The 2007 Microsoft Office system provides right-to-left (right-to-left: Refers to keyboard settings, document views, user interface objects, and the direction in which text is displayed. Arabic and Hebrew are right-to-left languages.) functionality and features to support languages that work in a right-to-left or a combined right-to-left, left-to-right environment for entering, editing, and displaying text.
Right-to-left script in this context refers to any writing system that is written from right to left. Included are languages that require contextual shaping, such as Arabic, and languages that do not. To use any right-to-left features in the 2007 Office release programs, or even to correctly display right-to-left scripts, you must first install the Microsoft Windows complex scripts that are required for displaying right-to-left scripts, which you do by using options in Control Panel. You must also install the appropriate 2007 Office release Language Pack, which you install from a CD or download from the Web.
In this article
Requirements for working with text in right-to-left languages
To enable the right-to-left features in the 2007 Office release, you must be running a Microsoft Windows operating system that has right-to-left support — for example, the Arabic version of Windows XP Service Pack 2.
To work in a right-to-left language, you must first enable that language. To learn more about enabling languages in your version of Windows, see Set up Windows XP for multiple languages or Add an input language in Windows Vista.
Note Not all of the programs in the 2007 Office release support every right-to-left function and feature described in this topic. To find out whether a specific program supports a specific function or feature, see the Help for the program that you are using, for example, Enable right-to-left language support for Word.
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Select a user interface language
The user interface language is the language that appears in menus, dialog boxes, and wizards. Several right-to-left features in the 2007 Office release programs use the specified user interface language to determine the screen layout direction (direction: Specifies the reading order, alignment, and/or visual appearance of right-to-left text and documents, regardless of the keyboard language. Direction also describes how the user interface, controls, and other screen objects are oriented.) and the alignment of text within dialog boxes.
If you want not only to type in a right-to-left language, but also to see the menus and online Help in that language, you can set the 2007 Office release user interface to be displayed in that language. For more information, see Enable another language in the interface of Office programs.
When you specify a right-to-left user interface language in the 2007 Microsoft Office system Language Settings dialog box, the layout of menus, dialogs, and wizards are right to left, but the Microsoft Windows settings remain left to right. To learn how to change the display language in Microsoft Windows, see Change the display language.
For example, when Arabic is specified as the user interface language in the 2007 Office release (but not in Windows), you see the following on your screen:
As you can see, although the menus are displayed right to left, the title bar remains in English and the Close, Minimize, and Maximize buttons remain in the upper-right corner, as they do in a left-to-right interface. If the Windows user interface were set up for a right-to-left language, the language in the title bar would also be translated, and the Close, Minimize, and Maximize buttons would be in the upper-left corner.
If you work primarily in a left-to-right language but sometimes need to insert text in a right-to-left language, you can choose to always display the interface in your own language but type in the right-to-left language in most of the 2007 Office release programs when you want to. To arrange this, you must both change the text direction for the editing area and select a language-specific keyboard layout.
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Keyboard languages
To type in any language, you must use a script that is appropriate for that language. After you have installed the appropriate language pack for a specific language and set up the appropriate keyboard layout, you can type in that language. After you install a keyboard layout for another language, the Microsoft Windows operating system uses an indicator on the taskbar (or on the Language bar 
, if it is visible) to display the current keyboard language. For example, the language indicator for Arabic is 
. For more information about the Language bar, see Language bar (overview).
Note The Language bar or the language indicator on the taskbar appears automatically after you enable the keyboard for at least one language in addition to English in the Microsoft Windows Text Services and Input Languages dialog box.
- To display the Language bar when the language indicator on the taskbar is visible, click the language indicator, and then click Show the Language bar.
- To display the language indicator on the taskbar when the Language bar is visible, click the Minimize button
on the Language bar.
- To select the keyboard for another language, click either the name of the current language (on the Language bar) or the language indicator, and then click the name of the language that you want.
For instructions about how to set up and use a language-specific keyboard, see Enable keyboard layouts for different languages.
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Display right-to-left text
Text direction refers to the reading order (reading order: The visual order in which characters, words, and groups of words are displayed. English and most other European languages are displayed in left-to-right order and Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, and Urdu are displayed in right-to-left order.), alignment, and overall layout of screen elements. When right-to-left and left-to-right texts are used together in the same sentence, paragraph, or control, the combined text is known as mixed.
When the 2007 Office release program is set up and enabled to display a right-to-left text environment, the appearance of the cursor varies to indicate a left-to-right run (run: A contiguous piece of text or string of characters sharing the same attributes. All characters in a run have the same directional properties.) 
or 
, or a right-to-left run 
. The cursor can either move according to the direction of the language recognized (logical movement) or move to the next visually adjacent character (visual movement).
