EPS files with Arabic text

[Fuad Yahya]

When I export an InDesign 2.01 ME page that has Arabic text to EPS, then open the new file in Illustrator 9, the Arabic text does not show. Only the English text does. What do I need to do to make the Arabic text show? Thanks.

Fuad

[Harron K. Appleman]

Fuad,

Make sure you're using the same Unicode font in ID and IL.

If that doesn't work, convert the type to outlines in ID before exporting to EPS. Unfortunately, this will make the type uneditable in IL, but it might be the only way to do it.

=-= Harron =-=

[Fuad Yahya]

The font I am using is Traditional Arabic. Which font do I need to switch to? What does it mean to use the same font in both applications? I know how to switch to a different font in ID. Do I need to select the entire text and change to a different font in IL? Thanks.

Fuad

[Harron K. Appleman]

Fuad,

If "Traditional Arabic" is the name of the font as it appears in ID, then that's what you should try in IL.

You change fonts in IL the same way as in ID -- via the Character palette.

If Traditional Arabic is not a Unicode font, it probably won't work in an English version of IL. (It might not work even if it is a Unicode font -- too many variables here to know for sure.) In that case, you'll have to use outlines as explained before.

=-= Harron =-=

[Fuad Yahya]

How can one tell if any particular font is a Unicode font? Thanks.

Fuad

[Harron K. Appleman]

Fuad,

If you haven't already, download and install Microsoft's Font Properties extension:

<http://www.microsoft.com/typography/property/property.htm>

With this extension installed, you can right-click on a font, select Properties (or just Alt-double-click on the font), and get a lot of information. The Charset/Unicode tab will tell you about the font's encoding and character sets.

Here are some links if you want to read up on Unicode:

<http://www.unicode.org>

<http://home.att.net/~jameskass/>

=-= Harron =-=