding and converts to clean Unicode Sinhala instantly — free and private.
Old Sinhala PDFs use FM Abhaya font encoding instead of Unicode. When opened without that specific font, characters display incorrectly. The Singlish.lk PDF Converter fixes this automatically.
Yes. Unicode is the modern international standard. It works on all devices, is searchable, supports copy/paste, and works on the web. FM Abhaya is a deprecated legacy encoding.
Related Guides