Antioch Hebrew Utility Antioch

A system for typing Hebrew with vowel points and cantillation marks in Microsoft Word

Antioch is a keyboard and font utility for Word 2000-2007 which allows fast typing of Hebrew with vowel points and all cantillation marks. It uses the new standard Unicode 5 system for Hebrew.

Two default keyboards are offered: a transliterating one that adapts to the user's QWERTY, AZERTY and QWERTZ layout, and a duplicate of the modern Israeli national keyboard. You can also create your own layout. Vowel points may be added by using the keypad or the top row of the keyboard; here too you can change the layout. The vowel system is uniquely simple to use, allowing post-editing of any vowel simply by typing a different one on top of it. There is a menu which you can use as a training aid to learn the vowel system. For fast typists, a direct layout is also offered which inserts most vowels with a single keystroke.

Cantillation marks are added by a simple popup menu, requiring two keystrokes per mark; experienced users can bypass the menu and simply use the keys.

You can even speed up your typing of common words by allowing Word's AutoCorrect procedure to add the vowels automatically, which is not normally possible in a right-to-left language. A starter list of words is available free from the main Antioch page. It includes macros to add or remove groups of words to or from the AutoCorrect list.

Antioch also offers support for classical Greek, making it an indispensable tool for religious study.

Click here to go to the main Antioch page, where you can download a trial copy.