Yiddish on the Computer
Summary

• Reading Yiddish Web Pages

• Creating Yiddish Web Pages

Reading Yiddish Web Pages:
Here are links to some current Yiddish web pages which are were created in Unicode UTF-8 text. If you have trouble reading Yiddish web pages with these browsers, please return to a Users' Guide to Yiddish on the Internet and click inside the box for your operating system in order to set up your system for Yiddish.

• Di Yunge Gvardie <http://home.iprimus.com.au/kadimah/gvardie.htm>
• Der Bavebter Yid <http://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/bavebter/>

You can view this types of web page using various (but not all) browsers; e.g:

Depending on your browser and on the settings of the web page, you might be able to read the Yiddish text immediately upon visiting the web site. If not, if the text is unreadable, click on (in the IE menu, for example), View, Encoding, Unicode UTF-8.

Creating Yiddish Web Pages:

Nu, you can now create a web page in Yiddish with any word processor, such as Microsoft Word, which uses Unicode UTF-8 with proper Right-to-Left Paragraph Direction. Click here for directions on using Microsoft Word for Yiddish. Click here for an example of a simple Yiddish web page created in Word.

The latest craze is creating Yiddish Blogs! For some lively examples of vebblogeray, visit the following:

• http://sholemberger.blogspot.com/

• http://inmolaraan.blogspot.com/

• http://israblog.nana.co.il/tblogread.asp?blog=7203
  

To create a Yiddish Blog, you can use the services, if you like, of various free hosts, such as www.blogger.com (and possibly www.typepad.com ) which offer not only free space on their servers, but also templates to start with. However, the trick to using Yiddish text is to A) Use Firefox, not Explorer (See above), as your browser when you create your Yiddish Blog. Otherwise, the Paragraph direction of your Yiddish text will not work. Trust me. (Other browsers, such as Safari and Netscape might work. Let me know.) B) Follow the instructions on the host's site for setting up your blog. C) Type the contents of your Yiddish text NOT in the blogger's host template program, but instead in a Yiddish enabled word processing program which utilizes Unicode UTF-8, such as Microsoft Word, Nisus Writer Express or Mellel. (Note than non-Unicode word processors, like Nisus Classic, will not work for a Blog or any other type of web page.) Then, copy and paste the text from the word processor into the blog template; e.g., in the Firefox browser.

In the recent past, if you wanted to create web pages that all Yiddish readers can read, regardless of which computer system was used to visit the web pages, the only option was  to create pictures of the Yiddish text and to display it on your pages as graphics; e.g., GIF images. The rubegoldbergeray chart includes several tools which remain readily available as options to help with web page creation. For example:

• QText (Windows only) creates Yiddish GIF-based web pages automatically.

• The Yiddish Typewriter can be used to create GIF files from various forms of Yiddish text. You can then use HTML coding (or an HTML editor program, such as FrontPage) to create the web pages.

• Use a screen capture program (such as SnagIt or simply Alt+PrintScreen keys on your Windows keyboard) to make GIF files of Yiddish text created using other programs. Edit the GIF files in a graphics program, making the background color transparent. Use HTML coding (or an HTML editor program) to create the web pages.

While you can create Yiddish web pages in Unicode, not 100% of everyone will be able to read the complete text without errors, depending on their operating system. Currently, it is only those using older Mac's, with the Classic OS, who might have a problem reading Yiddish web pages created with Unicode. I believe that most Mac users are now upgrading to OS X. So,  it is looking hopeful that the day will indeed come soon that we may be able to create more web pages in real Yiddish text that everyone will be able to read, regardless of operating system.

• Read about Yiddish Word Processing and Yiddish Email.

• Back to A Users' Guide to Yiddish on the Internet for an overview.