Arabic text / MS Word 2007

Discussion in 'Language Notes' started by Ibn Amin, Jun 27, 2012.

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  1. Ibn Amin

    Ibn Amin Active Member

    The urdu fonts I can find online and see everywhere (Nastaliq) doesn't look exactly like the urdu we find in urdu books. Anyone got that?
     
  2. Thank you abdurehman for telling us how to insert a letter with a dot underneath -- been looking for that for years and never worked it out! For translating Urdu/Farsi/Arabic it is so useful to know...

    --

    Now, can you do it in a Mac on Pages? (or on the new iPad) -- i.e. adding specialised diacritics in addition to the ones which come preloaded such as an S with a dot beneath (to represent Saad).

    ?
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2012
  3. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    btw in common practice wasl is not marked except in quranic text.
    it may not work if the font being used does not have the glyph.
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2012
  4. sunni92

    sunni92 New Member

    Figured it out...go 'Insert -> Symbol', choose '(normal text)' as the Font, choose 'Combining Diacritical Marks' as the Subset and choose 'Combining Dot Below' (character code 0323).

    So for whichever letter you want to insert the dot, place the cursor after the letter and follow the above instructions (its easier if you make a shortcut for the character).
     
  5. sunni92

    sunni92 New Member

    I believe Shift + n is an alif with a madd, not hamzatul wasl. To insert an alif with hamzatul wasl, you need to go 'Insert -> Symbol' and choose character code 0672.
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2012
  6. sunni92

    sunni92 New Member

    To clarify, what I meant was how can I change the current default arabic settings to a custom one...e.g. in the default settings the letter Q represents dād*, W represents sād, E represents tha', R represents qaf, etc. I don't see the logic in setting it like this and I'm finding it difficult to type in arabic as I need to keep figuring out which button represents which arabic letter.

    Unless I'm missing something, I don't find the default settings intuitive at all. Rather than have the letter F represent ba', I would have it set to the letter B!

    *How do I type a letter in MS Word with a dot below the letter? for the letter d in dād, for the letter s in sād, etc.
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2012
  7. sunni92

    sunni92 New Member

    Thank you this is what I was looking for.

    _PDMS Saleem QuranFont also appears to be a popular one - see:
    http://quran.mursil.com/Web-Print-Publishing-Quran-Text-Graphics-Fonts-and-Downloads/fonts-optimized-for-quran
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2012
  8. sunni92

    sunni92 New Member

    You need to install the arabic language and keyboard first, try the following site for instructions:

    http://www.language.iastate.edu/lsrc/docs/arabic.pdf
     
  9. Najibullah

    Najibullah New Member

    Salam!

    Can anyone name the fonts used for honorifics and Islamic phrases? I have a doc which is not displaying them despite installing the AGA Islamic Phrases font.
    Please help.

    JazakAllah.
     
  10. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    nasta'aliq is urdu/farsi script and a beautiful one.

    i don't like computerised nasta'liq and i still prefer calligraphed nastaliq as i have mentioned elsewhere. but still if you like to use it, you can find it here and here.
     
  11. on a related issue how about the best font for Urdu?
     
  12. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    you need to install arabic language and then install the arabic keyboard.
    default language switch is left alt+shift (you can also do that with a mouse on the language bar). the default switch can be modified, but i think the default is most convenient (or i have become used to it in the past 12 years)

    switch to arabic typing and use shift to insert diacritics. when you are typing arabic, Shift+Q gives you fatHah. and so forth. place the cursor immediately after the character you need the diacritic upon and then use Shift+Character for the required diacritic.

    Shift + q : fat'Hah َ

    Shift + a : kasrah ِِ

    Shift + e : Dammah ُ

    Shift + w : tanween manSub ً

    Shift + r : tanween marfu'u ٌ

    Shift + s : tanween majrur ٍ

    Shift +~ : shaddah ّ

    Shift + x : jazm / sukun ْ

    Shift + z : madd ~

    ---
    the hamzahs are thus:

    Shift + h : أ

    Shift + y : إ

    Shift + n : آ

    x : ء

    c : ؤ

    z : ئ

    B : لا

    Shift + g : لأ

    Shift + t : لإ

    Shift + b : لآ


    ------------------------------
    most printed arabic books use linotype fonts (which have to be licensed and cost money). a closely matching font would be Arabic11 BT. (search for arabic11 ttf in google). traditional arabic is also a good consistent font. arial is detestable just like in english. tahoma is interesting and looks neat - particularly on web platforms.
     
  13. sunni92

    sunni92 New Member

    How do I add vowels and other symbols (e.g. fathah, dammah, kasrah, etc.) to the arabic text I type in MS Word 2007?

    What's the best arabic font out there to use? For both Qur'an and non-Qur'an text?

    How do I change the arabic keyboard settings? The default settings are frustrating

    Thanks!
     

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