3 replies to this topic

[Caleb Friedeman]

Hey Everyone,

 

I'm a new Accordance user and am trying to figure out what I need to do to export Hebrew text to a Word processor such that I can work with it for exegetical purposes. I've done some reading on the forums, am aware of the export as unicode option, etc. However, I've got a couple of questions that I haven't found answered elsewhere.

 

Although I've had no success with my version of Word ('08), I have been able to get Accordance to export unicode Hebrew text to Pages successfully. However, there are a couple problems in Pages:

 

1) The Hebrew text does not look like BHS at all - it's much more rounded and bold. 

 

2) Whenever I'm trying to type English on the same line as a Hebrew word (e.g., when parsing a Hebrew word), the English text always begins on the left side of the Hebrew word and I can't type anything to the right of the Hebrew word in question. 

 

I realize these problems are due at least in part to Pages' very limited ability to work with RTL text. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to get Mellel or Nisus Writer Pro to get a satisfactory solution. However, what I'm wanting to know is if these word processors will actually fix the issues I'm having - I don't want to buy something new only to have the same problems. 

 

So, my basic question is: Can Mellel and NWP avoid the above problems? If so, are there any settings I will need to use to circumvent those problems? 

 

Also, as a side note, from what I've read on these forums I'm kind of leaning toward getting Mellel - it sounds like it does RTL great, can handle larger files more easily than NWP, and is cheaper, although there is a learning curve. Am I missing anything here, or is Mellel the way to go?

 

Thanks for your help...

[luoar]

Caleb,

 

I can counsel you on the basis of my long experience with this problem of exporting and pasting Hebrew text in Mac. You can disregard Pages and Word. Neither of them are set up to handle Hebrew in the way you want to use it. (Word in Windows is another story.)

 

Mellel is outstanding and will handle all your requirements easily. In addition it will allow you to use a Hebrew font of your choosing. 

 

My preference is for Google Docs which I now use for all my files that are required to handle Hebrew script. All you need to do is ensure that when you copy and paste from Accordance you export all text to Unicode (in Accordance Preferences). You then use shift-alt-cmd-c to paste instead of cmd-c. This will paste the Hebrew as plain text. You can use a number of fonts in Google Docs but my preference is for Times New Roman or CARDO which handles Hebrew very well. As far as a Hebrew Keyboard is concerned, I recommend you download the one on the SBL site because it allows you to easily enter the vowels. A Hebrew keyboard also allows you to change from English to Hebrew with a simple shortcut. Please see my screen shot as an example. 

 

http://www.sbl-site...._SBLHebrew.aspx

 

rari

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Edited by luoar, 16 January 2013 - 05:16 AM.

[Mark Nigro]

I concur with Rari. Word and Pages are troublesome for Hebrew. I use Nisus Writer Pro and Mellel for Hebrew content. One thing to note is that I believe Rari meant to say "shift-alt-cmd-v to paste instead of cmd-v". The "c" after "cmd" would be for copying the text.

[Mark Nigro]

BTW, Caleb. If you are in academia both NWP and Mellel offer great education discounts. Mellel's new policy also has lifetime free upgrades, so that is hard to beat.