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Set right-to-left text writing
Even though your interface is set up to display menus and commands in English or another language that is typically read from left to right, you can quickly switch to entering text in a right-to-left language. You must have the Microsoft Windows complex scripts and the appropriate 2007 Office release Language Pack installed to make these features work correctly, and you must have the keyboard layout for the right-to-left language installed. You must also have the right-to-left language enabled on the Editing Languages tab in the 2007 Microsoft Office system Language Settings dialog box.
After you enable a right-to-left language in the 2007 Microsoft Office system Language Settings dialog box, the Left-to-right 
and Right-to-left 
buttons appear in most of the 2007 Office release programs. You can use these buttons together with other tools to change direction when entering and justifying text.
Microsoft Office Word 2007
The Right-to-left option in the Word Options dialog box orients pages in a right-to-left sequence, which you can view in Reading Layout view. The view applies to the current document, to new documents that are created, and to existing documents that are opened.
- Click the Microsoft Office Button
, and then click Word Options.
Where is the Options button?
For example, the
Word Options button is located in the lower part of the menu that opens after you click the
Microsoft Office Button .
- Click Views.
- Under Show, and Document view, click Right-to-left, and then click OK.
- On the Write tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Right-to-left button .
The cursor moves to the right side of the editing area. If you start to type in a left-to-right language, the cursor stays on the right side of the editing area, and the text that you type moves to the left. If you select a keyboard layout for a right-to-left language, the cursor moves from right to left as you type.
- In the Windows taskbar (or on the Language bar, if it is visible), click the Language icon
, and then click the name of the right-to-left language that you want to use.
Microsoft Office Excel 2007
The Right-to-left option in the Excel Options dialog box orients new worksheets from right to left. The setting does not apply to the worksheet currently displayed. You can have worksheets oriented right to left and left to right in the same workbook.
- Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Excel Options.
Where is the Excel Options button?
The
Excel Options button is located in the lower part of the menu that opens after you click the
Microsoft Office Button .
- Click International.
- Under Right-to-left and Default direction, click Right-to-left, and then click OK.
- Insert a new worksheet, or open a new workbook.
- In the Windows taskbar (or on the Language bar, if it is visible), click the Language icon , and then click the name of the right-to-left language that you want to use.
- If you need to change the direction of the text, click the Right-to-left button on the Data tab in the Font Alignment group.
Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
Office PowerPoint 2007 has no settings for controlling page orientation or default text direction in the PowerPoint Options dialog box, but it does use these settings based on the settings in the 2007 Microsoft Office system Language Settings dialog box. If you set a right-to-left language in the Primary editing language list prior to opening Office PowerPoint 2007, the Office PowerPoint 2007 editing area is oriented for a right-to-left language, and the default text direction is right to left. See Set the display and editing languages for more information about the 2007 Microsoft Office system Language Settings dialog box. You can also change text direction on a slide that is otherwise oriented left to right, and you can change keyboard settings.
- On the Slides tab, in the Paragraph group, click Right-to-left .
- In the Windows taskbar (or on the Language bar, if it is visible), click the Language icon , and then click the name of the right-to-left language that you want to use.
Microsoft Office OneNote 2007 and Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007
The Right-to-left direction on all new pages check box orients text direction on all new pages.
- On the Formatting toolbar, click the Right-to-left button.
Note The cursor may not move to the right side of the editing area until you begin to type.
- In the Windows taskbar (or on the Language bar, if it is visible), click the Language icon , and then click the name of the language that you want to use.
Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007
- On the Tools menu, click Page Options.
- Click the General tab.
- Select the Right-to-left direction on all new pages check box.
- To change text direction at any time, click Right-to-left or Left-to-right .
- In the Windows taskbar (or on the Language bar, if it is visible), click the Language icon , and then click the name of the language that you want to use.
Microsoft Office Publisher 2007
Settings in the Options dialog box apply to new publications. If your publication is set up in the Options dialog box for left-to-right text editing, you can change the direction of text that you add to the publication, but you cannot change the page order of an existing publication.
The Default page order option orients pages of new publications in a right-to-left sequence. The Default text flow option controls text flow only when you start a new publication by using a template that does not have its text direction already set.
- On the Tools menu, click Options.
- Click the Complex Scripts tab.
- Next to Default page order, click Right-to-left.
- Next to Default text flow, click Right-to-left.
- To change text direction in the middle of a section of text, on the Formatting toolbar, click the Right-to-left or Left-to-right button.
- In the Windows taskbar (or on the Language bar, if it is visible), click the Language icon , and then click the name of the language that you want to use.
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Display the 2007 Office release user interface in a right-to-left language
When you set up the 2007 Office release user interface to appear in a right-to-left language, the default text direction changes in some 2007 Office release programs but not in others. You can change the text direction by clicking Right-to-left on the Formatting toolbar. Even after you have set up the user interface to appear in a right-to-left language, you must have the appropriate keyboard layout installed to enter text in that language.
- Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Microsoft Office, point to Microsoft Office Tools, and then click 2007 Microsoft Office system Language Settings.
- Click the Display Language tab.
Note The Display Language tab appears only after you have installed a 2007 Office release Single Language Pack or the Multi-Language Pack.
- In the Display 2007 Office release menus and dialog boxes in list, click the language in which you want to display 2007 Office release programs. To display a right-to-left user interface, you must click one of the languages that are written from right to left (such as Arabic, Urdu, or Persian).
- Click OK.
Note For more complete information about the 2007 Microsoft Office system Language Settings dialog box, see Set the display and editing languages.
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Align text
Text in a cell (cell: A box formed by the intersection of a row and column in a worksheet or a table, in which you enter information.) or field (field: An element of a table that contains a specific item of information, such as a last name. A Title field might contain Mr. or Ms. Databases such as Microsoft SQL Server refer to fields as columns.) can be left-aligned, center-aligned, or right-aligned. In some programs, such as Microsoft Office Access and Microsoft Office Excel, text can also have General alignment.
When text has General alignment, text and numbers are aligned according to the language of the first character entered — for example, text in the cell or field is right-aligned if the first character is in a right-to-left language, and left-aligned if the first character is in a left-to-right language. You can override General alignment and switch to Left, Center, or Right alignment for individual objects.
Many right-to-left or combined right-to-left and left-to-right programs apply context rules that control text alignment and the reading order of text. Boxes, lists, and other elements control the context rules for the text that they contain.
The context rules for the reading order and alignment of text are as follows:
- If the first strong character (strong characters: The character set that makes up a particular language, such as vowels and consonants. Punctuation and special characters are not considered to be strong characters.) is left-to-right, the reading order is also left-to-right, and the text is left-aligned.
- If the first strong character is right-to-left, the reading order is also right-to-left, and the text is right-aligned.
- If only neutral characters (neutral characters: Characters that do not have strong right-to-left or left-to-right language attributes. Numerals are an example of neutral characters.) are typed, both the reading order and the alignment follow the paragraph direction (direction: Specifies the reading order, alignment, and/or visual appearance of right-to-left text and documents, regardless of the keyboard language. Direction also describes how the user interface, controls, and other screen objects are oriented.) (which can be either left-to-right or right-to-left) until the first strong character is typed.
Any time that you change the first strong character from a left-to-right language to a right-to-left language (or vice versa), both the reading order and the alignment change accordingly.
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Select ligatures and diacritics
In word-processing programs — such as Office Word 2007 — you can select, find, and replace individual diacritics (diacritics: Markings that are printed above, below, or next to a character that indicate how to pronounce it.) and individual Arabic characters regardless of whether they are ligated. Each ligature and diacritic is managed as a discrete unit of a right-to-left language word.
The following example shows the process of selecting an Arabic word that has a three-character ligature (as each character is selected).
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Save right-to-left text in HTML format
In Microsoft Office, you can save files in HTML (HTML: The standard markup language used for documents on the World Wide Web. HTML uses tags to indicate how Web browsers should display page elements such as text and graphics and how to respond to user actions.) format for posting on the Web in right-to-left or left-to-right direction. Web pages that have right-to-left direction are marked by using the standard HTML DIR attribute in the HTML file. If the Web browser that you are using recognizes the DIR attribute, the page displays in a right-to-left direction. If your Web browser does not recognize the DIR attribute, the page is displayed in a left-to-right direction.
Tip To view right-to-left Web pages, use a browser that recognizes the DIR attribute, such as at least Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.02 Middle East, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 for Complex Scripts, or at least Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.
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Sort in right-to-left order
Right-to-left sort order is applied wherever possible. This applies to data lists in table view, card view, and icon view, and to group-by lists, contact lists, folder lists, and address lists.
Note Some server-side views might not sort data according to right-to-left sort order, because they follow supported server-side sort orders.
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Code pages
Microsoft Office programs support the following code pages that are available to Arabic, Hebrew, and mixed-text users.
Arabic
- UTF-8, ISO 8859-6, DOS-720, ASMO-708
Dari, Pashto, Persian, Uighur, and Urdu use the same code pages as Arabic.
Hebrew
- UTF-8, ISO 8859-8, DOS-86
Yiddish uses the same code page as Hebrew.
Tip The Character Map, one of the Microsoft Windows Accessories, provides a view of the numerous codes supported by Microsoft Office programs. You can select a character from one of the right-to-left or left-to-right language font pages, copy it to the Clipboard, and then insert the character in your document. For more information about using the Character Map to enter text, see Using special characters (Character Map).
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