Arabic in Frame

[Dov Isaacs]

Simply stated, FrameMaker does not support Arabic or
any other "right-to-left" language including Hebrew
and Farsi. Although one can coerce Windows and 
FrameMaker to access Hebrew characters of Unicode fonts
via various hacks, FrameMaker simply does not support
the entry of text from right to left or mixing of 
right to left with left to right. Support for these
languages also requires support for extended ligatures,
contextual alternates, etc. which is not available in
FrameMaker.

	- Dov
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alison Carrico
> Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 9:54 AM
> To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
> Subject: Arabic in Frame
> 
> I'm new to the list, so please excuse and correct any 
> etiquette blunders...
> 
> I have been trying for days to figure out how to get Arabic 
> to work in Frame.  We have a client who "has been told" that 
> it is possible, but can't give any specific info.  I have 
> found references on-line and on this list indicating that it 
> is possible, but again, not enough info for me to duplicate.
> 
> I have tried changing the regional settings on my English OS. 
> I have tried using Frame on our Arabic OS. I have tried every 
> way I can think of to import text, every possible way to 
> paste text, various fonts, etc.
> The only method that results in Arabic text rather than junk 
> characters is RTF, but the punctuation is not oriented 
> correctly and some of the letters get bizarrely stretched out.  
> 
> The only way I have succeeded in getting Arabic text to 
> display properly in Frame is through embedded Word OLE 
> objects or Illustrator graphics.
> But neither method is very good as the text does not flow or 
> run-around the graphics.
> 
> I'm way frustrated and feeling very Seuss-ian: "I cannot do 
> it in a boat. I cannot do it with a goat. I do not mean to 
> whinge and whine, but why can't we use InDesign?!?"
> 
> Can any kind soul offer guidance?
>