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hatim · Aug 2, 2006, 12:47 PM

There is this one special arabic font that I need which does not work on OS X. The letters come out unjoined. All other fonts I have work fine. The font works fine on windows and Im currently using Parrells for XP + Office 2003 just for that font.

Please help. I will upload the font some place soon. Sorry for the wait.

slugslugslug · Aug 2, 2006, 01:29 PM

Do you have Office for the Mac installed? Apparently, the fonts that Office installs in your ~/Library/Fonts folder ("~" stands for your home folder) screw up the connections in all Arabic fonts in all programs. If you disable the Office-installed fonts and restart whatever apps you're using, the problem should be fixed.

The weird thing is, the fonts Office installs in ~/Library/Fonts are ones that just come with your Mac anyway. I forget which ones they are specifically, but if you usually install new fonts for all users and not just yourself, you can just drag everything out of the aforementioned folder to solve the problem.

Chuckit · Aug 2, 2006, 04:34 PM

Does the font not work anywhere or are you just trying within Microsoft Word?

slugslugslug · Aug 2, 2006, 05:40 PM

And while we're at it, when you say other fonts work fine, are you talking about other Arabic fonts? If not, could you try one of the ones that comes with OS X and see if it works?

Also, if you PM me, I'll give you my e-mail address so you can send me the font and I can see if it works on my Macs.

hatim · Aug 3, 2006, 05:07 PM

thanks for the help. Im only having problems with one specific font in arabic on all word processors. MS word does not display any arabic font correctly but others like Neo Office and Nisus do. However, this font I speak of does not work on either.

slugslugslug · Aug 4, 2006, 07:56 AM

Well, I put the font you sent me on my Mac and it connected okay. Oddly enough, a bunch of other Arabic fonts I've had for a while don't seem to want to connect. I could've sworn they worked when I originally downloaded them, but I almost never actually use Arabic input..

Anyway, since that one particular font seems to work on one Mac but not another, perhaps this is a symptom of that font cache corruption that folks are always talking about? I'm going to try looking up the fix for that to see if it helps with my unconnecting Arabic fonts.

In the meantime, anyone else can please jump in with ideas..

[email protected] · Aug 4, 2006, 08:32 AM

Windows Arabic fonts (which includes the Arial and Times New Roman that come with MS Office for Mac) will not connect in most OS X apps because of the different technologies used for complex scripts. An "AAT" font is required for the Apple text engine. Windows fonts should work OK in the app Mellel, which has its own text engine. My best info is here:

http://homepage.mac.com/thgewecke/TypingArabic.html

slugslugslug · Aug 4, 2006, 11:13 AM

tom: thanks for your input, but it seems clear now that it isn't the specific font that's the problem. Hatim sent me the font file, and it connects on my Mac.

Hatim: do you have any other user accounts on your Mac? If so, have you tried logging in as another user and trying out the taheri font?

[email protected] · Aug 4, 2006, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by slugslugslug

tom: thanks for your input, but it seems clear now that it isn't the specific font that's the problem. Hatim sent me the font file, and it connects on my Mac.

Hatim: do you have any other user accounts on your Mac? If so, have you tried logging in as another user and trying out the taheri font?

Whether it connects can depend on the application you are using. If you are talking about Taheri.ttf (from mumineen.org for example), this behaves on my machine like a normal Windows Arabic font -- it will not connect in TextEdit or similar apps, but will connect in Mellel. Which app are you using where it connects?

hatim · Aug 4, 2006, 02:16 PM

Thanks for all the help. Mellel works but it does not display the special characters of the font. E.G گ =كك

I tried logging into another account and still the same problem. Is there anyway to rebuild the font list?

Thanks again
Hatim

slugslugslug · Aug 4, 2006, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by [email protected]

Whether it connects can depend on the application you are using. If you are talking about Taheri.ttf (from mumineen.org for example), this behaves on my machine like a normal Windows Arabic font -- it will not connect in TextEdit or similar apps, but will connect in Mellel. Which app are you using where it connects?

I got the Taheri.ttf font from hatim, so I don't know for sure whether it's from mumineen.org, but on my Mac, it connects in TextEdit.

Although right after typing the sentence I tried it in Mail, where it doesn't connect, but the built-in fonts do.

[email protected] · Aug 4, 2006, 03:16 PM

Originally Posted by hatim

Thanks for all the help. Mellel works but it does not display the special characters of the font. E.G گ =كك

I tried logging into another account and still the same problem. Is there anyway to rebuild the font list?

Thanks again
Hatim

In Mellel, make sure you check all the options under Character Appearance > OpenType. If Mellel can't do what you want with this font, then I am pretty sure no OS X app can do it (although the Adobe ME stuff might be worth a try), and you will need to use Windows.

I don't think the font taheri.ttf will ever appear in connected form in any Apple app or Nisus Writer Express, if that is what you are looking for. The only fonts that will do that are the fonts provided with OS X and the two AAT fonts produced by SIL. Can they produce the special characters you need? Make sure you check the Advanced preferences (gear wheel) in the OS X font panel, Typography section.

[email protected] · Aug 5, 2006, 06:31 AM

Originally Posted by slugslugslug

I got the Taheri.ttf font from hatim, so I don't know for sure whether it's from mumineen.org, but on my Mac, it connects in TextEdit.

I think TextEdit is probably using a different font when you see this. Sometimes it does not use the font chosen in the panel. If you make sure it is set to rich text, so fonts will not substitute like that, and set the font to Taheri, you should find it does not connect in TextEdit. You can probably also see the difference between Taheri and what TextEdit is using if you make the font size very large.

If you still think Taheri connects in TextEdit, please send me a screenshot. It would be great if some Apple apps could finally use Windows Arabic fonts.

slugslugslug · Aug 5, 2006, 11:17 AM

Well, I can't get it to not connect when I select Taheri, but it does look an awful lot like Geeza Pro bold, though the spacing comes out slightly different. And in fact, if I open a new document, select Taheri, type something in it, and move the cursor, the font panel reads Geeza Pro bold.

Of course, why it should refuse to connect on one Mac and use substitute fonts on others is pretty weird. It's pretty frustrating that with all the advances in typography on both major platforms in the last couple years, there still isn't a cross-platform standard for scripts with this kind of feature...

[email protected] · Aug 5, 2006, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by slugslugslug

Of course, why it should refuse to connect on one Mac and use substitute fonts on others is pretty weird. It's pretty frustrating that with all the advances in typography on both major platforms in the last couple years, there still isn't a cross-platform standard for scripts with this kind of feature...

I believe the behavior of TextEdit has changed a bit from Panther to Tiger. That could explain different results with that app between Mac's, along with whether it was operating in Plain Text or Rich Text mode.

Indeed, the differences between platforms in handling complex scripts is a pain, especially because there are really no tools for people for create new fonts with Apple's technology. I suspect everyone will gradually move toward the OpenType system used by MS/Adobe.