Rashi Script in Google Docs!!!!

Rashi Script for Google Docs

Forgive the overuse of exclamation points, but GOOGLE DOCS HAS RASHI SCRIPT!!!

This is huge!

This was perhaps the last reason I continued to prepare worksheets in Word, and now Google has Rashi script. This is certainly a game-changer for teachers of Jewish texts.

How To Get It

The font (Noto Rashi Hebrew) can be loaded through the Google Docs Add-On Extensis Fonts.

See this previous post to learn how to add it to your Google Docs toolkit.

Hebrew Fonts in Extensis Add-On

Once you have added Extensis to your Add-Ons,  type or paste some text into Google Docs. I have grabbed the first Rashi on Chumash from Sefaria.

Highlight the text.

Go to Add-Ons in the Google Doc Menu bar and choose Extensis Fonts. Click Start.

Scroll down to Noto Rashi Hebrew. Click on it.

Your text should now be in Rashi script. 

The new font, Noto Rashi Hebrew, should now appear in your font list, ready to use whenever you need it.

Two caveats: The tzadi is oddly stylized. Stop kvetching. I am sure with enough exposure, we can all get used to it. [UPDATE: I discovered over shabbat that this is Steinsaltz's Rashi script.]

The Tzere Workaround

UPDATE: The Tzere has been fixed. It looks normal.

The second caveat is, as mentioned in the comments, that the tzere is really unrecognizable.

The workaround (admittedly a bit of a pain, but a worthwhile trade-off in my opinion if you need to use Google Docs with Rashi and nequdot) is as follows:

In Hebrew typing mode, place your cursor after the offending tzere, and hit backspace. This will delete the vowel. 

Go to the font list in the menu bar and change the font to one of the following (other fonts may work too; this is the result of my own experimenting):

Miriam Libre

Courier New

Tahoma.

Type the tzere (older PCs: Caps Lock, Shift+5; Chromebooks and some newer PCs, AltGr+M)

Repeat as necessary.

For more information on Hebrew and Google Docs, see my other posts:

Setting Hebrew on a Chromebook

Hebrew Fonts in Google Docs

Hebrew Vowels (Niqud) for Chromebooks

Right to Left Non-Printing Character for Docs

Also search the tag "Hebrew" on this blog.

Hebrew Vowels (Niqud) for Google Docs on Chromebooks

I have figured out how to insert vowels into Google Docs on a Chromebook. If this is documented fully anywhere, I haven't found it. Wikipedia is blank on this.

This is for Chromebooks and some newer PCs. It does not work on older PCs. (For Niqud in Windows, see this post.)

If you need a refresher on setting up Hebrew in Google Docs / on a Chromebook, see my post here.

The key (pun fully intended) to doing this is the Alt Graph key, often abbreviated AltGr. Don't panic. You do so have one. It's the Alt Key to the right of the spacebar.

When you are in Hebrew on a Chromebook (Ctrl + Spacebar to switch back and forth), position the cursor after the letter under/over which you wish to insert a vowel. Hold the AltGr (again, the Alt Key to the right of the spacebar) plus the following keys to insert niqqud.

(There's kind of a mnemonic to it - for many of the basic vowels, the key is the Hebrew letter that begins the name of the vowel. So [AltGR +] the ח'‏ key (J) for חירק; the צ'‏ (M) for צירה, the ד'‏ for דגש; the ש'‏ for שוא. The תנועות חטופות are immediately to the right of their counterparts. So פ'‏ (P) for פתח and the [ key for חטף פתח; the ק'‏ (E) for קמץ and the ר'‏ (R) for חטף קמץ; and the ס'‏ (X) for סגול and the ב'‏ (C) for חטף סגול.  The ו'‏‏ (U) is also the dot for the חולם. The backslash \ looks like a קבוץ, I guess.
Since the A is the ש'‏ key, the key to its upper right (W) puts the dot for the shin, and the  key to its upper left (Q) puts the dot for the sin.)

Key Combo	Vowel / Symbol
AltGr + E (ק)	קמץ
AltGr + R (רׂׂ)	חטף קמץ
AltGr + P (פ)	פתח
AltGr + [	חטף פתח
AltGr + X (ס)	סגול
AltGr + C (ב)	חטף סגול
AltGr + U (ו)	חולם dot
AltGr + J (ח)	חירק
AltGr + M (צ)	צירה
AltGr + S (ד)	דגש (also the dot for שורק)
AltGr + A (ש)	שוא
AltGr + \	קבוץ
AltGr + W	dot for שִׁין
AltGr + Q	dot for שִׂין
AltGr + 7	מתג
AltGr + -	מקף
AltGr + ‘/”	גרשים a/k/a tzupchik -  רש״י
AltGr + `/~	ר׳ - גרש
AltGr + ;	Bottom of the line quote mark - „
AltGr +	Quote mark proper direction - ”
AltGr + 4	₪ New Israeli Shekel NIS
AltGr + ]	רפה mark - רֿ
Niqqud for Chromebooks  © Jeff Kuperman 2020

Downloadable copy can  be accessed here.

