Any new intel on pasting hebrew into a word document?

I did read a thread that basically said Windows for Mac sucks at this, you have to use a different word processor. I find that it sometimes works but most of the time doesn't. Which drives me crazy. RIght now I need to drop isolated words into a paper; I have managed to figure out how to print hebrew text directly from Logos. Does anybody know how to past Hebrew text into a word document without the letters all reversing themselves instead of staying right to left?

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

The Rev. Dr. John W. Sias

Actually, after the most recent upgrade (14.1.0 110310), Word/Mac 2011 works pretty well for pasting in isolated Hebrew (as far as my limited testing has indicated) as long as you use the Ezra SIL font. The SBL Hebrew font uses a way of composing diacritics (vowels and accents) that Word can't adequately handle yet, so they wind up in the wrong places. Again, I only tried a little bit, but it seemed to be working as well as Word 2008/PC did, which is quite an improvement.

The Rev. Dr. John W. Sias

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/241867#Comment_241867

One tip: when you have to insert a Hebrew word, type two spaces in your "normal" font and then insert the Hebrew between them. If you try to type text immediately following the Hebrew word (instead of after an intervening "normal" space), Word doesn't know that you want to go back to left-to-right mode.

Amy J. Chase

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/241869#Comment_241869

okay, thanks for the idea. I tried it by doing the two spaces, going back and changing my font to ezra, but then when I paste from logos it just keeps reverting back to SBL. And the letters are reversed. now for some unknown reason, I was able to do something that corrected my word the first time, but I've tried a few other times and I can't fix it.

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/241894#Comment_241894

okay, thanks for the idea. I tried it by doing the two spaces, going back and changing my font to ezra, but then when I paste from logos it just keeps reverting back to SBL. And the letters are reversed. now for some unknown reason, I was able to do something that corrected my word the first time, but I've tried a few other times and I can't fix it.

Wondering which version of Word for Mac ? (2011, 2008, 2004, or older)

Also wonder if free Libre Office works better ? http://www.libreoffice.org/download/

Keep Smiling [:)]

The Rev. Dr. John W. Sias

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/241894#Comment_241894

Amy,

What version of MS Word / Mac do you have? (Go to Word...About Word menu to find out). This only began to work halfway right with 2011 14.1.0, which was only pushed out (I believe) this month.

Also, are you setting the font to Ezra SIL in Logos (Logos Bible Software...Preferences...Hebrew Font) or in Word? If I set it in Logos, it works for me. At any rate, if the letters are appearing in reverse order, the problem is not with the font, but with Word. Check your version and see what you're dealing with.

Mellel is an excellent alternative, with much better RTL support (and in it, the SBL Hebrew font works!) It takes a bit of getting used to for Word users, but is very usable for papers and quite inexpensive (as such things go). I highly recommend it, if you can't get Word to work.

Amy J. Chase

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/241921#Comment_241921

okay, thanks, I appreciate it. I only have 2008. I tried what you said anyway, changing the font in logos, and at first it didn't work, and then I went up to the top of my computer and ? don't know how to put this, but change the overall computer language to Hebrew from American, and then it automatically switched the letters in the word I just copied, so that it was right -- but I can't get it to do it again! I dont know what I am doing right on the occasional times when it works. sounds like I really should just look for something else besides word. what a pain. thanks for your help.

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/241926#Comment_241926

I dont know what I am doing right on the occasional times when it works. sounds like I really should just look for something else besides word. what a pain. thanks for your help.

Forum Export to Word... but Not Pages? could be worth reading, especially http://community.logos.com/forums/p/31491/234194.aspx#234194

Keep Smiling [:)]

George Somsel

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/241869#Comment_241869

One tip: when you have to insert a Hebrew word, type two spaces in your "normal" font and then insert the Hebrew between them. If you try to type text immediately following the Hebrew word (instead of after an intervening "normal" space), Word doesn't know that you want to go back to left-to-right mode.

This is the key to inserting Hebrew into documents. I find this true in Word for Windows and in the forums as well. I can't speak for the MAC OS, but I suspect it would be no different. After you have pasted the Hebrew you can then format it as you like.

Jack Caviness

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/241867#Comment_241867

Word/Mac 2011 works pretty well for pasting in isolated Hebrew

Does this mean that a line or two of Hebrew text will still not paste correctly in Word 2011?

Caleb S.

There are two word processing programs that are specifically for Mac that were designed for people (such as myself) who will be doing a lot of things with Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Akkadian, Ugaritic, and Coptic. The programs recognize even SBL fonts and properly renders the Hebrew letters and vowel markings. Copying and pasting is a breeze in these programs! I bought one. They are as follows: Mellel (from http://www.mellel.com/) and Nisus Writer Pro (from http://nisus.com/products/). Both have academic discounts for students, scholars, and professors. Mellel is $29 with academic discount, and Nisus Writer Pro is $39 with academic discount. I also have MS Word 08 and Pages 09 and they were a headache to try to copy and paste Hebrew for my Senior Paper and other projects. I found out about Mellel and Nisus Writer Pro from my Hebrew professor (who teaches all Old Testament classes at ORU and other ancient languages such as Coptic, Syriac, Ugaritic, Akkadian, and Aramaic). He has both but prefers Nisus Writer Pro (it looks easier to use). They do have a trial you can download and see if you like them.

The Rev. Dr. John W. Sias

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/241988#Comment_241988

To be clear, other than the lack of support for class-based combining of diacritics (for SBL Hebrew, and I imagine other Hebrew fonts), I have not encountered problems. On the other hand, i haven't tried to do much with it, either. Pasting of Hebrew words here and there into English text seems to work well, as does pasting multi-line blocks of Hebrew text (e.g., Psalm 23).

George Somsel

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/242054#Comment_242054

To be clear, other than the lack of support for class-based combining of diacritics (for SBL Hebrew, and I imagine other Hebrew fonts), I have not encountered problems. On the other hand, i haven't tried to do much with it, either. Pasting of Hebrew words here and there into English text seems to work well, as does pasting multi-line blocks of Hebrew text (e.g., Psalm 23).

In pasting multi-line blocks it is also important to insert an extra line or two prior to pasting the Hebrew on the same principle as pasting a few words in the middle of an English (left-to-right) text.

Quick Links

Recent Posts
Activity
Unanswered