RTL and Version 15.20 - Getting closer, but more to do

At long last, as of 8 March 2016 and the update numbered 15.20, Microsoft Office 2016 Mac now supports RTL for all its programs. including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The much sought after LTR/RTL buttons are there. For further details, see the two previous posts.

Today, I will discuss what works and what does not in this new Mac RTL implementation.

Coaxing the LTR/RTL out of hiding – bug or feature?

The following happened to someone I know.

You have just downloaded Office 2016 Mac and have updated to version 15.20. ‘But wait,’ you say…’the LTR/RTL buttons aren’t there!!! What happened?’

You dutifully check that you have the right version of Office by opening any application like Word (or Excel, PowerPoint), clicking on its name in the upper left corner, then choosing About Word. Yes, it’s confirmed, you have version 15.20 (or higher), but no LTR/RTL buttons (if it’s 15.19 or earlier, you need to update; see the previous post).

Solution – The problem is that you do not have any Apple RTL languages set either as a Preferred Language in Language & Regions or as an Input Source in Keyboard Preferences. Evidently, Microsoft assumes that if you do not have an RTL language activated, you do not want the LTR/RTL buttons.

You just need to set one language in one of two places.

To add a preference to Language & Regions: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21549?locale=en_US&viewlocale=en_US

For Input Sources: 

https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21564?locale=en_US

‘But wait,’ you say, ‘I do have an RTL Input Source that I created/downloaded!’

Ahhhhh. This is an issue with Office 2016 Mac. It does not recognise as RTL the custom RTL keyboards that you create or download, like Syriac JChill or Hebrew TH from Tyndale House. I described this problem with regard to Syriac keyboards as the Issue #2 in my post from 7 March, 2016, and will reiterate the workaround below. But for purposes of the buttons being deployed on the ribbon, you must have an Apple RTL keyboard activated.

Which are the Apple keyboards? Any keyboard in Other in Input Sources. You can see from the Screenshot that all the custom keyboards are in Other. They are also not available as options in Languages & Regions.

I suspect the problem is that the custom keyboards are not in the same keyboard library and have different extensions from the Apple bundle. I have no idea if this can be changed or whether they will be recognised in a future Office update.

In any case, if you want the LTR/RTL buttons to show, you must have an Apple RTL language set as a Preferred Language or Input Source. You do not have to use them; they just need to be there.

Keyboards

1.    In sum, any Apple RTL keyboard will render RTL correctly, whether it begins on the left or right. This includes beginning a paragraph/sentence with an RTL Hebrew or Arabic Word, Issue #1 in Monday’s post. If you want a LTR paragraph, but begin with an RTL word, the keyboard will automatically position the cursor on the right side. But now, all you have to do is press the LTR button and cursor will move to the other side.

You can also Copy & Paste from programs like Accordance, BibleWorks and Logos correctly as described in Monday’s post.

But now, you can also copy & paste from any website, including STEP (Scholarly Tools for Every Person): http://www.tyndale.cam.a.uk/step

2.   Custom RTL keyboards, like Syriac JChill and Hebrew TH –As just discussed, these keyboards are not recognised as RTL, and thus do not reveal the new LTR/RTL buttons. Another consequence is that they will not allow you to type RTL without first activating an Apple RTL keyboard, like Hebrew QWERTY. Office 2016 Mac thinks they are English LTR, and changing the LTR/RTL buttons has no effect.

Solution – Before you switch to Syriac or Hebrew TH, first insert a Hebrew (or Arabic), space or symbol that you can later remove. Alternatively, you can highlight and remove it right away. This procedure activates the RTL keyboard. Switch to your preferred custom keyboard and away you go. I strongly suggest you create a Macro to do all this. If you use Keyboard Maestro or a similar system level program, you can put all this into a single keystroke.

Fonts

1.    The official support for RTL brings with it another Font option. Now, as in the Windows version, you can have a ‘complex’ font linked automatically with your RTL. Now you can just change the keyboard to your favourite RTL, the font will change at the same time. This is great if you use the same font with every RTL keyboard. You will still need to change manually the font and keyboard for others. Again, a Macro is recommended.

2.   I mentioned in Monday’s post that not all RTL fonts are created equal. They are not endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights… (oops sorry, ‘created equal’ brought the ‘Declaration’ to mind).

Things have not changed much with the 15.20 RTL update. All Unicode fonts work well as long as you use consonants only.

For Hebrew fonts and accents:

Ezra Sil is still the best.

Cardo works well, except for a copy & paste from Accordance. All other programs and the internet work fine.

SBL Hebrew and SBL BibLit still do not align accented and unaccented vowel points.

Times New Roman now does render unaccented vowel points properly, but not accented.

That’s all for now. Mac RTL Users, enjoy the improvements.  Almost there!