Arabic and Hebrew WPDOS under any Windows version: DOSBox method | Arabic and Hebrew WPDOS under Vista, Windows 7, or 64-bit Windows: Other Methods | Hebrew WP in a Window: Modern Hebrew only | Hebrew WP in a Window: Classical or Modern Hebrew | TrueType for Arabic and Hebrew WPDOS | Printer drivers for HP LaserJet printers with Arabic and Hebrew fonts | Hebrew PostScript fonts and drivers for printing and PDF | Arabic PostScript fonts and drivers for printing and PDF | Converting Arabic and Hebrew WP files | A simplified system for typing Hebrew with vowel points | A font-replacing macro for right-to-left documents | A macro for changing overstrikes | Home page
This page describes new (June 2021, updated September 2023) versions of these systems. The older versions are still available if anyone prefers them. If you already use this site's Arabic or Hebrew systems for running WPDOS in DOSBoxWP, please backup or rename your existing systems, because the June 2021 version uses a different directory structure from earlier versions. Note: an improved system, with slightly faster performance and a more reliable installer, was posted 30 December 2021; the PDFMAKER macro finally works again in a version posted 24 March 2022.
This site provides complete pre-built systems for running Arabic or Hebrew WPDOS 5.1 in a window or in full-screen mode under any recent version of Windows. If you install these systems, you do not need to read anything else on this page!
You may download these systems from these links: DOSBoxWP-Arabic-Setup.exe or DOSBoxWP-Hebrew-Setup.exe. Before you continue, read the page about the basic DOSBoxWP method for further details.
To install these systems, you must first have copies of your existing Arabic WP or Hebrew WP systems available on your disk (or a USB thumb drive), but not on a network drive. The installer will ask you where to find those existing systems and will copy WP.EXE and WP.FIL into its own system. If you need to navigate to a folder, or type in its name, do so, and then click "Select Folder" to continue the installation.
The installer will provide two options:
To use WPDOS in full-screen mode, using this system, see these instructions on the page devoted to the basic DOSBoxWP method.
To create a PDF file from the current document, run the supplied PDFMAKER macro. A PDF of the current document will open in your default PDF reader application. (WP will use its PostScript printer driver to create this file, so the fonts may look different from the ones that print if you use the HP-LaserJet-PCL-compatible option for editing and printing.
Note that the Arabic or Hebrew text will look correct in the PDF file, but the Arabic or Hebrew text cannot be searched and cannot be copied into other applications. However, you can use OCR software such as ABBYY FineReader PDF to convert the PDFs into searchable PDFs with Arabic or Hebrew text. (To convert Arabic and Hebrew WordPerfect documents into other formats see another section of this page.)
If, and only if, you choose the TrueType for WP option, you can create PDF files by choosing the "TTWP PDF Driver" when printing. An arbitrarily-named PDF file will appear on your desktop, which you can open and save under another name or print.
Special keyboard and macro features: For a description of special keys and macros available in this system, see a section of the page that describes the basic DOSBoxWP system.
Send blocked Hebrew text to the Windows clipboard (added 1 March 2018): The Hebrew version of DOSBoxWP includes a macro and executable that lets you save blocked Hebrew or roman-alphabet text in WPDOS to the Windows clipboard where it can be pasted into other applications. Block some text, press Alt-F10, HEB2CLIP, Enter, and the blocked text will be copied to the Windows clipboard.
Note: For complex technical reasons, this method cannot be used in a straightforward way with Arabic WPDOS; if you want something similar for Arabic WPDOS, please contact me, and be prepared to experiment.
Arabic and Hebrew WPDOS 5.1 use WordPerfect's 512-character text display mode, which is only usable when WPDOS is run in its traditional DOS-like full screen. Full-screen display of WPDOS with the hardware-based font used by Arabic and Hebrew WP is normally impossible in any recent version of Windows (with the exception of 32-bit Windows 7 using Ludwig Ertl's method).
