Utilize text alignment effectively by considering language direction - left-to-right for English and right-to-left for Arabic

Question

Utilize text alignment effectively by considering language direction - left-to-right for English and right-to-left for Arabic

I am managing a community website and I am looking to customize the text direction based on the language of the posts.

For English posts, I want the direction to be LTR with text-align: left)
For Arabic posts, I want the direction to be RTL with text-align: right.

Platforms like Google+ and Twitter already offer such solutions for posting text in different languages.

I am trying to figure out how to automatically add the direction attribute to each post when it is loaded from the database so that it displays correctly as either rtl or ltr. Any advice on how to accomplish this would be appreciated!

javascript html css internationalization right-to-left

Answer 1

Answer №1

In order to properly display right-to-left (RTL) text, you will need to create a function that identifies RTL characters and applies specific CSS attributes such as direction, text-align, and unicode-bidi.

Demo: _{_{_{http://jsfiddle.net/ThinkingStiff/Hcx6H/}}}

Script

function checkRtl( character ) {
    var RTL = ['ا','ب','پ','ت','س','ج','چ','ح','خ','د','ذ','ر','ز','ژ','س','ش','ص','ض','ط','ظ','ع','غ','ف','ق','ک','گ','ل','م','ن','و','ه','ی'];
    return RTL.indexOf( character ) > -1;
};

var divs = document.getElementsByTagName( 'div' );

for ( var index = 0; index < divs.length; index++ ) {
    if( checkRtl( divs[index].textContent[0] ) ) {
        divs[index].className = 'rtl';
    } else {
        divs[index].className = 'ltr';
    };
};

CSS

.rtl {
    direction: rtl; 
    text-align: right;
    unicode-bidi: bidi-override;
}

.ltr {
    direction: ltr; 
    text-align: left;
    unicode-bidi: bidi-override;
}

HTML

<div>hello</div>
<div>ظ</div>

Answer 2

In order to properly display right-to-left (RTL) text, you will need to create a function that identifies RTL characters and applies specific CSS attributes such as direction, text-align, and unicode-bidi.

Demo: _{_{_{http://jsfiddle.net/ThinkingStiff/Hcx6H/}}}

Script

function checkRtl( character ) {
    var RTL = ['ا','ب','پ','ت','س','ج','چ','ح','خ','د','ذ','ر','ز','ژ','س','ش','ص','ض','ط','ظ','ع','غ','ف','ق','ک','گ','ل','م','ن','و','ه','ی'];
    return RTL.indexOf( character ) > -1;
};

var divs = document.getElementsByTagName( 'div' );

for ( var index = 0; index < divs.length; index++ ) {
    if( checkRtl( divs[index].textContent[0] ) ) {
        divs[index].className = 'rtl';
    } else {
        divs[index].className = 'ltr';
    };
};

CSS

.rtl {
    direction: rtl; 
    text-align: right;
    unicode-bidi: bidi-override;
}

.ltr {
    direction: ltr; 
    text-align: left;
    unicode-bidi: bidi-override;
}

HTML

<div>hello</div>
<div>ظ</div>

Answer 3

Answer №2

If you're looking for a pure CSS method:

div {
    text-align: start;
    unicode-bidi: plaintext;
}

Check out the jsFiddle example here.

Unfortunately, this approach is not compatible with Microsoft Edge browser.

Answer 4

If you're looking for a pure CSS method:

div {
    text-align: start;
    unicode-bidi: plaintext;
}

Check out the jsFiddle example here.

Unfortunately, this approach is not compatible with Microsoft Edge browser.

Answer 5

Answer №3

One simple method is by utilizing the dir='auto' attribute in HTML elements. This way, you can ensure proper text directionality depending on the language. For Arabic or Persian text, set it to RTL (right-to-left), whereas for English text or other automatic direction texts, use LTR (left-to-right).

