Setting Arabic and Hebrew text in Layout by Zaweba

Right-to-left text needs a page layout app to do a lot of quiet work. Arabic and Hebrew read from right to left, numbers within them still read left to right, Latin words may appear mid sentence, and Arabic letters change shape depending on their neighbours. Layout by Zaweba handles all of this, so you can typeset a document in these scripts, or mixed with English, properly.

Mixed directions

The Unicode bidirectional algorithm decides the order in which mixed text is shown. A Hebrew sentence with an English product name and a phone number in it shows each part in its own direction, in the right overall order. Brackets are mirrored, so an opening bracket in right-to-left text faces the right way.

Story direction sets the main direction of a story, so paragraphs align and flow correctly for right-to-left reading.

Arabic joining and vowel marks

Arabic letters join to their neighbours and take different forms at the start, middle and end of a word, or standing alone. Layout uses the font's OpenType features for joining, so the letters connect as the type designer intended. Vowel marks, the small marks above and below letters, are placed correctly too.

Kashida justification

Justified text in Latin scripts stretches the spaces between words. Arabic has another option: kashida, which lengthens the connecting strokes between letters. Layout supports kashida justification, which gives justified Arabic text a natural, traditional look rather than gaping word spaces.

Numbers can be shown as Western digits, Arabic-Indic digits, Persian digits or native digits. Which is right depends on the country, the publication and the audience, so having the choice matters for a document that will be read in a particular place.

Tables can run right to left, with the first column on the right. A table of figures in an Arabic report reads in the expected order rather than reversed.

Working well with right-to-left text

Use a font designed for the script. Joining and vowel marks rely on the font's OpenType features, so a font with good Arabic or Hebrew support makes all the difference.

Set story direction rather than aligning text right by hand. Right alignment alone doesn't make text right to left.

Decide on digit shapes for the whole document early, so figures are consistent from the first page to the last.

Check mixed text carefully in proofs. Bidirectional ordering is reliable, but a stray character or a punctuation mark at the boundary between directions is worth a second look.

Pitfalls with right-to-left layouts

Using a Latin only font and wondering why Arabic letters don't join is the most common. Mixing manual right alignment with left-to-right story direction is the next. Tables built left to right and then filled with Arabic text are the third; set the table direction instead.

For publishers, charities, schools and businesses producing material in Arabic or Hebrew, Layout by Zaweba treats right-to-left text as a first class part of typesetting.