To use Arabic or Hebrew WPDOS in Windows 7, 8, or 10, you should use either the prebuilt system described immediately above, or one of the complicated methods described on this site's page devoted to 64-bit Windows; these methods also work under 32-bit versions of Windows that otherwise cannot display full-screen WPDOS. See the descriptions of the advantages and disadvantages of each method on the linked page.
Note that this page includes special systems for running WPDOS for Hebrew (for modern Hebrew or for classical Hebrew) in a window under any 32-bit Windows system, but they require special setup.
Two methods available from this site make it possible to run Hebrew WPDOS in a desktop Windows under any 32-bit Windows version. The method described in this section is suitable for modern Hebrew only (no vowels are displayed). See a separate section for a more complex method that is suitable for modern or ancient Hebrew (vowels are displayed)
Note: These methods are impractical for Arabic WPDOS because Arabic uses a much larger alphabet than Hebrew, and the software workarounds that these methods use for displaying Hebrew characters cannot be used for Arabic.
If you do not already have a desktop shortcut that runs Hebrew WP, create one now; make certain that the shortcut has a distinctive name, such as "WP Hebrew". Right-click on the shortcut, choose Properties, go to the Screen tab and select Window (not Full-screen); click OK. Launch the shortcut and start typing some Hebrew text. You will see nonsense characters, but don't panic, because we will proceed to fix this problem. Now follow either the instructions in (No Tame) or in (With Tame) below, depending on whether or not you use Tame:
(No Tame) If you do not use Tame: After following the instructions above, perform the following steps:
1. Download this WPDOS-Hebrew-Roman.fon file (right-click on the link and select Save link or Download link or some similar item). In the Start/Run or Start Menu search box, type "Fonts" (without the quotation marks) and press Enter. This opens the Fonts folder in your Windows system. From the File menu, choose Install New Font, and select and install the font file that you downloaded. If a copy of the font already exists in the Fonts folder, you will be prompted to remove it, which you can do by deleting (or moving) the font from the Fonts folder.
2. With WordPerfect open in a window, press Alt-Space (or click the System icon in the upper-left corner of the window); choose Properties; go to the Font tab.
3. In the Font tab, make sure that Raster Fonts is selected.
4. Still in the Font tab, under Size, scroll down to the second "8 x 12" entry; look at the "Selected Font:" preview image near the foot of this menu; you should see "Selected Font: WPDOS-Hebrew-Roman"; if you see "Selected Font: Terminal", scroll up and down the Size list until "Selected Font: WPDOS-Hebrew-Roman" appears above the preview image. Note that WPDOS-Hebrew-Roman is available in three sizes: 8 x 12, 10 x 19, and 12 x 27; choose whichever size you prefer. Click OK.
5. Select "Save properties for future windows with same title."
6. Click OK. You should now see Hebrew text instead of nonsense. Hebrew characters will be brighter (bolder) than Roman characters; there is no way to correct this problem unless you use Tame.
(With Tame) If you do use Tame (and only if you use 32-bit Windows 7, 8, or 10): After following the instructions above, perform the following steps:
1. Download this Lucida for Hebrew WP.ttf file (right-click on the link and select Save link or Download link or some similar item). In the Start/Run or Start Menu search box, type "Fonts" (without the quotation marks) and press Enter. This opens the Fonts folder in your Windows system. From the File menu, choose Install New Font, and select and install the font file that you downloaded. If a copy of the font already exists in the Fonts folder, you will be prompted to remove it, which you can do by deleting (or moving) the font from the Fonts folder.
2. With WordPerfect open in a window, press Alt-Space (or click the System icon in the upper-left corner of the window) to open the Tame menu.
2. From the Tame menu, choose View, then Text Display, then Font, and select Lucida for HebrewWP from the font list, choose Regular as the font style, and any point size you prefer.
3. Click OK. You should now see Hebrew text instead of nonsense.
4. Close WordPerfect.
5. In your Documents or My Documents folder, find the folder named Tame 6.0. Inside the Tame 6.0 folder, find another folder named Saved Options. That folder will include, possibly among other files, a file named something like "WP Hebrew.PIF.View.tam". (Important reminder: Instead of "WP Hebrew" you will find the name that you gave to your Hebrew WP shortcut! "WP Hebrew" in these instructions is only an example! If you don't understand what an "example" means, stop now and don't even attempt this procedure!)
