Font Features
Lateef is an OpenType-enabled font family that supports the Arabic script. It includes a number of optional features that provide alternative rendering that might be preferable for use in some contexts. The sections below enumerate the details of these features. Whether these features are available to users will depend on both the application and the rendering technology being used. Some applications let the user control certain features such as Character Variants to turn on the rendering of variant characters. However, at this point, most applications do not make use of those features so another solution is needed to show the variant characters. TypeTuner creates tuned fonts that use the variant glyph in place of the standard glyph. TypeTuner also provides the ability to turn on support for the Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Rohingya, Sindhi, Urdu, and Wolof language variants.
See Using Font Features. Although that page is not targeted at Arabic script support, it does provide a comprehensive list of applications that make full use of the OpenType font technology.
See also Arabic Fonts — Application Support. It provides a fairly comprehensive list of applications that make full use of the OpenType font technology.
This page uses web fonts (WOFF) to demonstrate font features and should display correctly in all modern browsers. For a more concise example of how to use Lateef as a web font see Lateef-webfont-example.html in the font package web folder.
If this document is not displaying correctly a PDF version is also provided in the documentation/pdf folder of the release package.
End of Ayah (U+06DD), Disputed End of Ayah (U+08E2), and subtending marks (U+0600..U+0605, U+0890..U+0891)
These Arabic characters are intended to enclose or hold one or more digits.
Specific technical details of how to use them are discussed in the Arabic fonts FAQ — Subtending marks.
Additionally, Lateef includes two simplified alternates for U+06DD ARABIC END OF AYAH under the Stylistic Alternates (salt) feature, but at this time we know of no OpenType-based applications that can access these. The two alternates are also available through the Character Variants feature discussed below.
Customizing with TypeTuner
For applications that do not make use of the OpenType Character Variants, you can now download fonts customized with the variant glyphs you choose. Read this document, visit TypeTuner Web, then choose the variants and download your font.
Language
Affects: U+062F, U+0630, U+0688..U+068F, U+0690, U+06EE, U+0759, U+075A, U+08AE, U+0645, U+0765, U+0766, U+08A7, U+06BE, U+0626, U+060C, U+061B, U+06F4, U+06F5, U+06F6, U+06F7, U+0650, U+064F, U+064C, U+0657
Unfortunately, the UI needed to access the language-specific behavior is not yet present in many applications. LibreOffice and Microsoft Word 2016 support language-specific behavior for Kurdish, Sindhi and Urdu (but not Kyrgyz or Rohingya). Some Harfbuzz-based apps, e.g., XeTeX, can access language-specific behavior.
Kurdish (Northern), Rohingya, Sindhi, Urdu
| Language | Meem | Heh Doachashmee (06BE) | 4 | 6 | 7 | 0650/064E | 064C | Feature Setting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| default | م ممم | ھ ھھھ | ۴ | ۶ | ۷ | بِّ | بٌ | |
| Kurdish(Northern) | م ممم | ھ ھھھ | ۴ | ۶ | ۷ | بِّ | بٌ | lang='ku' |
| Rohingya | م ممم | ھ ھھھ | ۴ | ۶ | ۷ | بِّ | بٌ | lang='rhg' |
| Sindhi | م ممم | ھ ھھھ | ۴ | ۶ | ۷ | بِّ | بٌ | lang='sd' |
| Urdu | م ممم | ھ ھھھ | ۴ | ۶ | ۷ | بِّ | بٌ | lang='ur' |
Kyrgyz and Wolof
| Language | 0626 | 0650/064E | 064F | 0657 | Feature Setting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| default | ئ ئئئ | بِّ | بُ | بٗ | |
| Kyrgyz | ئ ئئئ | بِّ | بُ | بٗ | lang='ky' |
| Wolof | ئ ئئئ | بِّ | بُ | بٗ | lang='wo' |
