Right-to-Left Layout Direction
Arbortext Styler provides the option to set a right-to-left layout direction for an element. The element’s content and margins, indents, columns, etc. are drawn in relation to the right of the page. Hebrew and Arabic language documents can therefore be formatted correctly in print.
The right-to-left layout direction option is activated by setting the Layout direction (PTC ALD) property field, located in the Indent category for elements, contexts, conditions, and property sets, to a value of Right to left.
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This formatting is only effective when publishing the document for print or PDF with an Arbortext Styler stylesheet and the PTC ALD print engine. The Layout direction (print/PDF only) option is not available in the Indent category if either FOSI or XSL-FO is set as the active print engine.
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This capability can be applied to a number of different cases. Suggestions are made below:
• Right-to-left text direction active throughout entire single document — enable the setting on the document's top level element and it will be inherited through all children elements in the document
• Right-to-left text direction active in some of a set of different language documents styled from a single stylesheet — create a condition based on a test for the value of the xml:lang attribute for the document's top level element and enable the setting for that condition.
• Right-to-left text direction active in some parts of a single document in multiple languages — enable the setting for the elements, contexts or conditions within the document that should display right-to-left text direction, for example the division elements where language transitions will occur.
Example: Activating Right-to-Left Text Direction for an Element
The example shown below describes how to specify that right-to-left layout direction should apply for the context first para in a chapter in an XML document based on the DocBook document type.
1. In Arbortext Editor, open the file transport.xml located at Arbortext-path/samples/styler.
2. Choose > to open the stylesheet currently associated with the document for edit. This is a read only stylesheet so you will need to save a local copy if you want to make amendments.
3. Configure your
Arbortext Editor with Styler environment to use
PTC ALD as the effective print engine. See
Logic for Print/Preview Engine Selection for a description of the hierarchy of print engine settings.
4. In the Elements list, create the context first para in chapter.
5. In the Indent category for the context, set the Layout direction (print/PDF only) field to Right to left.
This field is only available if your environment is set to use PTC ALD as the effective print engine.
6. Choose the > menu option. In the PTC ALD preview that appears, note that the first paragraph in each chapter is set in relation to the right of the page.