6. Open the "WP Hebrew.PIF.View.tam" file (or whatever file is appropriate on your system) in Windows Notepad or some other text editor.
7. Copy the text below, and paste it into the file in the Notepad window, below all the other lines in the file:
; Tame Console Fonts
/TextStyle Id=Default
Face="Lucida for Hebrew WP" Weight=400
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#17
NameThisColor="Normal Text"
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=8 Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay
ForAtr=#0A Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#0B Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay
ForAtr=#0C Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#0E Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay
ForAtr=#0F Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#12 DispColor="Normal Text"
Style=Italics
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#13 FgColor=White
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#1A
Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#1B FgColor=White Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay
ForAtr=#1F DispColor="Normal Text" Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#38
Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#39 Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#3C
Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#3D Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#4F
Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#58 Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#59
Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#5F Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#68
Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#70 FgColor=White BgColor=Blue UnderLine=1
TextOnTop=on
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#71 DispColor="Normal Text" UnderLine=1
TextOnTop=on
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#78 Style=altFont FgColor=White BgColor=Blue
UnderLine=1 TextOnTop=on
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#79 DispColor="Normal Text"
Style=altFont UnderLine=1 TextOnTop=on
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#7C Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#7D Style=altFont
8. Finally, save and close the modified file.
When you next launch Hebrew WP from your shortcut, Hebrew text will have the same color as Roman text, underlined text will be underlined, and bold text will appear in bold.
Warning: If some Hebrew text appears as nonsense characters, then you may have changed the default settings for screen colors in Shift-F1/Display/Colors-Fonts-Attributes/Screen Colors. If you have, in fact, changed the default settings for screen colors, and if some Hebrew text appears as nonsense characters, then consult this screen capture of default screen colors in WPDOS 5.1, and change your system so that the columns of letters matches the one shown in the picture.
Note: This method (b) absolutely requires that you install Tame! Do not proceed until you have installed Tame and made certain it is working on your system! This method works only under 32-bit Windows!
Hebrew and Arabic WPDOS can normally be used only in full-screen mode under Windows (which means that they normally cannot be used under any recent version of Windows). However, two methods available from this site makes it possible to run Hebrew WPDOS in a desktop Windows on any 32-bit Windows version. The method described in this section is suitable for classical and modern Hebrew (vowels and te'amim are displayed). See a separate section for a simpler method that is suitable for modern Hebrew only (no vowels are displayed)
Note: These methods are impractical for Arabic WPDOS because Arabic uses a much larger alphabet than Hebrew, and the software workarounds that these methods for displaying Hebrew characters will not work with Arabic.
To implement this system, perform the following steps:
1. Download this zWPHebrewOnly.ttf font file (right-click on the link and select Save link or Download link or some similar item).
2. In the Start/Run or Start Menu search box, type "Fonts" (without the quotation marks) and press Enter. This opens the Fonts folder in your Windows system. From the File menu, choose Install New Font, and select and install the font file that you downloaded. If a copy of the font already exists in the Fonts folder, you will be prompted to remove it, which you can do by deleting (or moving) the font from the Fonts folder.
Note: In most systems, you can install the font simply by copying or moving the file into the Fonts folder. If that method fails, then use the Install New Font method.
3. If you do not already have a desktop shortcut that runs Hebrew WP, create one now; make certain that the shortcut has a distinctive name, such as "Classical Hebrew WP".
4. Right-click on this new shortcut, choose Properties, go to the Screen tab and select Window (not Full-screen); click OK.
5. Launch this new shortcut and, when WP opens, start typing some Hebrew text. You will see nonsense characters, highlighted in bold, but don't panic, because we will proceed to fix this problem.
