Product Code Database
A Hebrew keyboard () comes in two different . Most Hebrew keyboards are bilingual, with Latin script characters, usually in a US Qwerty layout.
One noteworthy feature is that in the standard layout, paired delimiters—parentheses (), brackets [], braces {}, and angle brackets (less/greater than) <>—have the opposite logical representation from the standard in left-to-right languages. This gets flipped again by the rendering engine's BiDi mirroring algorithm, resulting in the same visual representation as in Latin keyboards. Key mappings follow the logical rather than the physical representation. For instance, whether on a right-to-left or left-to-right keyboard, Shift-9 always produces a logical "open parenthesis". On a right-to-left keyboard, this is written as the Unicode character U+0029, "right parenthesis": ). This is true on as well. On a left-to-right keyboard, this is written as the Unicode character U+0028, "left parenthesis": (.
In a 102/105-key layout of this form, there would be an additional key to the right of the left shift key. This would be an additional backslash key. Keyboards with 102 keys are not sold as standard, except by certain manufacturers which have elected to sell European-style 102-key Hebrew keyboards, such as Logitech and Apple).
On computers running Windows, Alt-Shift switches between keyboard layouts. Holding down a Shift key (or pressing Caps Lock) in Windows produces the uppercase Latin alphabet without the need to switch layouts.
It is mostly identical to the SI-1452 layout, with the following changes:
These layouts are commonly known as "Hebrew-QWERTY" OSX or "French AZERTY-Hebrew" layouts. While Hebrew layouts for Latin-based keyboards are not well standardized, macOS comes with a Hebrew-QWERTY variant, and software layouts for Microsoft Windows can be found on the Internet. Archived copy Tools such as the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator can also be used to produce custom layouts.
While uncommon, manufacturers are beginning to produce Hebrew-QWERTY stickers and printed keyboards, useful for those who do not wish to memorize the positions of the Hebrew characters.
Faced with this ambiguity, most manufacturers developed a de facto standard where pressing Shift+upper row key produces the same result as with the US mapping (except the reversal of the open and close brackets). Niqqud was delegated to a more complicated process. Typically, that would be pressing the caps-lock, and then using shift+the keys. This combination was obscure enough, in combination with the relative rare use of Niqqud in modern Hebrew, that most people did not even know of its existence. Even those who did know, would rarely memorize the quite arbitrary locations of the specific marks.
Most people who needed it would use virtual graphical keyboards available on the World Wide Web, or by methods integrated into particular operating systems.
The 2013 revision of SI-1452 sought out to rectify both of those problems. For compatibility reasons, it was decided to not touch the first two shifting layers of the layout (i.e. - no shift keys at all and the shift key pressed). Niqqud and other marks were added mostly to layer 3, with AltGr pressed.
| {class="wikitable" | |||||
| ~ | 0 | 05B0 | Sh'va | 1 | |
| 1 | 3 | 05B1 | Reduced Segol | 1 | |
| 2 | 1 | 05B2 | Reduced Patach | 1 | |
| 3 | 2 | 05B3 | Reduced Kamatz | 1 | |
| 4 | 4 | 05B4 | Hiriq | 1 | |
| 5 | 5 | 05B5 | Zeire | 1 | |
| 6 | 9 | 05B6 | Segol | 1 | |
| 7 | 6 | 05B7 | Patach | 1 |
| 8 | 7 | 05B8 | Kamatz | 1 | |
| 9 | A | 05C2 | Sin dot (left) | 2 | |
| 0 | M | 05C1 | Shin dot (right) | 2 | |
| – | = | 05B9 | Holam | 1 | |
| = 3 | , | 05BC | Dagesh or Mappiq | 1 | |
| U | 05BC | Shuruk | 4 | ||
| \ | 8 | 05BB | Kubutz | 1 |
Notes:
SIL International have developed another standard, which is based on Tiro, but adds the Niqqud along the home keys. Linux comes with "Israel - Biblical Hebrew (Tiro)" as a standard layout. With this layout, niqqud can be typed without pressing the Caps Lock key.
| for קָמץ ( kamatz) | first Hebrew letter of the niqqud's name | |
| for פַתח ( patach) | ||
| for שְׁווא ( sheva) | ||
| for דּגש ( dagesh) | ||
| for חִירִיק ( hiriq) | ||
| for סֶגול ( segol) | ||
| for צֵירֵי ( tsere) | ||
| for חׂ ולם ( holam) | (like the 'o' vowel), since is already used for hiriq | |
| for קֻבּוּץ ( kubuts) | because the line \ visually resembles ֻ | |
| for reduced patach פַתח | the key to the right of | |
| for reduced kamats קָמץ | the key to the right of | |
| for reduced segol סֶגול | the key to the right of | |
| for the Shin dot | the key above , right-side, since the dot is placed above , right-side | |
| for the Sin dot | the key above , left-side, since the dot is placed above , left-side | |
| for רפֿה ( rafe) | ||
| (minus) for ־ ( maqaf) | ||
| (quotes) for ״ ( gershayim) | ||
| (semicolon) for ׳ ( geresh) |
The new layout (SI-1452, 2013 revision) was influenced by the Linux Lyx layout, that uses the first letter of the Niqqud mark name as the position for the mark. Letters where collisions happened were decided based on frequency of use, and were located in places that should still be memorable. For example, the Holam mark conflicted with Hirik, so it was placed on the Vav letter, where Holam is usually placed in Hebrew. Likewise, the Qubutz mark, which looks like three diagonal points, conflicted with the much more useful Qamatz mark, so it was placed on the backslash key, that bears visual resemblance to it.
The new revision also introduced some symbols that were deemed useful. For example, it introduced that LRM and RLM invisible control characters (placed on the right and left brackets) to allow better formatting of complex BiDi text.
Windows supports SI-1452 since Windows 8, which was actually shipped prior to the standard's acceptance. This is due to Microsoft's membership of the SI committee. Their implementation was based on one of the final drafts, but that draft ended up almost identical to the final standard.
Linux switched to using SI-1452 once it was released, and in the process deprecated the Lyx layout, which no longer offered any added value.
There are several ways to force right-to left directionality. When typing, a Unicode right-to-left mark can be inserted where necessary (such as after a punctuation mark). In Notepad, or any Windows Text box, it can be done with from the context menu Insert Unicode control character. With Windows Hebrew keyboard, RLM can be generated pressing . In Microsoft Word, the Format -> Paragraph menu can be used to change the paragraph's default direction to right-to-left. Similar setting is available in Gmail composer.
There are also ways to choose the way the text is displayed, without changing the text itself. In Internet Explorer, right-to-left display can be forced by a webpage and selecting Encoding -> Right-To-Left Document. In Notepad, or any Windows Text box, directionality can be changed by and selecting Right to left Reading order. Same effect can be achieved by pressing . You can switch back to Left to right Reading order by unselecting the check box or pressing . Note that this only effects presentation of the text. Next time you open the same text in Notepad, you will need to perform the same direction switch again.
| Windows | + | AltGr + | Rafe | סֿ |
| macOS | Rafe | סֿ | ||
Note: The letter " O" represents whatever Hebrew letter is used.
| AltGr and Vav (U) | Double Vav | |
| AltGr and Heth (J) | Vav Yodh | |
| AltGr and Yodh (H) | Double Yodh | |
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