Fix Adobe Acrobat Arabic Language and Right-to-Left Support Issues
Question details
Users experience limitations when working with Arabic and right-to-left (RTL) text in Adobe Acrobat, particularly affecting OCR, text editing, converting PDFs to Word, and using Fill & Sign features.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to edit, OCR, or convert Arabic PDFs to Word, or fill out right-to-left Arabic forms in Acrobat.
- Observed behavior
- Arabic text displays correctly only if properly embedded during creation. Arabic OCR is missing or inaccurate, PDF-to-Word conversion is unreliable, direct editing is difficult, and Fill & Sign inputs RTL text backward.
Verify that all Arabic fonts were properly embedded in your document when the PDF was originally created, as this is essential for correct text display.
Ensure Proper Font Embedding for Arabic Text Display
Arabic text must be properly encoded and embedded during PDF creation to display correctly without breaking or rendering backward.
While Acrobat Reader can display Arabic properly, it relies heavily on the source document's encoding. If a document was created without embedding the right-to-left fonts, the characters will not render correctly on other devices.
Open your PDF document in Acrobat, go to File > Properties, and select the Fonts tab to view the embedded fonts.
Ensure that all Arabic fonts have '(Embedded Subset)' listed next to their names. If they do not, you must return to the source program (like Microsoft Word or InDesign) and re-export the PDF with font embedding enabled.
Use Alternative Workarounds for Editing and Form Filling
Because Acrobat struggles with direct right-to-left editing and Fill & Sign workflows, editing the source document is the most reliable workaround.
Submit Official Feedback for Missing Features
Direct feature requests help prioritize native Arabic OCR and robust right-to-left editing in future Adobe updates.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Arabic text display backwards or disconnected in Acrobat?
This usually happens when the original fonts are not properly embedded or the PDF was created using software that does not fully support right-to-left (RTL) encoding. Re-creating the PDF from the source file with embedded fonts usually resolves display issues.
Does Adobe Acrobat support Arabic OCR?
Currently, Adobe Acrobat lacks native, reliable Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for Arabic text. Users needing to extract Arabic text from scanned documents generally have to rely on third-party Arabic-specific OCR software.
Can I accurately convert an Arabic PDF to Microsoft Word using Acrobat?
Converting Arabic PDFs to Word in Acrobat is frequently reported as unreliable, often resulting in broken text, incorrect right-to-left formatting, or missing ligatures. Using specialized conversion tools or copying text from the source document yields better results.
Why does Fill & Sign format Arabic text incorrectly?
Acrobat's Fill & Sign feature currently has limited support for right-to-left text input, which can cause characters to display backward or disconnected after they are typed. Submitting feedback to Adobe regarding this specific issue is recommended.
