Typesetting Arabic: change direction of text controls missing

Question

Hi there,

I'm using InDesign 2023. I need to typeset a book in Araboc using Noto Naksh Arabic. All the instructions tell me to open the Parapgraph window and click the button to change direction of the text from right-to-left, or alternatively, use the the Edit menu. My InDesign simply do not offer me these options - they are completely missing. Please can you assist me in either getting my InDesign to display this feature or tell where else I can find the function to change the direction of the text?

Thank you!

Willi Adelberger · Accepted Answer

You need to have a RTL version to create such styles (Paragraph, Character, Object, Table, Cell) and a RTL document setup and other ME properties. If a document has these properties and the needed fonts are available you can use these styles in any InDesign setup, even without having installed a ME version.

James Gifford—NitroPress · Answer

You must be using the MEL version of InDesign to be able to manage RTL languages such as Arabic and Hebrew. This is an alternate installation from the general Western/English version, and I believe you can have any two versions (Western, MEL, CJK for Asian languages) etc. installed at any one time.

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