If Arabic text looks disconnected, appears backward, shows the wrong letter shapes, or does not display correctly in Adobe Illustrator, you are dealing with a text-direction or text-composition issue.
This can happen when Illustrator is not configured to handle right-to-left languages correctly, or when the selected text settings do not support Arabic shaping.
By adjusting Illustrator’s paragraph direction, language settings, text composer, font, and character options, you can often fix the problem in just a few minutes.
Understanding the Arabic Writing System
Arabic uses a right-to-left writing system, and its letters can change shape depending on their position within a word. For example, an Arabic character can have different forms when it appears at the beginning, middle, or end of a word.
Illustrator needs to use the appropriate Arabic text shaping and right-to-left composition settings to handle these rules. If those settings are unavailable or incorrectly configured, Arabic text may appear as individual disconnected characters, display from left to right, or have incorrect spacing.
Another common cause is the font. Not every font contains Arabic glyphs, so Illustrator may substitute characters or display them incorrectly. Before changing complicated settings, check whether the font you’re using actually supports Arabic.
The following steps walk you through the most common fixes, starting with the easiest solution.
Adobe Illustrator Arabic Text Problem [Fix it]
To fix the Adobe Illustrator Arabic text problem, follow these steps:
- Open Adobe Illustrator and create or open your document.
- Select the Arabic text and choose a font that supports Arabic characters.
- Open the Paragraph panel and enable Right-to-Left paragraph direction when available.
- Select the appropriate Middle Eastern and South Asian Composer for Arabic text.
- Check the Character panel for the correct language and text settings.
- Make sure Arabic text is entered or pasted correctly rather than relying on incorrectly converted characters.
- Restart Illustrator after changing language or text-composition settings if the changes do not appear immediately.
- Recreate the text box if Arabic characters remain disconnected or appear in the wrong direction.
Step 1: Select an Arabic-Supporting Font
The first thing to check is your font. Even if Illustrator is configured correctly, Arabic text can still look wrong when the selected typeface does not properly support Arabic characters.
Open your Illustrator document and select the Arabic text with the Selection Tool or Type Tool. Then open the font controls and choose a typeface that specifically supports Arabic. If you are unsure whether your current font supports Arabic, temporarily switch to a known Arabic-compatible font and check whether the letter shapes change.
You can access the relevant controls through Window > Type > Character. Select your Arabic text, open the font menu, and choose an Arabic-supporting typeface. After applying the font, look carefully at the connected letters and their spacing.
If the Arabic text immediately becomes readable, the original problem was likely related to font support rather than Illustrator’s document settings.
Step 2: Open the Paragraph Panel
Once you’ve confirmed that your font supports Arabic, check the paragraph direction. Arabic generally needs a right-to-left paragraph direction, especially when you’re working with complete Arabic sentences or paragraphs.
Select your Arabic text and go to Window > Type > Paragraph. Look through the available paragraph controls for the Right-to-Left Paragraph Direction option. If it is available, select it for your Arabic text.
This tells Illustrator how the paragraph should flow. It is particularly important when your text contains multiple Arabic words, punctuation, numbers, or a mixture of Arabic and Latin characters.
If you are working with a single Arabic word, you may not notice a major difference immediately. However, for longer sentences, the correct paragraph direction can make a significant difference in how the text is positioned and arranged.
Step 3: Choose the Middle Eastern and South Asian Composer
The next setting to check is Illustrator’s text composer. This is one of the most important settings when Arabic letters are not joining correctly.
Select your Arabic text and open the Paragraph panel through Window > Type > Paragraph. Open the panel menu and look for the available composer options. If your Illustrator version provides it, choose the Adobe World-Ready Paragraph Composer or the Middle Eastern and South Asian Composer, depending on the version and interface available to you.
These options are designed to handle complex writing systems, including Arabic and other right-to-left scripts.
After changing the composer, click inside the Arabic text and check whether the letters connect properly. You may need to select the entire text object before the change takes effect consistently.
If your Arabic letters previously appeared separately, this step can often resolve the issue because Illustrator can now apply the appropriate character shaping rules.
Step 4: Check the Language Setting
Your next step is to check the language associated with the text. Language settings can affect spelling, hyphenation, and other text behavior.
Select the Arabic text and open the Character panel by going to Window > Type > Character. Depending on your Illustrator version, the language setting may be available within the Character panel or related text controls.
Choose an appropriate Arabic language option if one is available.
