This was apparently a challenge because the documentation is pretty scant.
I am now using Ubuntu 7.04 (so fresh) but regardless, could not find for the life of me how to edit a Word document in Hebrew using an OS that is all about being international (edit was supposed to be done in OpenOffice).
There are two steps – the first is the most logical and important, the second silly but crucial. So here goes:
1. Set up Hebrew in Ubuntu
From the System menu, select Administration and then Language Support. There, add your language(s) of choice. Once you click OK, Ubuntu will download the additional fonts and whatever it needs to support the use of the additional language.
2. Add the *Keyboard Indicator* to the panel
Unlike Windows, which adds the language switching to the taskbar, Ubuntu leaves that for you to do. Not that I knew about it until I found a reference to a ‘Keyboard Indicator’ applet which does the exact same thing. To add it to your Ubuntu panel, right click the panel and select ‘Add to Panel’. From the list that appears, select ‘Keyboard Indicator’, which will now display the languages available for your use.
What is interesting is that Ubuntu offers two keyboard layouts for Hebrew: Lyx – which is the standard Hebrew layout (Mem sofit on separate key) and phonetic (Mem sofit as shift-Mem). Cool stuff when you get it to work…
