Farsi (Persian) typing

[meatface]

I am new to OpenOffice and recently downloaded the latest version (3.1). I require a word processor that enables typing in multiple languages on the same document - in my case for now the languages are English and Persian (Farsi).

So I downloaded OO, and I was very excited to see that OO handles this task with no problem. I opened my first new document and started typing some farsi gibberish just to see if OO properly rendered the text, for example: شنبستییذرنکشیتسرذ. That looks good because all the letters are connected properly. MS Word yielded something like this: ش ب ث ا خ د ش , where as you can see, all the letters are separated instead of connected.

PROBLEM: But sometimes when I open OO and start typing it gives me the "separated" version of Persian instead of the proper "connected" version. WHY?!?!??! Also, a friend of mine just downloaded OO for the same purpose as me and he is getting the bad "separated" version of Persian. WHY?!?!?!!

Please help if you can.
Thanks.

[Robert Tucker]

Since you are experiencing the same problem as someone trying to type Arabic on a Mac:

http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.phtml?p=333246

perhaps it might be a sensible suggestion to try NeoOffice, which has been specifically developed for Mac.

[kabing]

If you do give NeoOffice a try and discover the same issue with it, one of the volunteers at the NeoOffice forums may be able to help, as one of the regulars there has quite a bit of experience using Arabic with NeoOffice, and the issue appears to affect both Farsi and Arabic.

kabing

[exegete77]

My guess is that it is related to Leopard and the poor RTL handling of text (Hebrew is a problem also). Snow Leopard is supposed to correct that.

The best, by far, word processor for multi-lingual support is Mellel. When I combine English, Greek, and Hebrew, Mellel is my choice.

[bmaysam]

I had the similar problem as meatface(first post). I installed NeoOffice, once the installation was completed the OpenOffice start working properly and the farsi letters were connected. I am not sure if this option will persist.

I hope this issue will be resolved in MS-Office,even though OpenOffice is a great product.

Thank you everyone...

[exegete77]

No, MS Office 2011 will not have correct RTL capability.

[FruitLoopMT]

Hi everyone,
I know this is a [wicked] old post. But I ended up here when searching for a solution to my problem: Farsi/Arabic text does not connect properly in OpenOffice Mac version. I wanted to post the solution I found so anyone else can google and find it.

First off, OpenOffice does correctly connect the letters. The problem is the font oddly enough. The default font is Tahoma which does not connect the letters. Arial does not connect them either, and neither does Times New Roman. Many other fonts will connect the letters though. I switched to Apple Chancery because of the slightly extra padding around the words. (Easier to read for a newb like myself.) Verdana is a font that I've seen often enough which also connects the letters.

Simple answer is change your font. But that's not good enough for me. I have to write reports in Farsi for school all the time and it is a hassle to constantly change my font any time I change my language. Go here: OpenOffice.org -> Preferences -> OpenOffice.org Writer -> Basic Fonts CTL. The default is having all of the fonts Tahoma, which does not connect. Change all of the values to a font of your choosing which does connect the Farsi/Arabic letters correctly and voila! Any time you change languages while typing it will now use your newly set default font and it saves me a step from changing it every time I start a new document.

I hope this is good enough for anyone needing help.

خدا حافظ

[lgusaas]

The default is having all of the fonts Tahoma, which does not connect. Change all of the values to a font of your choosing which does connect the Farsi/Arabic letters correctly and voila! Any time you change languages while typing it will now use your newly set default font and it saves me a step from changing it every time I start a new document.
خدا حافظ

On menu bar go to "OpenOffice.org/Preferences/OpenOffice.org Writer/Basic Fonts" and set to font you prefer.

You can also set up a new template and make it your default.

[acey25]

I installed NeoOffice and fortunately the font is working properly, ie they are not separate. But there is one issue. There is actually only one font. No matter if I change the font the appearance doesn't change. Has anyone had this problem?

[Robert Tucker]

Try installing more fonts:

http://www.farsiweb.ir/wiki/Products/PersianFonts
http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_Persian.html

Try selecting the text and then selecting various fonts. Does it change?

[acey25]

How do I include/import the fonts in Neooffice?

[acey25]

Ok, I managed to import the notes in the library, but still when I choose those fonts in Neo Office, all the fonts are identical.

[Robert Tucker]

Maybe the NeoOffice forum can help:

http://trinity.neooffice.org/modules.ph ... file=index

[kabing]

Make sure that the fonts you want to use show up in Apple's Font Book application, and that there are no duplicates or errors.
Also, make sure that the fonts you want to use actually include Farsi characters/glyphs
If they are showing up in Font Book, they should be working in NeoOffice.

My guess is that you are choosing fonts that don't have Farsi characters/glyphs, so NeoOffice is substituting a font that does include Farsi characters for the one you choose. Since the "fall-back font" (the one with Farsi characters) doesn't change, the appearance in your document doesn't change if you switch to a font that does not include Farsi characters.

Also, make sure that you are using Unicode fonts that include Farsi, and not "legacy" Farsi fonts.

kabing

[acey25]

The problem is with Mac 10.6.8 . I just realized that even in iwork the fonts are all identical. I'm gonna take my laptop to apple care and see how it goes. I have already spent several hours to solve this issue.

[jamshidoo]

Thank you "FruitLoopMT" & "Larry I. Gusaa". Your posting resolved the issue for me in seconds!!!

The issue has nothing to do with the application (Ms Office, OpenOffice, etc.), not the OS version, just a font issue!

Peace!