<p dir='auto'>Hello</p>
<p dir='auto'>سلام</p>

Answer 6

One simple method is by utilizing the dir='auto' attribute in HTML elements. This way, you can ensure proper text directionality depending on the language. For Arabic or Persian text, set it to RTL (right-to-left), whereas for English text or other automatic direction texts, use LTR (left-to-right).

<p dir='auto'>Hello</p>
<p dir='auto'>سلام</p>

Answer 7

Answer №4

To ensure correct text presentation in HTML with PHP, you can use the dir="rtl" attribute.

If you are using a CMS or storing content in a database without one, consider including a variable to store the text direction chosen by the author.

When retrieving the post, make sure to also retrieve the author's selected text direction option.

If unable to determine the text direction programmatically, you can follow the advice of other programmers and check for Arabic or Latin characters during parsing.

For example:

<body dir="<?php se_11787707_get_post_language(); ?>">

Without more details on your publishing process, it is difficult to provide specific instructions. Please clarify how you store and fetch posts.

I have implemented this technique in a website handling RTL Arabic content daily, and it works seamlessly.

See a working example of dir="rtl" here:

jsfiddle.net

Reference: w3.org

Answer 8

To ensure correct text presentation in HTML with PHP, you can use the dir="rtl" attribute.

If you are using a CMS or storing content in a database without one, consider including a variable to store the text direction chosen by the author.

When retrieving the post, make sure to also retrieve the author's selected text direction option.

If unable to determine the text direction programmatically, you can follow the advice of other programmers and check for Arabic or Latin characters during parsing.

For example:

<body dir="<?php se_11787707_get_post_language(); ?>">

Without more details on your publishing process, it is difficult to provide specific instructions. Please clarify how you store and fetch posts.

I have implemented this technique in a website handling RTL Arabic content daily, and it works seamlessly.

See a working example of dir="rtl" here:

jsfiddle.net

Reference: w3.org

Answer 9

Answer №5

The Arabic alphabet consists of the following letters:

var RTL = ['ا','ء','ب','ت','ث','ج','ح','خ','د','ذ','ر','ز','س','ش','ص','ض','ط','ظ','ع','غ','ف','ق','ک','ل','م','ن','و','ه','ی'];

While the Persian (Farsi) alphabet includes these letters:

var RTL = ['ا','ب','پ','ت','ث','ج','چ','ح','خ','د','ذ','ر','ز','ژ','س','ش','ص','ض','ط','ظ','ع','غ','ف','ق','ک','گ','ل','م','ن','و','ه','ی'];

It is important to pay attention to the first and second letter, as sometimes it may start with a bullet point or similar character.

for ( var index = 0; index < divs.length; index++ ) {
    if( checkRtl( divs[index].textContent[0] ) || checkRtl( divs[index].textContent[1] ) ) {
        divs[index].className = 'rtl';
    } else {
        divs[index].className = 'ltr';
    };
};

Answer 10

The Arabic alphabet consists of the following letters:

var RTL = ['ا','ء','ب','ت','ث','ج','ح','خ','د','ذ','ر','ز','س','ش','ص','ض','ط','ظ','ع','غ','ف','ق','ک','ل','م','ن','و','ه','ی'];

While the Persian (Farsi) alphabet includes these letters:

var RTL = ['ا','ب','پ','ت','ث','ج','چ','ح','خ','د','ذ','ر','ز','ژ','س','ش','ص','ض','ط','ظ','ع','غ','ف','ق','ک','گ','ل','م','ن','و','ه','ی'];

It is important to pay attention to the first and second letter, as sometimes it may start with a bullet point or similar character.

for ( var index = 0; index < divs.length; index++ ) {
    if( checkRtl( divs[index].textContent[0] ) || checkRtl( divs[index].textContent[1] ) ) {
        divs[index].className = 'rtl';
    } else {
        divs[index].className = 'ltr';
    };
};

Utilize text alignment effectively by considering language direction - left-to-right for English and right-to-left for Arabic

Answer №1

Script

CSS

HTML

Answer №2

Answer №3

Answer №4

Answer №5

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