As you may know, Hebrew is rather
awkward to deal with on the net. First it's good to have the Hebrew version
of Windows, but not essential. If you have it then you may want to use
the Hebrew version of IE5, but don't even try if you haven't got it.
I prefer Bidi
Netscape anyway. Watch the PREFERENCES menu (now has a line added called
BIDI OPTIONS) and the VIEW menu, which also has BIDI OPTIONS, not
to mention the CHARACTER SET, which includes several lines with HEBREW.
Choose accordingto your usual usage of the browser.
Anyway you should get Hebrew fonts.
I like GLOBES
best, but you can get others from SNUNIT
or The Hebrew
University.
N.B. When putting a new font in Netscape the computer
may get stuck trying to change the font settings. This is overcome by clicking
on the ENCODING window in the font menu and then pressing tha TAB button,
which brings you to the VARIABLE WIDTH FONT window. Next, press the UP
button till you reach the desired font. Press TAB again and set the FIXED
WIDTH FONT as desired: I like GLOBES for VARIABLE WIDTH and HEBREW WEB
MONOSPACE for FIXED WIDTH.
N.B. Some people fail to see Hebrew even after installing these
fonts: there is yet another font which solves at least some people's problem.
Write to me and I will send
you the font free. Just don't give up if it doesn't
work: we may yet have more solutions.
However, sometimes the screen shows
the Hebrew back to front. This is because the page was written with a backward
editor, usually MS-made davka lehach'is. Bidi Netscape is all right
there, but other Netscape editions can't deal with it. So first aid comes
fromHTMLFLIP,
which turns the Hebrew right to left.
But the mail is also back to front, evn with Bidi. And no matter what
I tried, it always arrived illegible. So get EASYHEB.
This is a nice small program for writing HTML in Hebrew and very easy as
it's name suggests: the letters arrive very nicely and you can use the
same program for making your own web page in Hebrew. Use it with any HTML
editor.
Another way to send Hebrew e-mail is through SIGHTCOM
and it has a very nice format. LINGOMAIL
is a multi-lingual e-mail but you need to send the recipient a special
Reader.
What about sending Hebrew e-mail abroad to someone without
Hebrew Windows?
Well, you can save a letter you write in WORD as a picture
file or create a picture file containing Hebrew characters and anyone can
open it and read the Hebrew afterwards. I sometimes use the PRINTSCREEN
command to make it, then cut it to a reasonable size for sending. Actually
it may be worth telling your friends to get GLOBES
and read the letter as ordinary mail.And LINGOMAIL
too.
How to build your own Hebrew webpage.
First, go and see mine
.
Apart from the special Jewish content, you can see a
GIF of my Hebrew handwriting: scanned by a friend (actually he gave me
a 140K GIF and I thought people would not wait for it and cut it to 47K).
You can scan your own Hebrew signature too. Or if you prefer, simply send
your signature or picture in a fax to your computer and use the result
to send, or on your site.
Notice also on my web site the Hebrew date. Get
it from
RTL.
And don't forget EASYHEB
for easy editing. Wait for Bidi to come out with a Composer
and e-mail and all will be well (PG).
There are quite a lot of sites with Hebrew help. Try these:
RTLSOFT
Hebrew
Software Digest
http://www.virtual.co.il/gate/ftp/
NIR DAGAN - for advanced writers.
SNUNIT
SNUNIT
- NEW - 2 sites with many links
Zplusplus
- help with HTML
JCN
- more free stuff
Zikit - explanations in Hebrew
about various problems
Printing Hebrew Pages(probably only for Hebrew
Windows users, but you never know)
This is done in several steps:
a) minimize NETSCAPE (Sorry, I haven't tried it on IE).
b) in the control menu (LUAH BAKARA), open "Hebrew" and
cancel the Fonts attribute (SHIUCH GUFANIM) and ENTER.
c) Don't answer the question asked by Windows, but maximize
NETSCAPE.
d) Print in the usual manner, open "Hebrew" again and
tick the Fonts attribute again and ENTER etc.
e) You can get a program called HADPASA 97 which does all this automatically
at the click of a mouse button if you need it often: get it from Bashan.
If you have any queries or suggestions, new ideas etc.
please write to me. I'm
waiting to hear more. Feel free to copy this page and even print, keep
and sell it if anyone will buy it: of course if you manage to sell it,
tell me and I may buy a copy too.
Written by Elihu Shannon of Kibbutz Saad, Israel, updated
Iyar 5760.
SOME MORE SITES:
The sites listed here contain
most (but not all) the information available about Hebrew
and the Internet. The sites
point to solutions for creating and viewing Hebrew content
for Hebrew and non-Hebrew
operating systems.
http://sites.huji.ac.il/ivrit/ivrit.html
The official site of the
Academy of the Hebrew language
http://www.elmar.co.il
El-Mar Software focuses on
the issues of software localization and the internals of the
X Window System, Motif and
Internet.
http://www.iguide.co.il/english/119.html
Internet - Hebrew page at
the IGuide sites index.
http://www.lingomail.co.il
A utility that enable mail
users to send and receive mail in 30 different languages.
http://www.accentsoft.com
Multilingual products including
a word processor and an online translator.