I have an account.  How can I type in Hebrew or Yiddish?

I don't see anything that says "click to enter" on the newSLATE web pages.  Where is it?

I am very concerned about the security of using newSLATE. How safe is it?

How can I change that meaningless password I received?

What keyboards are supported for re-mapping for Hebrew/Yiddish text entry?

My keyboard is not on the list of supported keyboards for re-mapping. Will you add my keyboard?

When I type in Hebrew or Yiddish, I sometimes see two carets (blinking vertical bars, black or grey, which show where the next character will be inserted in the text).  Sometimes I only see one.  Why does this happen?

I don't know how to type in Hebrew. How can I learn?

Help! Everything was working perfectly, but now things are messed up. How can I fix it?

Where can I get Hebrew keyboard stickers?

Why can't I copy and paste between newSLATE and other files on my computer?

Why can't I print anything from newSLATE?

On my keyboard, some keys are dead keys (e.g. circumflex, diaresis, accent mark).  When I type those keys using a keyboard mapping (e.g. Hebrew), nothing happens.  What's wrong?

I have Mac OS X, I installed Java 1.4.1 and I'm using the Java Web Start version of newSLATE.  Why does newSLATE still run in Java 1.3.1?

I want all of my children to use newSLATE, but our whole family only uses one e-mail address.  What do we do?

I have an account.  How can I type in Hebrew or Yiddish? To enter materials in Hebrew or Yiddish (where your system is not a native Hebrew system), select [work on my files], and then select [make a new file].  Once the editing screen appears: From the "Virtual keyboard" drop-down menu, select "Hebrew Israeli," "Hebrew Nikud," or "Yiddish."  Use the "My keyoard" drop-down menu to select the keyboard which matches your physical keyboard.  Then, click to place a check mark in the checkbox for "map my keyboard," or press the F2 function key. If no keyboard matches yours, select "<unspecified>."  You may now type on your keyboard, or click on the virtual keyboard, to enter Hebrew or Yiddish text.  To switch back to your own keyboard, that is, to turn off keyboard mapping, click to remove the check mark in the checkbox for "map my keyboard," or press the F2 function key.  The keyboard shortcut F2 lets you quickly switch between your own keyboard and the virtual keyboard. If you are learning Hebrew, and/or the Hebrew keyboard, you may find it easier to use the "Hebrew Nikud" keyboard instead of "Hebrew Israeli" keyboard.  The basic letter layout is identical.  The primary differences are that the "Hebrew Nikud" keyboard mapping: (1) produces the letter plus dagesh by using the shift key, so shift-vet produces bet, shift-fe produces pe, and so forth, (2) has the shin and sin (with dots) as separate characters on the keys in the row just above the shin (no dot), and (3) nikud (vowels) are typed from the regular unshifted keyboard. For additional information on using a Hebrew/Yiddish text editor, read this.

I don't see anything that says "click to enter" on the newSLATE web pages.  Where is it? The "click to enter" graphic is displayed at the top left of any of the regular newSLATE web pages.  If it is not showing there, then you do not have Java working properly on your system.  For more information: if you are using a PC, click here; if you are using a Mac, click here.

I am very concerned about the security of using newSLATE.  How safe is it? The newSLATE code that runs on your local computer is written entirely in the Java programming language, which was designed with security mind.  And although "Java" and "javascript" (a browser technology) have very similar names, the two technologies are completely unrelated.  The Java applet version of newSLATE, which loads when you click on the "click to enter" graphic at http://www.newslate.com/, runs in what is known as the "Java sandbox."  This means that there is no interaction of any kind between the newSLATE Java applet and any of the resources (e.g. hard drive, printer, other applications) on your local machine.  The Java Web Start version of newSLATE is full-featured desktop application which can interact with other applications and your local machine resources.  Because allowing these interactions involves a level of trust, you must explicitly grant permission for the Java Web Start version of newSLATE to run on your machine the first time you try to use it.  The basis for your trust is that the Java Web Start version of newSLATE is a signed application.  This means that an independent security company has verified our identity and the Java security manager has verified that the newSLATE code that is on your machine is exactly the code that we signed using a certificate granted to us by the security company.  This certificate of authenticity is renewed by us on a regular schedule to protect the Java Web Start newSLATE code.

How can I change that meaningless password I received? The password you received via email was computer generated.  You can easily change it.  After you log into your newSLATE account using the computer generated password, select [edit profile] and follow the steps to change your password.