6. Press Alt-Space (or click the System icon in the upper-left corner of the window) to open the Tame menu.
7. On the Tame menu, choose View, then Primary Font; set Lucida Console as the Font; Lucida Console will probably be selected already. Do not change Lucida Console to anything else (and absolutely do not change it to "zWPHebrewOnly" even if you are deeply tempted to do so!). Make sure that Regular is selected as the font style, and choose whatever size your prefer.
8. Click OK. You will still see nonsense instead of Hebrew text, but we will now proceed to fix this problem.
9. Close WordPerfect. Very carefully perform the following steps.
10. In your Documents or My Documents folder, find the folder named Tame 6.0. Inside the Tame 6.0 folder, find another folder named Saved Options.
11. The Saved Options folder will include, possibly among other files, a file named something like "Classical Hebrew WP.PIF.View.tam". (Important reminder: Instead of "Classical Hebrew WP" you will find the name that you gave to your Hebrew WP shortcut! "Classical Hebrew WP" in these instructions is only an example! If you don't understand what an "example" means, stop now and don't even attempt this procedure!) Open this "Classical Hebrew WP.PIF.View.tam" file (or whatever name is correct in your system) in Windows Notepad or some other text editor.
12. Copy the text below from this page, and paste it into the file open in Notepad below all the other lines in the file:
; Tame Console Fonts
/TextStyle Id=Default Face="Lucida
Console" Weight=400
/TextStyle Id=altFont Face=zWPHebrewOnly Weight=400
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#17 NameThisColor="Normal Text"
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=8
Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#0A Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#0B
Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#0C Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#0E
Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#0F Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#12
DispColor="Normal Text" Style=Italics
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#13 FgColor=White
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#1A Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#1B FgColor=White
Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#1F DispColor="Normal Text" Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#38 Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#39 Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#3C Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#3D Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#4F Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#58 Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#59 Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#5F Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#68 Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#70 FgColor=White
BgColor=Blue UnderLine=1 TextOnTop=on
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#71 DispColor="Normal
Text" UnderLine=1 TextOnTop=on
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#78 Style=altFont FgColor=White
BgColor=Blue UnderLine=1 TextOnTop=on
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#79 DispColor="Normal
Text" Style=altFont UnderLine=1 TextOnTop=on
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#7C Style=altFont
/AtrDisplay ForAtr=#7D Style=altFont
13. Finally, save and close the modified file.
When you next launch Hebrew WP from your "Classical Hebrew WP" shortcut, Hebrew text should appear as Hebrew, not as nonsense; Hebrew text will have the same color as Roman text; underlined text will be underlined; and bold text will appear in bold.
Warning: If some Hebrew text appears as nonsense characters, then you may have changed the default settings for screen colors in Shift-F1/Display/Colors-Fonts-Attributes/Screen Colors. If you have, in fact, changed the default settings for screen colors, and if some Hebrew text appears as nonsense characters, then consult this screen capture of default screen colors in WPDOS 5.1, and change your system so that the columns of letters matches the one shown in the picture.
TrueType for WordPerfect was a program that made it possible to use TrueType fonts with WPDOS 5.1; a full copy may be downloaded from the section about TrueType for WordPerfect elsewhere on this site. (TrueType for WP is already installed in the DOSBox-based methods available elsewhere on this page for running Arabic or Hebrew WPDOS under 64-bit Windows.)
Hebrew and Arabic versions of TrueType for WordPerfect were designed for use with the WPDOS 5.1 Arabic Language Module dated 27 April 1993 and the Hebrew Language Module dated 19 May 1993. The TrueType fonts and programs seem to have been distributed with the separate packages of those two language modules, but were omitted from the CD issue of the WP Language Modules; they may be downloaded in this 750 KB self-extracting TTHebrew.exe archive and this 710 KB self-extracting TTArabic.exe archive. (The Arabic version may also be used for Farsi and Urdu.) After downloading one or the other, copy the downloaded program into a temporary directory; run it to extract the files, and then run the Install program that will be extracted from the archive. To use these programs, you must run TTWP.EXE, not WP.EXE, when launching WordPerfect (some explanations are included with the archives). These versions are useful only with the Hebrew and Arabic modules for WPDOS 5.1.
