Word features for right-to-left languages

The Normal template contains all document settings, global macros, and AutoText definitions for the installed language— for example, if Arabic is the installed language, new documents open with the direction set to right-to-left and the language set to Arabic.

• If you open and convert a file from another program, saving it within Microsoft Word with right-to-left features enabled will render the file incompatible with its original program.
• If you have a file that uses right-to-left features and you want to save it in Word 6.0/95 format, you should save the file in RTF format.

• You can include right-to-left marks when you save a text file.

Note  You can save files with or without control characters included with the text. However, if you include right-to-left control characters when you save a file, Word preserves right-to-left and left-to-right properties and preserves the order of neutral characters.

Microsoft Word can open documents created in earlier versions of Word; however, in order to display right-to-left text correctly, the applicable right-to-left language must be enabled.

You can do any of the following with right-to-left text:

• Change paragraph direction by using the Left-to-Right and Right-to-Left buttons on the Formatting toolbar. In general, the Formatting toolbar offers language-selection and direction buttons, and special capabilities for both right-to-left and left-to-right text.

• Vary the length of kashidas within the appropriate Arabic text.

• Specify the gutter location in a right-to-left document with two-sided pages.

• Specify separate fonts, font styles, and font sizes for complex scripts and Latin text.

• Specify the type of language (Complex or Latin) to use with a style you are creating or changing.

• Add control characters when cutting and copying text.

• Set gutter at left or right of document (default is right in Arabic and Hebrew versions).

• Scale documents to fit different paper sizes (such as A4 or B5).

You can do any of the following:

• Change the direction of text in a section.

• Change the direction of text in a paragraph and set the paragraph alignment for horizontal and vertical text.

• Change the column direction of text.

• Change the table direction of text.

• Have Microsoft Word display the vertical scroll bar at the left side of the document window and the ruler on the right side of the document window.

• Microsoft Word checks the spelling of right-to-left text the same way it does left-to-right text; you do not need to perform a separate spell checker routine for each language. In addition, you can set options for checking spelling in each right-to-left language.

• Look up words in the Arabic or Hebrew thesaurus.

The default direction of a column is the direction of its section. You can further modify the information in a column to include right-to-left text in either right-to-left or left-to-right paragraph direction.

Newspaper-style columns are the standard columns in newspapers or magazines and are the only type supported by Microsoft Word when right-to-left features are enabled. Text from one column continues into the next. When the last column of a page is filled, the text continues to the first column of the next page. You can specify the width of each column separately.

In right-to-left sections, the column direction is also right to left, with a page's first column on the right side of the page and the last column on the left. For sections with left-to-right text, the direction is reversed.

In Microsoft Word, tables work as follows with right-to-left features:

• The initial table direction is set according to the paragraph direction at the insertion point.
• Rows in tables are either all right-to-left or left-to-right.
• When inserting and deleting columns within a table, columns shift according to the table direction.
• When converting text to a table, the table direction is set according to the paragraph direction of the selected text— for example, when you convert Arabic text to a table, the table direction will be right to left.
• Borders and cell references are mirrored for right-to-left and left-to-right tables with the language and direction mirrored for each— for example, R1C1 (Row 1, Column 1) is at the top right for right-to-left tables and at the top left for left-to-right tables.

Microsoft Word provides several options that are specifically used for finding strings of text that contain right-to-left text. In addition, when finding and replacing text, you can match control characters, diacritics, alef hamza, kashida.

If you are working in a right-to-left document, Click and Type will follow the direction of your text, just as it does when you are working with left-to-right text.

When working with macros in right-to-left text, be aware of the following:

• Macro names can be strings containing both right-to-left and left-to-right characters. When right-to-left features are enabled, Microsoft Word recognizes all keystrokes in either language type.
• You can use macros to record and restore global features— for example, visual or logical movement.
• You can assign shortcut keys to right-to-left characters.
• Macro sheets are for left-to-right documents only.
• When running macros that format text, you need to be aware of the current keyboard language. Many commands will apply to either right-to-left or left-to-right text, depending on the keyboard language that is enabled when the command is run.

• Choose a date format used in a particular language.

• Choose the type of calendar used to calculate dates.

• Specify the format for month names and numerals.

• Add quotation marks to Hebrew numbers.

• Change page numbering and number formats in right-to-left documents.

• Sort a list or table according to the rules of another language.

• When sorting text, set options for right-to-left text. For example, select Ignore alef lam or Ignore he to prevent Microsoft Word from sorting words starting with alef lam or he.

• Have Microsoft Word automatically detect the language of text you type. Individual languages must be enabled for editing.

• Use the Keyboard Language button to change the keyboard language of text. (This button is displayed by default only on the Formatting toolbar in the right-to-left language versions of Microsoft Word; otherwise, you must manually add it to the toolbar.) The letters on this button change to reflect the keyboard language in use.