View Full Version : More arabic/english stuff...text direction?
ASAAKI
03-12-2003, 02:30 PM
well i figured unicode was the way to go here (http://www.codingforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15594). Not supported by every single browser out there but good enough for the majority.
BUT i'm now having text direction probs.:(
Here's the issue.
I have arabic text that SHOULD appear like so:
http://www10.brinkster.com/asaakitesting/ar1.jpg
they're two different words, each in a different color (just to clarify).
now, because Arabic is a right-to-left language, i should probably be adding dir:rtl to my stylesheet.
which I did. i've got a table in which some of the text is arabic and some english, within the same cell. wherever it's arabic it's in a span with dir:rtl.
It doesn't work.
If I change the whole page and add dir:rtl to the entire body's style, then it works. But I can't do that because the entire page goes right to left, including table formatting, english, and everything. so that's why i specified this only in my "ar" span for arabic text:
.ar{
dir:rtl;
lang:"ar-SA";
font-size:20;
}
Why doesn't it work?:confused:
Instead of showing as it ought to, it ends up with the words in the wrong order, like this:
http://www10.brinkster.com/asaakitesting/ar2.jpg
the text is supposed to say "don't beat", but instead it says "beat don't"...
Roy Sinclair
03-12-2003, 03:10 PM
I think you're real close to what you want, the problem with using <span> is that it isn't a block level element and I believe the "dir" applies at the block level. Try using <div> instead of span.
ASAAKI
03-12-2003, 07:26 PM
i tried it. still not working :(.
ASAAKI
03-12-2003, 08:08 PM
it's working!!:D:D
it didn't work with <p> or <table> or <div> or any block level element, the only thing it worked with was <body>. i think that might be because i'm not just using plaing html with "dir", i'm also using Unicode encoding.
so i used <BDO dir="rtl">....</BDO> within a span or div and it worked as i wanted it.:)
but i'm not sure if this is really the most appropriate way to do it?
ASAAKI, you don't have to resort to that! :D
You missed one bit in the spec. You also need a little 'bidi-override' (which corresponds to the HTML element BDO... :p)
Try this:
--------
.multi span { unicode-bidi: bidi-override; direction: rtl }
<p class="multi">
There was <span>a lady</span> of Venice <span>who used</span> hard-boiled eggs <span>to play</span> tennis.</p>
--------
:o
krycek
03-13-2003, 12:33 AM
krycek applauds :thumbsup:
::] krycek [::
ASAAKI
03-19-2003, 01:30 PM
ok i've taken a while to reply here..
i tried the tennis lady thingie:D, it did work, thanx meow:).
just a couple of quick questions.
why shouldn't i use BDO? is it a 'bad' thing to do? deprecated or something?
about bidi-override... is it compatible with earlier browsers?
No, neither BDO nor dir are deprecated to my knowledge.
Don't take my word for this now. I have never actually used this, just played around with it. According to my modest testing neither method work in Opera or Netscape 4. Both methods work in IE (at least 5 up) and Moz. So why not choose CSS? It feels like "the right thing to do" and it would be way more flexible. You can just dump class="baclwards-language" where you want it and type away. :D
Uhm. Don't know about Mac and nix browsers.
brothercake
03-25-2003, 09:14 PM
Originally posted by meow
Don't know about Mac and nix browsers.
I have both - if you whip up a test page I'll be happy to check it out.
Sure, whip-whip (http://w1.181.telia.com/~u18115332/bidi-override.html)! :p
brothercake
03-26-2003, 04:14 PM
Linux - works in Moz but not Konqeuror (3.0.3)
Mac tests coming later (when I get home)
brothercake
03-26-2003, 08:43 PM
Mac - only mozilla worked ... ie5 and safari didn't
Not the standard text either? Or just not the hover thing?
IE5 Win handles the ordinary backwards lines, but not the hover.
ASAAKI
03-26-2003, 11:28 PM
then would be it better to simply use the BDO element?
Not on Windows. The support seems to be the same for both methods. The hover was just for fun. :D
Have to ask brothercake about Mac browsers.
brothercake
03-27-2003, 12:17 AM
Well the behaviors were the same that I tested - either they both worked or neither.
Do you have a <bdo> demo page? I can check that out.
ASAAKI
03-28-2003, 12:14 AM
yea,
http://www10.brinkster.com/asaakitesting/bdotest.htm
brothercake
03-28-2003, 08:01 PM
That one worked in mac/ie5, mac/ie4 and safari
It also worked in every version of Opera (I tried 3.51 - 7 on windows and 5-6 on mac)
It also worked on netscape 3 and 4 ...
then mozilla, on both windows and mac, works in very early builds - moz0.6 / netscape 6.01 fine - but by 6.1 it had stopped working, and doesn't in any later builds.
Dunno .. maybe from that you could build a hybrid element, like
<bdo dir="rtl" class="bdo">
<edit>
Now I check, the CSS bidi-override only works in modern mozilla builds, not in the earlier ones which supported <bdo>, and the <bdo> doesn't work in win/IE6 either, so it looks like there's no overlap - if you use that element with the attached CSS (and it works like that), you should get pretty much universal coverage.
</edit>
ASAAKI
03-29-2003, 06:31 AM
good
except that it does work in ie6/win? it works with me.
anyhow thanks:)
ps. you might be amused to know that my 7-yr old sister's so impressed by your site that she's been wanting to have her own 'sistercake.com' site since last year, 'if only copycats weren't an uncool thing :('.
:D
:confused: Wait, wait... brothercake, did you view source? The text is supposed to get garbled if it works... :p
It sure doesn't work in Netscape 4 on Windows and Opera (Win) doesn't support either method, not even 7.
http://www.opera.com/docs/specs/
brothercake
03-29-2003, 08:57 AM
Originally posted by meow
:confused: Wait, wait... brothercake, did you view source? The text is supposed to get garbled if it works... :p
Oh ... hmm; right. Well I guess just read the opposite of what I said then :rolleyes: Sorry ....
ASAAKI - that's very sweet :D
ASAAKI
03-29-2003, 02:18 PM
It sure doesn't work in Netscape 4 on Windows and Opera (Win) doesn't support either method, not even 7.
Oh ... hmm; right. Well I guess just read the opposite of what I said then Sorry ....
drats! just when i thought i could forget about this problem now.
so, what exactly does all that equate to? :confused: bdo hardly works anywhere, and bidi-override only works on the modern browsers...?
LOL @ brothercake, you had me really confused there.
I was on my way to bed and just had to start all damn browsers and try again. I may have to kill you now. :D
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