Setting Hebrew on a Chromebook

Setting up a Chromebook to type in Hebrew is fairly simple.

Click down in the bottom right area of the screen, where the time and wi-fi signal is.

Click on Settings; scroll down and click on Advanced to see more. Scroll down to Languages and click Language and input settings

Click on Add at the bottom of the Languages window

Scroll down until you find Hebrew; choose it.

Click OK.

With Hebrew selected in the Languages box, check off Use this language for spell checking. (If you choose Display Google Chrome OS in this language, then everything - menus, settings, etc. will be in Hebrew. You probably want to avoid that unless you're an Israeli and you'll be using the Chromebook in Israel. So for most of you - don't.) Under Input, select Hebrew keyboard. Then hit Done.

The first time you switch from English to Hebrew, hit Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar; then you can toggle back and forth using Ctrl+Spacebar

Some helpful hints on using Chromebooks

Many people used to using a computer mouse are stymied at first when using the trackpad on the Chromebooks.

The secret to Chromebooks is


You do not need to make the trackpad go "click" when you hit it. Try practicing the gentlest touch you can muster until you can close a tab, for example. You'd be surprised. 

Here are a few (gentle) finger motions to practice on the trackpad.:
Two-finger tap = right click
(using the tips of your index and middle finger together at one time. Gently.)
Two-finger swipe (vertical) = scroll (it's just a gentle rub, a light tickle, up or down the pad with two finger-tips)
I will admit - I have more trouble pulling off the three-finger motions.
Three-finger tap = open link in new tab
(or you can two-finger tap and tap (gently) "open in new tab"
Three-finger swipe (horizontal)  = switch tabs

Kami - Fill out pdfs online

Several teachers have asked me about making the switch to Google Docs. They are concerned about converting their documents from Word or other text editors (especially some of the Judaics teachers who cling tenaciously to Davka Writer).
 They are also concerned with the problem of formatting - when you start typing on a Google doc, it pushes the blank space between questions forward.

Kami is a Chrome app and extension that opens in your browser and allows you (or the students) to write in blank space in a pdf. (And remember, you can use Share to Classroom to shoot Kami out to your students on the first day of class!)

So if you have a worksheet that in the past was printed out and filled in by hand in class, you can convert them to pdfs (just 'Save As... pdf' in most word processors) and then you can upload them to Google Classroom as Assignments (not Announcements) and have the students fill them out on the Chromebooks. Imagine - no more reading difficult handwriting! Reminder: Make sure to choose 'Make a copy for each student' before assigning.

Installing Kami

Just have the students install the Kami app as well as the extension (which allows for offline work) and when they open the assigned document in Chrome, they should select Open ... Kami.

The first time you (or your students) open a document in Kami, it will ask for access to your Google Drive. 

IT IS CRUCIAL THAT YOU ALLOW THIS ACCESS! Otherwise it will not work with Google Classroom properly, and work will get messed up or lost. (I know, I have a few "tinfoil hat" kids who are paranoid about granting access online, but trust Google and Kami. I've met the designer. He's cool.)

Using Kami

Most features of Kami work without paying for the Pro account. (There's one important exception, as we shall see.) Click on the T to add text anywhere within the blank space.  Kami gives a pretty bright choice of colors for text, but you can click the Settings gear and choose a more subdued, darker, legible color for text.

Begin typing

You just click on the Text button (the T in the circle) and then you can then begin typing normally in whichever language you choose. 

(English has spell-check; Hebrew does not.) And you can go back to your answer later and edit it, which is a feature missing from similar programs.

Saving and Google Classroom

Assuming you have signed in to Kami, the program will automatically save your work as you type.  However, it will not automatically save back to Google Drive unless you are running the Pro version. (Currently $99/teacher/year.)

  This is very important, because if you are assigning the document through Google Classroom the work needs to be saved there as well.

When you click the Sync button on the top right, you can MANUALLY save the file in Google Drive as well. (I say 'as well' because Kami will also keep a copy of it. Which is all the good, because things sometimes get lost.)

