How to fix distorted Arabic glyphs and missing connected characters when outlining text in Illustrator?

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Hi everyone,

I'm working on a branding and vector typography project in Adobe Illustrator involving custom Arabic text designs and titles.

When I type complex stylized text or import pre-styled phrases generated from formatting utilities like زخرفة اسماء, some connected letters (ligatures) break apart or distort when I use Type > Create Outlines (Ctrl+Shift+O).

Has anyone faced this issue with Right-To-Left (RTL) complex scripts in the latest Illustrator updates? What is the best workflow to maintain smooth vector paths for decorative Arabic calligraphy without manual node correction?

Would appreciate any advice or best practices from fellow designers!

[hyperlink to zakhrafaatasmaa.com/ removed by mod]

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Bobby Henderson

Community Expert

Have you looked at the converted type in Outline View? I’m wondering if there are overlaps in the connected letters or ligatures. Sometimes odd object fill glitches can occur when converting text objects to outlines. I’ll see it occasionally with text styled with certain variable fonts. By default Illustrator will set text fills with the non-zero winding rule to make any overlaps fill solid. But strange things can happen. The Attributes panel has buttons to change even/odd winding fills to non-zero winding.

It might be worth trying to use the Expand command or Flatten Transparency command on the text objects to see what would happen. Either one of those commands may convert the text object to outlines without messing up the glyphs.

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Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

Firstly, are you using the Middle Eastern (ME) version of Illustrator? You can switch the default installation language in the Creative Cloud app to English Arabic to download the ME version.

Also check that you're using the Middle Eastern & South Asian Composer in the Paragraph panel, as this handles Arabic character shaping and connected letters.

And I wouldn't convert to outlines in Illustrator. I'd save a copy as a PDF with Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities enabled.

Then in Acrobat Pro use the Preflight tool, and in the Preflight panel search for the fixup to convert fonts to outlines.

Once you create outlines in the PDF, check that the Arabic characters and ligatures have been preserved correctly. This should give you an alternative way to create the outlined artwork without relying on Illustrator's Create Outlines command.

If you open the PDF again in Illustrator, the Illustrator editing data should still contain the live text, provided it's been preserved. However, if you make any changes and save again, you'll need to redo the conversion in Acrobat Preflight. I'd recommend keeping the original Illustrator file separately and treating the outlined PDF as the final output.

One other thing worth checking is the font licensing. Some fonts have restrictions on embedding or converting text to outlines, so it's worth checking the font's EULA (End User Licence Agreement) to see exactly what's permitted. If the font doesn't allow the intended use, you should contact the font vendor or foundry to obtain the appropriate licence. Converting text to outlines shouldn't be used as a workaround for font licensing restrictions.

Lastly, you mentioned importing decorative Arabic text from online formatting utilities. Have you tried the same process using ordinary Arabic text with a font that supports Arabic properly? It would be interesting to know whether the problem happens with all Arabic text or only with the imported decorative characters.

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Bobby Henderson

Community Expert

For branding work, it’s generally not a good idea to leave type objects as live editable type. If the client shares art files with other people there is no guarantee those people will have the same fonts installed on their computer.

Most logos, work marks, etc. should consist of raw vector outlines and preferably have no live effects such as live line strokes. Advanced gradients, clipping effects, transparency effects, etc. should be used with a great deal of caution. The brand art files may need to be saved in a variety of different file formats so they can be opened in a variety of different applications. Illustrator is a great graphics application, but not everyone uses it.

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Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

I agree, Bobby, but I wasn't suggesting that the final branding artwork should contain live text. That's not what I said, and I'm a little disappointed that my advice was interpreted that way.

My suggestion was to retain the editable text in the Illustrator file and use Acrobat Preflight to create an outlined PDF for delivery.

When saved with Illustrator Editing Capabilities, the PDF can retain the original live text in its Illustrator editing data, while the PDF content is converted to outlines through Acrobat Preflight. This is actually an established workflow I use when dealing with non-Latin text.

The OP's problem is that the Arabic characters are becoming distorted when converted to outlines directly in Illustrator. I was suggesting an alternative method of producing the outlined artwork while retaining the original editable source.

Obviously, the resulting PDF would need to be checked to ensure the Arabic characters and ligatures have been preserved correctly.

I hope that clears up what I was suggesting.

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