What you see when it is missing
Where the label should say חדר רחצה ("bathroom"), it shows ‡ƒ˜ ˜‡–„. On other computers the same label shows as question marks or bars. In some drawings codes such as %%135 are stored in place of the symbols.
Select such a label and type LIST, and you will see the symbols on the Text line. The font's name is in the text style, under the STYLE command.
Why it happens
hebtxt was made before AutoCAD had real Hebrew support. It stored every Hebrew letter as a code from the DOS character table, where aleph sits at 128, and drew those codes as letters. Without the font, Windows shows the symbols it keeps on the same codes. The details are in the guide to symbols instead of Hebrew.
In real client drawings we found 5,487 labels stored this way, and 4,506 of them were in hebtxt. That is more than in any other font we met.
Getting and installing hebtxt.shx
Ask whoever sent the drawing for the file. Several different fonts are named hebtxt: one stores DOS codes and another Windows codes. A file of that name from a pack you downloaded may draw other letters than the drawing needs. The ETRANSMIT command packs a drawing together with its fonts, so you can ask the sender to use it.
Put it in the drawing's folder and open the drawing again. AutoCAD reads fonts from there too. For the font to work in every drawing, copy it into AutoCAD's Fonts folder. The path for each version is in the install guide.
Even with the font, the drawing stays broken
hebtxt brings the Hebrew back to your screen. Inside the drawing the codes are still what is stored, so:
| hebtxt.shx | A repair with Gibberish | |
|---|---|---|
| You need to find the right file | Yes | No |
| Every computer that opens the drawing needs it | Yes | No |
| What the consultant and the client see | Symbols, unless they have the font | Hebrew |
| Searching, copying and editing the labels | Don't work | Work |
| The next drawing | Hunt for a font again | Press the same button |
Gibberish's repair recognizes the DOS codes, whether they show as symbols or are stored as codes, writes Hebrew in their place, and leaves each label exactly where it was. By default the labels move to a thin font that ships with Windows and opens correctly on any computer. An office that prefers the look of hebtxt will be able to keep it, on the condition that everyone who opens the drawing has that font too.
Check your drawing for free: you'll see how many of its labels came out as symbols, which fonts its Hebrew was typed in, and how the labels look repaired. The plugin that repairs the drawing is coming soon, and the waiting list is how we'll let you know.
Quick questions
Where do I download hebtxt.shx?
It goes around in packs of Hebrew fonts for AutoCAD, but the name does not guarantee it is the font the drawing was written in. The safe source is whoever sent the drawing.
I have hebtxt.shx and the drawing still shows symbols.
Your hebtxt is probably not the one the drawing was written in. Also make sure you reopened the drawing after copying the file. If that isn't it, ask the sender for the file.
I typed new Hebrew into a hebtxt label and it came out as question marks.
The font can only draw its own codes. An ordinary Hebrew keyboard sends real Hebrew letters, which the font doesn't have, so a question mark appears in their place.
Can I just swap hebtxt for Arial?
No. Arial will show what is really stored, which is the symbols. The codes have to become Hebrew letters first, as the guide to moving from an shx font to Arial explains.