 

However, for this to work properly, the student will have to re-direct Kami to save the document in its Google Classroom folder. (They could move it after they're done and before they're ready to submit their assignment, but I think in the long run it's easier to train them to do it from the start every time.) 

In each student's Google Drive, there is a folder called "Classroom." Within that folder are folders for each of their classes. Within those folders are the files (Google Docs, pdfs, etc.) for each GC Assignment.

The student must first click >→ Move, and then maneuver to the appropriate folder.

 This only needs to be done once per document. But it is crucial for submitting the finished work to the teacher in Google Classroom. If they do not, they will end up returning the original blank document instead of the copy with all their answers in it.

When the student is finished working in the pdf document, they should save it one more time, and then they can head back to Google Classroom. The document in their folder is now the filled-in pdf. Like any other Google Classroom assignment, when they're ready, they can just click TURN IN.

That's it. The teacher gets the completed pdf the same way s/he gets any document through Google Classroom.  And if the teacher uses Kami, s/he can grade and comment on the pdf as well. Postscript: Just in case you were worried, once the pdf is submitted to the teacher, Kami will not allow it to be edited directly by the student.

Add a custom character in Chrome

One of the strange things about the world of Chromebooks is that certain shortcuts don't work anymore, or work the way they used to. 
For example, if you're on a PC in Word, and you type alt+10003, you'll insert a check mark. √

If you're in Chrome and on a PC, you can do that by typing alt+251. See? √.

But if you're on a Chromebook, gornisht helfen as my people say. (Nothing helps.)

If you're in Google Docs, you can go to Insert > Special Characters > and then search for Check Mark. Click it and it will insert a check mark into your doc. If you need one elsewhere (like if you're correcting a pdf in Google Classroom on Kami), you can do that in Google Docs first and copy and paste it. Every. Single. Time. You. Need. One.

OR
You can add the Special Characters extension to Chrome. Highlight and copy a check mark (Here - take mine √ ).
Right click the extension in the upper-right hand corner  

and choose Options. 


Click Add Character, paste the check into the empty box. Name it and save it. (And, while you're at it, you can delete the standard characters in the English set if you don't need them.)

Now, whenever you need a check mark (or whatever it is you need to insert not infrequently into text - a winky face or a skull and crossbones) click on the extension and select the mark, and it will now be copied to your clipboard, ready for you to hit ctrl+v, which, happily, still works on Chromebooks. 
(Or right-click, Paste, if you can't give up your mouse.) 
Et voila - √  😉 or ☠ or whatever.

Why'd they take the Delete key away on Chromebooks? And other useful shortcuts

True, they took away the Delete key (and the Home/End keys, and the PrtScr key, et cetera) but all these functions are still available on the Chromebook with the built-in keyboard shortcuts.

First, on your Chromebook type Ctrl + Shift +? (meaning hold down the ctrl and shift keys and then hit the question mark key.) You will get an interactive keyboard map. Proceed to hit each modifier key, one by one (ctrl, shift, alt) and then in combinations. The map will show you what each key or combo does with the various keyboard keys.

Besides your old favorites like ctrl + c (Copy) and ctrl+v (Paste) there are dozens more.

ctrl+shift+up/down arrow will emulate the Home and End keys.

alt+backspace = delete


ctrl +   (that's the show all windows .key) = Print Screen

Here's a list of the shortcuts, for easy reference.

Here's an even longer one, including a lot of foreign language accents. 

Explore and discover the possibilities!

Keyboard shortcut for switching languages the NEW way on Chromebooks

I started computing in the late 80s, and since the Days of DOS, Alt+Shift has been the keyboard shortcut for switching between language inputs. For me, it's been the way I switch between Hebrew and English. And up until recently, that was the way you still switched languages on a Chromebook in the 21^st century..

I do not know why Chromebooks have abandoned that, but abandon it they have. The new keyboard shortcut for switching between languages is (drumroll, please)...

Control+Spacebar 

That is all.

Enabling Right-to-Left editing in Google Docs

I forgot how to do this, so the refresher serves me as well. I am sure we are going to have to be giving these directions a lot as we transition to one-to-one Chrome devices.

Pre-Steps: Make sure you are logged into Google, and that you have enabled Hebrew as an input language.

Step One: Go to Google Docs 

Step Two: Click on the Menu (next to the word Docs; look like three stacked lines)

Step Three: Click on Settings (looks like a gear)

Step Four: Check "Always show right-to-left controls"