Keep in mind that Illustrator versions can place these controls in different locations. If you do not see the exact same menu, check the Character, Paragraph, and Properties panels for the relevant language and text-direction settings.
After making the change, click outside the text and then select it again. This helps you confirm whether the new setting has been applied.
Step 5: Re-enter the Arabic Text
If your Arabic text is still displaying incorrectly, the problem could be related to how the text was copied or pasted into Illustrator.
Sometimes text copied from websites, PDFs, word processors, or other design applications can contain unexpected formatting, hidden characters, or incompatible text encoding.
Create a new text object using the Type Tool and manually enter a short Arabic phrase. Before typing, make sure your Arabic-supporting font and right-to-left settings are already selected.
If the newly typed text displays correctly while the original text does not, the original text probably contains problematic formatting. In that situation, replacing the original text with cleanly entered text may be faster than trying to repair every character.
For longer content, paste the text as plain text when possible and then apply your Illustrator formatting afterward.
Step 6: Check Mixed Arabic and English Text
Arabic documents sometimes contain English words, numbers, URLs, punctuation, or symbols. This combination can make text direction appear confusing even when Illustrator is working correctly.
For example, an Arabic sentence containing an English website address may not visually follow the same direction as the surrounding Arabic text. Numbers can also appear in positions that seem unusual if you’re accustomed to left-to-right writing.
Select the complete paragraph and verify that the paragraph direction is appropriate. Then check individual words or characters if you are mixing Arabic and English.
Avoid manually rearranging characters to make the sentence look correct. Doing so can create additional problems when you edit the text later. Instead, use Illustrator’s right-to-left text controls and appropriate composer settings.
Step 7: Create a New Text Box
If the problem continues, create a completely new text object.
Choose the Type Tool, click in an empty area of your Illustrator document, and create a new text box. Apply your Arabic-compatible font and the appropriate right-to-left paragraph settings before entering the text.
Then type or paste a short Arabic sentence into the new text box.
This test is useful because it separates a document-specific text problem from an Illustrator-wide configuration problem. If the new text works correctly, your original text object may have unusual formatting or corrupted text attributes.
You can then copy the desired formatting from the new object and rebuild the affected text.
Step 8: Restart Adobe Illustrator
If you changed several text settings and Illustrator still does not display Arabic correctly, save your work and restart Illustrator.
Close the application completely and open it again. Then test the Arabic text in a new document before returning to your original project.
This can help when a language or text-composition change does not appear to take effect immediately.
If the issue occurs only in one document, create a temporary new Illustrator document and test the same Arabic phrase there. If Arabic works normally in the new document, the original file may contain specific text formatting or document-level issues.
Step 9: Update Adobe Illustrator
Finally, check whether you’re using a current version of Adobe Illustrator. Text-handling behavior can vary between Illustrator releases, particularly for complex scripts and right-to-left languages.
Open the Creative Cloud application and check whether an Illustrator update is available. If an update is offered, save your projects before installing it.
After updating, test Arabic text again using a new document. This gives you a clean environment for determining whether the problem has been resolved.
FAQs
Why is Arabic text disconnected in Adobe Illustrator?
Disconnected Arabic letters are commonly caused by an incorrect text composer, unsupported font, or missing right-to-left text configuration. Try an Arabic-compatible font and enable the appropriate Middle Eastern and South Asian or World-Ready text composition option.
Why is Arabic text appearing backward in Illustrator?
Arabic is written from right to left, so Illustrator needs the appropriate paragraph direction. Open Window > Type > Paragraph and look for the right-to-left paragraph controls available in your Illustrator version.
Why does my Arabic font look different in Illustrator?
The font may not contain the Arabic glyphs required for the text. Try switching to a font with Arabic language support and compare the result.
Can I use Arabic and English in the same Illustrator document?
Yes. Illustrator can handle Arabic and English together, but mixed right-to-left and left-to-right content requires appropriate paragraph and character-direction settings. Numbers, punctuation, and English words can also affect the visual order of a mixed-language sentence.
Why does Arabic work in another program but not Illustrator?
Different applications use different text-shaping engines and language settings. A program may automatically apply right-to-left and Arabic shaping while Illustrator requires the appropriate settings to be selected.
Why does pasted Arabic text look wrong?
Copied text can bring along formatting, hidden characters, or incompatible text information. Try creating a new Illustrator text object and entering or pasting the Arabic text into it after configuring the appropriate font and paragraph settings.