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ayumi5FF4
Participant
April 12, 2024
Answered

Arabic italics cannot be displayed using Arial font

  • April 12, 2024
  • 4 replies
  • 1265 views

Helle all,

I am creating an Arabic manual using FrameMaker2020.
I'm using Arial font, but I can't display italics.
I tried to make it italic, but the characters are garbled.
Is it impossible to display Arabic in italics using Arial font in FrameMaker?
I was able to display italics using the Arial font in InDesign, but is this not possible in FrameMaker?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer ayumi5FF4

Thank you all

Based on your advice, we have decided not to use Arabic italics.

Thank you very much for your help.

4 replies

F
Community Expert
FrameMaker-dkCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 17, 2024

... but does arabic use italics? I have done a lot of arabic typesetting but I can't remember to ever have used italics. I wouldn't think it is an authentic part of arabic typesetting. Doesn't mean, though, that it is not done.

Bjørn Smalbro - FrameMaker.dk
A
ayumi5FF4AuthorCorrect answer
Participant
April 17, 2024

Thank you all

Based on your advice, we have decided not to use Arabic italics.

Thank you very much for your help.

Matt-Tech Comm Tools
Community Expert
Matt-Tech Comm ToolsCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 12, 2024

This might or might not shed light on your issue, but sans serif fonts (by definition) do not have an italic version, which are specifically designed characters. They generally have an Oblique version. Bob mentioned an obliqued version, but that sounds like an attempt by FrameMaker to create a slanted/oblique version from the regular font characters.

You'll be happiest with a font that has the actual characters intentionally designed in italic (or any other special version) as that will have better kerning (spacing) and likely have more consistent results than you'll find with "made up" stylized versions of fonts.

-Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant
    Bob_Niland
    Community Expert
    Bob_NilandCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 12, 2024

    Matt: Bob mentioned an obliqued version…

    This seems to be a legacy feature in FM. There is (was?) also a Bolded option, sometime seen in addition to Bold. This might have been a font transform operation available in Postscript commands, adopted by FM.

    In earlier versions it only worked if the Print Setup was for a Ps-like driver. But I see in FM2020 that it remains enabled even when my usual default PCL printer is configured.

      Matt-Tech Comm Tools
      Community Expert
      Matt-Tech Comm ToolsCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 13, 2024

      From a typographic perspective, it's always been unwise to use other than specific defined fonts, installed on your system. Bold(ed), Italic(ized) and others will cause heartache and headache.

      -Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant
        Jeff_Coatsworth
        Community Expert
        Jeff_CoatsworthCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        April 12, 2024

        As that thread states - you need to choose a font that supports italics in Arabic - Arial doesn't appear to do that.

          Bob_Niland
          Community Expert
          Bob_NilandCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          April 12, 2024

          Adobe Arabic font works (although it slants backward for italic, which may not be desired).

          What's a bit odd about the Arial situation is that FM offers Angle[Italic] when the font doesn't populate italic. Several other fonts {mis}behave similarly, which makes me suspect that this is an issue with how FM interprets font file data structures, rather than an issue with the fonts themselves.

          More typically, FM will offer Angle[Obliqued] when a font has no italic. It does this for Noto Naskh & Sans Arabic, for example. Depending on FM version, you may need to have a Postscript or Ps-like printer (e.g. PDF) configured to get Obliqued, and the style may not be preserved into all workflows (e.g. HTML, eBook).

            W
            Community Expert
            Winfried RengCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            April 12, 2024

            Hi,

            I have only a single document with Arabic and Arial, and it does not have any italic text.

            When I applied Italic to some Arabic characters, they changed to questionmarks.

            When I applied Italic to Western characters in this document, then they were icalicized correctly.

            Here is a long thread about Arabic and Italics. It seems that others had your issue before.

            https://community.adobe.com/t5/framemaker-discussions/problem-italic-arabic-text-when-publish-from-framemaker-2019/m-p/11410309

            Can you check, if this is helpful?

            If this is a general bug, then report it in the Adobe Tracker with a reference to this thread:

            https://tracker.adobe.com

            Best regards

            Winfried

              A
              ayumi5FF4Author
              Participant
              April 12, 2024

              Thank you for your advice.

              Actually, I already checked the long thread about Arabic and italics that you attached.

              According to this thread, the topic of italics has changed to color, and I couldn't find a solution, so I posted it.

              Maybe it's a FrameMaker bug.

              As mentioned in this thread, I will also try not to use Arabic italics.

              Anyway, thank you for your reply.

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