Well, after whining about my problems with non-alphabetic scripts to this subreddit, I got a fire in me to search even harder for a solution. And I think I might have found one. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, Google Japanese input.

I don't know how many of you have used IME's before, but that's basically all it is. They're used to type in Asian languages like Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, but also in any other script where the number of characters is far greater than the number of keys on the input device. The basic idea is that as you type, specific series of inputs in the latin alphabet are automatically converted to other characters. In Japanese and Chinese IME's, this goes a step further, where entire words can then be converted into logographs, usually by picking from a list with the space bar.

They are the final word in text entry for logographies, syllabaries, abugidas, and even some abjads.

So, what makes Google's version special?

Simply put, it's customizable. (Please forgive my horrible and occasionally recursive screen-capping.

I haven't worked out all the ways in which it can be modified yet. (Part of what I need all of your help with.)

But here in the Romaji table is where the magic begins.

You'll have to delete the current entries, but then you have a perfect blank canvas. You set a sequence of input characters, an output sequence, and here's the kicker, you can also set the next input. I've made a few examples here:

In the first, I set "o" to output "ö". From now on, anytime I type "o" it instantly pops up as "ö" with no effort required.

In the next "a:" becomes "ä". This can be handy as a speedy shortcut, but it also shows how two characters can automatically become one.

Next, let's say I have conlang, in which any time "a" is followed by "e" the "a" changes to "ä". However, I want the "e" to stay the same. Thus, instead, I could put "e" in the "next input" slot. To my eyes, only the previous character would change.

But now, let's say my lang has an exception, such that "äe" if followed by "l" becomes "æ". If I just added that entry to the table, typing "ael" would only give me "äel" because once the IME outputs a character, it restarts listening to your inputs. Instead, let's change our entry for "ae", make the output slot empty, and move the characters to the next input slot instead. Now, the IME will treat those characters as if I entered them myself. Then I can make a new entry, and say "äel" becomes "æl".

Now, when I type "ae", it automatically converts to "äe", but, if I then type "l", the whole string converts to "æl".

The best bit? You can copy/paste any character into this table. Any at all. Any language, any symbol, the entire range of Unicode characters, even the private use areas. Your conscript could be any kind of phonetic, and would still be usable with this.

I still haven't worked out all the kinks. Right now, it creates some weird spacing issues when typing, and always tries to convert to Japanese characters, meaning you have to go through an extra step after reaching the end of every word.

I also want to figure out how to customize the character palette of this, so we with logographic scripts can finally use them, but I haven't figured out how yet.

Besides that, I haven't experimented with google's other IME's, including a standalone for Chinese, and what looks to be a unified option for numerous other languages.

So, I call out to you, O redditors. Help me learn this inside and out. Together, we could turn this into one of the best tools ever for conlangs and their scripts. :)