What keyboards are supported for re-mapping for Hebrew/Yiddish text entry? Your keyboard may have a different physical layout, such as a different number of keys in a row.  Match up the keys by the letters (or symbols) on them.  English (US)  English (UK)  Hebrew Israeli  French  French (Mac)  German  German (Mac)  Spanish  Spanish ISO (Mac)

My keyboard is not on the list of supported keyboards for re-mapping. Will you add my keyboard? Generally, yes, if you describe your keyboard to us.  For example, if you can tell us which of the supported keyboards it most closely resembles, and then tell us which keys are different, that would be very helpful.  Or, you can look at the keyboards at http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/reference/keyboards.mspx and tell us which one matches yours.  (Mac users may not be able to use this page.)

When I type in Hebrew or Yiddish, I sometimes see two carets (blinking vertical bars, black or grey, which show where the next character will be inserted in the text).  Sometimes I only see one.  Why does this happen? You see two carets, one dark and one light, whenever your position in the text is at a boundary between left-to-right and right-to-left text.  The dark caret is the primary caret, and it shows where a letter with the same directionality as the current paragraph will be inserted.  The light caret is the secondary caret, and it shows where a letter with the opposite directionality to the current paragraph will be inserted.

I don't know how to type in Hebrew. How can I learn? We provide an online Hebrew Keyboard Tutor to help you learn.

Help! Everything was working perfectly, but now things are messed up. How can I fix it? This may happen if you have been using the Internet quite a bit, and have not rebooted your system recently.  First, if you are using a browser, clear the cache:  MSIE -- From Tools | Internet Options, go to the General tab, and delete temporary Internet files. Netscape -- From Edit | Preferences | Advanced, click on cache, and clear memory and disk cache. Now, shut down (power off) your machine, and then restart it.  Access the Internet as usual, and try newSLATE again.

Where can I get Hebrew keyboard stickers? Here are some links we found for purchasing Hebrew keyboard stickers.  We do not have a business relationship with any of these companies; they are listed in alphabetical order, not in order of recommendation or preference. Davka Corporation http://davka.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?product=17 Fingertip Software http://www.cyrillic.com/kbd/labels.html Torah Educational Software (TES, Inc.) http://www.jewishsoftware.com/products/184.asp

Why can't I copy and paste between newSLATE and other files on my computer? This is because you are using the Java applet version of newSLATE or because you have a free subscription.  The Java Web Start version of newSLATE provides this capability for paying subscriptions.  Additionally, you must be using Java version of 1.4.1 or later to copy and paste Hebrew and other complex scripts.  Within newSLATE, you must use the keyboard shortcuts CTRL-C for copy and CTRL-V for paste.  In the Java applet version, or if you have a free subscription, you can copy and paste between newSLATE files in your account, but not to other applications on your system.

Why can't I print anything from newSLATE? Printing is only available for paid subscriptions, and only when using the Java Web Start version of newSLATE.  Printing is not available for the Java applet version of newSLATE; this is a result of the Java security features for applets.

On my keyboard, some keys are dead keys (e.g. circumflex, diaresis, accent mark).  When I type those keys with a keyboard mapping (e.g. Hebrew) enabled, nothing happens.  What's wrong? On most platforms (Mac and Win), if you press the dead key and then the space bar, the appropriate (mapped) letter will appear.  (This does not generally work on Linux.)  In all cases, if you click on the virtual keyboard, you will get the appropriate letter.  We are trying to determine if there is a reliable way to work around this problem.

I have Mac OS X 10.2, I installed Java 1.4.1 and I'm using the Java Web Start version of newSLATE.  Why does newSLATE still run in Java 1.3.1? A bug in Apple's implementation of Java Web Start causes all Java Web Start desktop applications to start up in Java 1.3.1.  We strongly recommend that you use Software Update to install the newer Java 1.4.1 Update 1 to resolve this problem.  Otherwise, to start a Java Web Start application in Java 1.4.1, you must use the Java Web Start Manager, which can be found in:    Macintosh HD:Applications:Utilities:Java:Java Web Start Open Java Web Start and double-click on the newSLATE icon there.  newSLATE will then run in Java 1.4.1.

I want all of my children to use newSLATE, but our whole family only uses one e-mail address.  What do we do? We do not require unique e-mail addresses.  Usernames must be unique, but one e-mail address can be used for multiple accounts.  For a family, we expect that children under 13 will provide a parent's e-mail address, so a parent can always be informed about the account. When we send out e-mail (not very often), we send only ONE e-mail per address.  So if your family has five accounts with the same e-mail address, we will only send one notice to that address.