Note: Seven additional soft fonts were included the revised version of this package, posted on 14 February 2008. The package now includes thirteen Hebrew PostScript soft fonts and a printer driver that supports them.
The original WPDOS Hebrew Module included a driver and soft fonts for use with PostScript printers. This self-extracting WP51HEPS.EXE (793 KB; revised 23 January 2009 for better font management, and adding a PDF-writing macro) archive contains updated versions of the WP Hebrew PostScript driver and the original six PostScript soft fonts, plus six additional soft fonts (converted from the original TrueType for WP Hebrew module), and a newly-created WP-compatible version of the Ezra SIL Hebrew soft font. After downloading the archive, copy it to a temporary directory, run it to extract the files, and copy the .ALL file to your Hebrew WP printer file directory and the thirteen .PFB files to your WPDOS Hebrew PostScript soft font directory (which may be the same as your printer file directory). Depending on the printer you use, in WPDOS, choose either "PostScript (Hebrew) wpdos.org" or (if you use an HP LaserJet with PostScript support) "PostScript HP (Hebrew) wpdos.org".
The archive also contains PDFBZHEB.WPM, a macro used for this site's method for creating Hebrew PDF files (described immediately below); copy this macro file to your WPDOS Macro directory, which is typically the same as your main WordPerfect directory. Use Alt-F1/Location of Files to find the actual location of this directory.
The revised soft fonts included in this archive can be used either for printing or to create PDF files. Unlike the original versions of the PostScript fonts, the revised fonts make it possible to create Hebrew PDF files that can be searched for content, or which can be used for copying Hebrew text into other applications. The fonts contain support for the euro symbol (WP character 4,72) and the New Sheqel symbol (which in these fonts replaces the "currency" symbol as WP character 4,24).
Technical note: The revised soft fonts use unicode encoding, unlike the arbitrary non-standard encoding used in the PostScript fonts originally provided with Hebrew WP. Unicode encoding makes it possible for PDF files created with these fonts to be searched for Hebrew text and copied into other applications.
How to create Hebrew PDF files from WordPerfect for DOS (Windows XP only):
The following instructions are abridged from the instructions on a separate page about PDF creation. You should already have downloaded the WP51HEPS.EXE file described above and copied its files into the appropriate directories.
(1) Download and install the BullZip PDF Printer (click this link to download the installer; if the downloaded file is a ZIP archive, you will need to extract the installer from it and then run the installer program). If the installer presents an option to "Download and Install Ghostscript Lite," you must accept that option! (This option will only be displayed if no recent version of Ghostscript is already present on your system.)
(2) Test the BullZip PDF Printer by creating a PDF file from a Windows application. For example, use your browser's print menu to "print" to the BullZip PDF Printer, and make sure that a PDF file is created correctly. If no PDF file is created, then carefully repeat the preceding steps until you are certain that everything works.
(3) Use Start/Control Panel/Printers and Faxes (or Start/Settings/Printers and Faxes, or Start/Settings/Printers) and right-click on the BullZip PDF Printer. Select Sharing from the pop-up menu. Select "Share this printer," and accept the sharename suggested in the dialog box (probably "BullZipP", but the exact name does not matter). Click OK and exit the Sharing tab and the list of printers (if it is still visible).
(4) In WPDOS, create or open a document; specify the printer driver as "PostScript (Hebrew) wpdos.org" or (if you use an HP LaserJet with PostScript support) "Postscript HP (Hebrew) wpdos.org." Press Alt-F10 and enter PDFBZHEB to run the macro that creates a PDF file with the Bullzip PDF Printer.
For further information on WPDOS and PDF, see the page on PDF creation methods elsewhere on this site.
Note: If you create a PDF using this driver and system, the text can be copied from Adobe Reader (or a similar PDF reading application) and copied into another application. For the Hebrew text to appear in the correct right-to-left order in the application that receives the text, the following conditions are required. First, in the operating system itself, Hebrew language and input support must have been enabled; in other words, you should be able to type right-to-left Hebrew text in your applications. Next, in the application that receives the data, you must use Edit/Paste Special/Unformatted Text (or Text Only, or Unformatted Unicode Text) instead of the standard Paste function.
