Arabic

[Al-Nadir]

So naturally the first thing I do when I install Office '08 is check whether I can type Arabic properly.

My old comp (a PC) had a really old version of Word which messed up the display.

On finding the letters don't connect, I come here, to find that there is no multilingual support at all for Arabic, Farsi, or Jawi.

I understand not being able to type diacritics in Firefox. It's free, and I use Opera, also free when I want to include the vowels.

But after paying 150 dollars for Word, I'd expect Arabic to work properly. It works on the Windows version, it works on the text editor that came with the computer.

My help /claims/ this is the way to contact Microsoft.
I naturally assumed that the most recent version of Word would be able to type Arabic properly.
So why not?!

 

[CyberTaz]

Unfortunately you are going on the same - arguably logical - assumption as
many... That Word for Windows & Word for Mac are the same identical program.
The fact is, they are *not*, and one of the more significant differences is
that Mac Word doesn't support RTL - never has.

I'm not sure what it is in Help that pointed you here to contact MS - this
is a public support forum/newsgroup. If you want to submit a remark to MS
the most appropriate channel is the Help> Send Feedback option. Your
comments go directly to the MS database where they are tracked. The more
responsible requests submitted the more likely some action will be taken
further down the road. However, RTL support isn't just a matter of "flipping
a switch" so don't expect any progress on the matter before the next major
release - perhaps 2 years or more down the road.

This is a subject that has been discussed widely in this group so you might
want to search for other threads that will give you more insights on the
issue.

 

[John McGhie]

Yeah. You would, wouldn't you!

When you buy Office:Mac you expect to find Microsoft Office in the box.

Sadly, that's not what you are getting.

Unfortunately, there is quite a bit missing: including Arabic.

Use Help>Send Feedback to make sure that your message gets into the database
that is being read by the people who are currently designing the next
version of Office:Mac.

Cheers

But after paying 150 dollars for Word, I'd expect Arabic to work properly.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[zack]

How come powerpoint 2008 support RTL and Arabic but not the rest of the office 2008 suite......

Surely f one support the rest can,, i am puzzled by this.. we have been requesting Arabic & Hebrew since office 2004,,it is really frustrating not to have the support

 

[kurdi]

hav the same problem ...now ill use powerpoin for arabic..

thanks for the tips :eyeroll:

 

[John McGhie]

I didn't think that any part of any application in the Office 2008 suite
supported any language with RTL script.

Are you saying that PowerPoint does support Arabic? This surprises me,
because they are all using the same Apple module -- ATSUI -- to draw their
screen displays.

However, PowerPoint enables "rotated" text, and always has. The other
applications do not.

This is a pure cost issue. To change text direction, you have to recode a
huge proportion of the code in ever application, then TEST almost every
function in every application to ensure it hasn't been broken.

That's very expensive development task. There are simply not enough sales
of Macintosh computers into the RTL countries to justify the investment.
Microsoft is very aware of this, and is watching the sales figures
constantly. As soon as the sales get high enough, they will authorise the
work to start -- it is already designed and planned and waiting to happen.

Tell all your friends to buy Macs and you will hurry the process

Hope this helps

How come powerpoint 2008 support RTL and Arabic but not the rest of the office
2008 suite......

Surely f one support the rest can,, i am puzzled by this.. we have been
requesting Arabic & Hebrew since office 2004,,it is really frustrating not to
have the support

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[kassouf Kashlouh]

Hi, hey guy you can do better than Neooffice 2.2.3 they already have Arabic enabled and plus it's lighter in Mbs as an installed program and you can remove it just by taking it to trash not uninstall as all Microsoft softwares... and all the prog are already installed in one and FREE Suite... Thank you Microsoft. Oh! just if selling becomes more human one day... :asleep:

 

[thg]

I didn't think that any part of any application in the Office 2008 suite
supported any language with RTL script.

Here is another report that Powerpoint 2008 supports Arabic:

http://www.emiratesmac.com/forums/blog/4586-still-no-arabic-office-2008-a.html

This is truly surprising!

 

[The Who Doctor]

All I can say is shame on Microsoft for excluding Arabic from Office 2008. Need to find another processor that has some respect for different cultures. :chagrin: