Windows-1255 is a codepage used under Microsoft Windows to write Hebrew. It is a compatible superset of ISO 8859-8 - the letters are in the same positions, but Windows-1255 adds vowel-points and other signs in lower positions.

Codepage layout

Only the upper half (128–255) is shown, the lower half (0–127) being plain ASCII.

Character sets | Windows code pages

Usage

Windows-1255 Hebrew is always in logical order (as opposed to visual). Microsoft Hebrew products (Windows, Office and Internet Explorer) brought logically ordered Hebrew to common use, with the result that Windows-1255 is the Hebrew encoding that can be found most on the Web, having ousted the visually ordered ISO-8859-8, and preferred to the logically ordered ISO-8859-8-I because it provides for vowel-points.

Relation to Unicode

The Unicode block in Hebrew (U+0590–U+05FF) follows Windows-1255 by encoding both letters and vowel-points in the same relative positions as Windows-1255. Unicode goes further in encoding cantillation marks in lower positions. Unicode Hebrew is always in logical order.

See also

• 7-bit Hebrew under ISO 646
• Code page 862
• ISO 8859-8

Windows-1255