The original WPDOS Arabic Module included a driver and soft fonts for use with PostScript printers. This WP51ARPS.ZIP archive file (265 KB) contains the original WP Arabic PostScript soft fonts, printer drivers suitable for printing to PostScript printers or for creating PDF files, and a macro for creating Arabic PDF files from the WPDOS Arabic version or Arabic module. After downloading the archive, open it in Windows Explorer or with a ZIP-management utility; copy the .ALL file to your Arabic WP printer file directory and the five .PFB files to your WPDOS Arabic PostScript soft font directory (which may be the same as your printer file directory or the same as your WPDOS directory). (You may already have the five soft fonts, but you should use the files from the ZIP archive to be certain that you have the latest versions.) Depending on the printer you use, in WPDOS, choose either "PostScript (Arabic) wpdos.org" or (if you use an HP LaserJet with PostScript support) "PostScript HP (Arabic) wpdos.org".
The archive also contains PDFBZARA.WPM, a macro used for this site's method for creating Arabic PDF files (described immediately below); copy this macro file to your WPDOS Macro directory, which is typically the same as your main WordPerfect directory. Use Alt-F1/Location of Files to find the actual location of this directory.
How to create Arabic PDF files from WordPerfect for DOS (Windows XP only):
Warning: PDF files created by this macro will display and print Arabic text correctly, but Arabic text cannot be searched in the PDF file because of the way WordPerfect's original Arabic PostScript fonts were created. Also, if you copy Arabic text from a PDF file created by this macro, and paste it into another application, you will see nonsense characters, not Arabic text. I can fix this problem, but it would require a large amount of time and effort, and I am not certain that anyone would actually benefit.
The following instructions are abridged from the instructions on a separate page about PDF creation. You should already have downloaded the WP51ARPS.ZIP file described above and copied its files into the appropriate directories.
(1) Download and install the BullZip PDF Printer (click this link to download the installer; if the downloaded file is a ZIP archive, you will need to extract the installer from it and then run the installer program). If the installer presents an option to "Download and Install Ghostscript Lite," you must accept that option! (This option will only be displayed if no recent version of Ghostscript is already present on your system.)
(2) Test the BullZip PDF Printer by creating a PDF file from a Windows application. For example, use your browser's print menu to "print" to the BullZip PDF Printer, and make sure that a PDF file is created correctly. If no PDF file is created, then carefully repeat the preceding steps until you are certain that everything works.
(3) Use Start/Control Panel/Printers and Faxes (or Start/Settings/Printers and Faxes, or Start/Settings/Printers) and right-click on the BullZip PDF Printer. Select Sharing from the pop-up menu. Select "Share this printer," and accept the sharename suggested in the dialog box (probably "BullZipP", but the exact name does not matter). Click OK and exit the Sharing tab and the list of printers (if it is still visible).
(4) In WPDOS, create or open a document; specify the printer driver as "PostScript (Arabic) wpdos.org" or (if you use an HP LaserJet with PostScript support) "Postscript HP (Arabic) wpdos.org." Press Alt-F10 and enter PDFBZARA to run the macro that creates a PDF file with the Bullzip PDF Printer.
For further information on WPDOS and PDF, see the page on PDF creation methods elsewhere on this site.
Higher-priced HP LaserJet printers issued in recent years include built-in scalable Arabic and Hebrew fonts. This site provides experimental drivers for such printers; the self-extracting files that contain the drivers also contain the original WP LaserJet scalable soft fonts for those languages, which are also supported in the drivers. After downloading and extracting the files, move the .ALL file into your WP printer file directory and the .SFS soft fonts into the directory in which you store printer fonts (use Shift-F7, Select Printer, Edit, and Path for Downloadable Fonts to specify a directory if you do not wish to use your WP51 directory.)
