I am writing to you as a dedicated user of your office suite to propose a vital enhancement for the Right-to-Left (RTL) language experience across both Desktop and Mobile platforms.
Currently, ONLYOFFICE performs text alignment (Justify) in languages like Arabic, Kurdish, Persian, and Urdu by only adjusting the white space between words. This method is insufficient and outdated for professional RTL typesetting.
The Standard: Kashida-based Justification
In world-class software like Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign, this is known as Kashida. It allows the software to stretch the horizontal connectors between characters to achieve a perfectly aligned margin. This is the global standard for professional book publishing and official documentation in the Middle East and South Asia.
I am requesting that you implement the following levels of Justification (Justify), optimized for both Desktop and Mobile apps:
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Justify Low (Smallest character stretching)
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Justify Medium (Moderate character stretching)
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Justify High (Maximum character stretching)
Why this is essential for ONLYOFFICE:
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Professional Standards: For users writing books, academic papers, or legal documents in Arabic, Kurdish, Persian, and Urdu, Kashida is a mandatory requirement.
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Market Competition: Major competitors like Microsoft and Adobe have fully integrated this into their ecosystems. For ONLYOFFICE to be a true professional alternative, it must support these linguistic nuances.
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Cross-Platform Consistency: Users need this feature to work seamlessly on Mobile devices just as it does on Desktop, ensuring that document layouts remain consistent across all platforms.
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Visual Integrity: Relying solely on word spacing creates “rivers” of white space, which significantly degrades the professional appearance of RTL documents.
We believe that by implementing Kashida-based Justification, ONLYOFFICE will significantly increase its appeal to millions of users in the RTL market.
Thank you for your continuous efforts in making ONLYOFFICE a leading global productivity suite. I look forward to seeing this implemented.