The driver with support for Arabic fonts may be downloaded in this self-extracting WP51ARAB.EXE archive file (updated 25 October 2007 to correct serious errors in all previous versions). It contains a driver for the LaserJet 1320, 2420, P3005, 4240, 4250, and 4350 and other printers that include Arabic support. It contains entirely new support for the proportional-spaced Ryadh font included in the LaserJet 2420 and above. Please send feedback if you use this driver, and please let me know of any errors that you may find in it.
The driver with support for Hebrew fonts may be downloaded in this self-extracting WP51HEBR.EXE archive file (updated 9 October 2007 to correct further errors in previous versions). It contains three separate drivers: HP LaserJet Hebrew LJ1320+ (PCL) for the HP LaserJet 1320 series (and possibly for the 1160), HP LaserJet Hebrew LJ2200+ (PCL), for LaserJets in the 2400 and P3005 series, and HP LaserJet Hebrew LJ4250+ (PCL) for LaserJets in the 4240, 4250, 4350 and later series. Please send feedback if you use this driver, and please let me know of any errors that you may find in it.
With Wp2Rtf: Files created in the Arabic and Hebrew versions of WPDOS 5.1 are unreadable by almost all other applications. The only program I know of that converts such files into a format usable by Microsoft Word is Wp2Rtf, by LionScribe. This US$49 program converts WP 5.1 files into RTF (Rich Text Format) files that can be opened in Word or almost any other word-processing software. It is highly effective and accurate for all WP files, not only those created in the Arabic and Hebrew versions. Read the help file for advanced options. A free demonstration version (limited to the first 250 characters of the file you wish to convert) is available for download from the author's web site.
Note: Unfortunately, the method described above for creating Hebrew PDF files from WPDOS cannot easily be used for transferring text from WPDOS to a word processor. The resulting PDF files can be searched, but if you copy text in Adobe Reader or Acrobat, and then paste the text into a word-processor, punctuation and roman text may appear in the wrong position on the line. This is the result of problems (with Unicode) that probably cannot be solved in an application as old as WordPerfect.
With WordPerfect for Windows and Microsoft Word or LibreOffice: Victor Warner reports that the following procedure will successfully convert Hebrew WordPerfect files into files that can be edited in recent versions of Microsoft Word or LibreOffice. I have not tested this procedure, and I do not know whether it works in versions of WordPerfect for Windows earlier than WordPerfect X4 or in versions of Microsoft Word earlier than Word 2007.
Before beginning, make certain that in the Windows Control Panel, under Regional and Language Settings (or equivalent), on the Language tab, the files for complex script and right-to-left languages (including Thai) are installed (a reboot is required after installing these files) and that a Hebrew keyboard has been added to the list of keyboards. Note that if a vowel has been applied to a letter in WPDOS, the resulting Word or OpenOffice.org file will show a "ghosting" effect to the right of the character; this problem does not occur with Wp2Rtf (described above).
Smith's Simplified System, by Alan Smith, uses two custom keyboard definitions for greatly improved typing of Hebrew with vowel points and te'amim in Hebrew WPDOS. The keyboard definitions and an explanation (in WP5.1 format) may be found in this self-extracting archive file. Download the file, copy it to a temporary directory, and run the program to extract the files. Copy the two keyboard files to your WP51 macros directory (use Ctrl-F1, Location of Files, if you do not know where it is). Open the file SSS-USER.WP in WordPerfect and print it as a reference guide.
Two font-replacement macros (by an unknown author, slightly modified by Alan Smith) can find and replace fonts in right-to-left or left-to-right text. FONTREP.WPM finds and replaces fonts of any point size; FTSZREP.WPM finds and replaces specific point sizes. Download the macros in this self-extracting archive file; extract the files; and store them in your WPDOS 5.1 macro directory.
Note: Other font-finding macros for WPDOS 5.1 may be found elsewhere on this site.
Alan Smith has provided a macro that makes it easy to change an overstruck character. Download this chovstrk.zip archive and extract CHOVSTRK.WPM to your macro folder. Place the cursor after the overstruck character and run the macro.