Character variants
There are some character shape differences in different languages which use the Arabic script. These can be accessed by using OpenType Character Variants, or through the language support mentioned above.
Meem
Affects: U+0645, U+0765, U+0766, U+08A7
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | م ممم ݥ ݥݥݥ ݦ ݦݦݦ ࢧ ࢧࢧࢧ | cv44=0 |
| Sindhi-style | م ممم ݥ ݥݥݥ ݦ ݦݦݦ ࢧ ࢧࢧࢧ | cv44=1 |
Heh
Affects: U+0647
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ه ههه | cv48=0 |
| Kurdish-style | ه ههه | cv48=3 |
| Sindhi-style | ه ههه | cv48=1 |
| Urdu-style | ه ههه | cv48=2 |
Heh Doachashmee
Affects: U+06BE
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ھ ھھھ | cv49=0 |
| Knotted | ھ ھھھ | cv49=1 |
| Kurdish-style | ھ ھھھ | cv49=3 |
Kyrgyz OE
Affects: U+06C5
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Loop | ۅ | cv51=0 |
| Bar | ۅ | cv51=1 |
Yeh Hamza
Affects: U+0626
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ئ ئ | cv54=0 |
| Right hamza | ئ ئ | cv54=1 |
Shadda+kasra placement
Affects: U+064D, U+0650 with U+0651
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Default | بِّ ◌ِّ بٍّ ◌ٍّ | cv62=0 |
| Lowered | بِّ ◌ِّ بٍّ ◌ٍّ | cv62=1 |
| Raised | بِّ ◌ِّ بٍّ ◌ٍّ | cv62=2 |
Damma
Affects: U+064F
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Default | بُ ◌ُ | cv70=0 |
| Filled | بُ ◌ُ | cv70=1 |
| Short | بُ ◌ُ | cv70=2 |
Dammatan
Affects: U+064C
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | بٌ ◌ٌ | cv72=0 |
| Six-nine | بٌ ◌ٌ | cv72=1 |
Inverted Damma
Affects: U+0657
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Default | بٗ ◌ٗ | cv74=0 |
| Hollow | بٗ ◌ٗ | cv74=1 |
| Filled | بٗ ◌ٗ | cv74=2 |
Superscript Alef
Affects: U+0670 on all yeh, sad and seen-like characters
U+0620, U+0626, U+0633, U+0634, U+0635, U+0636, U+063D, U+063E, U+063F, U+0649, U+064A, U+0678, U+069A, U+069B, U+069C, U+069D, U+069E, U+06CC, U+06CD, U+06CE, U+06D0, U+06D1, U+06FA, U+06FB, U+075C, U+076D, U+0770, U+077D, U+077E, U+0775, U+0776, U+0777, U+08A8, U+08A9, U+08AF, U+08BA
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Default | ؠٰ ؠٰؠٰ ئٰ ئٰئٰ سٰ سٰسٰ شٰ شٰشٰ صٰ صٰصٰ ضٰ ضٰضٰ ؽٰ ؽٰؽٰ ؾٰ ؾٰؾٰ ؿٰ ؿٰؿٰ ىٰ ىٰىٰ يٰ يٰيٰ ٸٰ ٸٰٸٰ ښٰ ښٰښٰ ڛٰ ڛٰڛٰ ڜٰ ڜٰڜٰ ڝٰ ڝٰڝٰ ڞٰ ڞٰڞٰ یٰ یٰیٰ ۍٰ بۍٰ ێٰ ێٰێٰ ېٰ ېٰېٰ ۑٰ ۑٰۑٰ ۺٰ ۺٰۺٰ ۻٰ ۻٰۻٰ ݜٰ ݜٰݜٰ ݭٰ ݭٰݭٰ ݰٰ ݰٰݰٰ ݽٰ ݽٰݽٰ ݾٰ ݾٰݾٰ ݵٰ ݵٰݵٰ ݶٰ ݶٰݶٰ ݷٰ ݷٰݷٰ ࢨٰ ࢨٰࢨٰ ࢩٰ ࢩٰࢩٰ ࢯٰ ࢯٰࢯٰ ࢺٰ ࢺٰࢺٰ | cv76=0 |
| Large | ؠٰ ؠٰؠٰ ئٰ ئٰئٰ سٰ سٰسٰ شٰ شٰشٰ صٰ صٰصٰ ضٰ ضٰضٰ ؽٰ ؽٰؽٰ ؾٰ ؾٰؾٰ ؿٰ ؿٰؿٰ ىٰ ىٰىٰ يٰ يٰيٰ ٸٰ ٸٰٸٰ ښٰ ښٰښٰ ڛٰ ڛٰڛٰ ڜٰ ڜٰڜٰ ڝٰ ڝٰڝٰ ڞٰ ڞٰڞٰ یٰ یٰیٰ ۍٰ بۍٰ ێٰ ێٰێٰ ېٰ ېٰېٰ ۑٰ ۑٰۑٰ ۺٰ ۺٰۺٰ ۻٰ ۻٰۻٰ ݜٰ ݜٰݜٰ ݭٰ ݭٰݭٰ ݰٰ ݰٰݰٰ ݽٰ ݽٰݽٰ ݾٰ ݾٰݾٰ ݵٰ ݵٰݵٰ ݶٰ ݶٰݶٰ ݷٰ ݷٰݷٰ ࢨٰ ࢨٰࢨٰ ࢩٰ ࢩٰࢩٰ ࢯٰ ࢯٰࢯٰ ࢺٰ ࢺٰࢺٰ | cv76=1 |
| Small | ؠٰ ؠٰؠٰ ئٰ ئٰئٰ سٰ سٰسٰ شٰ شٰشٰ صٰ صٰصٰ ضٰ ضٰضٰ ؽٰ ؽٰؽٰ ؾٰ ؾٰؾٰ ؿٰ ؿٰؿٰ ىٰ ىٰىٰ يٰ يٰيٰ ٸٰ ٸٰٸٰ ښٰ ښٰښٰ ڛٰ ڛٰڛٰ ڜٰ ڜٰڜٰ ڝٰ ڝٰڝٰ ڞٰ ڞٰڞٰ یٰ یٰیٰ ۍٰ بۍٰ ێٰ ێٰێٰ ېٰ ېٰېٰ ۑٰ ۑٰۑٰ ۺٰ ۺٰۺٰ ۻٰ ۻٰۻٰ ݜٰ ݜٰݜٰ ݭٰ ݭٰݭٰ ݰٰ ݰٰݰٰ ݽٰ ݽٰݽٰ ݾٰ ݾٰݾٰ ݵٰ ݵٰݵٰ ݶٰ ݶٰݶٰ ݷٰ ݷٰݷٰ ࢨٰ ࢨٰࢨٰ ࢩٰ ࢩٰࢩٰ ࢯٰ ࢯٰࢯٰ ࢺٰ ࢺٰࢺٰ | cv76=2 |
Sukun
Affects: U+0652
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Closed | بْ ◌ْ | cv78=0 |
| Open down | بْ ◌ْ | cv78=1 |
| Open left | بْ ◌ْ | cv78=2 |
End of ayah
Affects: U+06DD
Firefox allows you to use U+06DD followed by the digits and proper rendering occurs. Some applications require the following:
- precede the entire sequence (subtending mark plus following digits) with
202D LEFT-TO-RIGHT OVERRIDE - follow the entire sequence with U+202C POP DIRECTIONAL FORMATTING.
Surrounding the sequence with U+202D and U+202C seems to give the most reliable results in different browsers. However, we have not found a solution that works in Internet Explorer/Edge.
In the example below, the following codepoints are used: U+202D U+06DD U+0031 U+0032 U+0033 U+202C U+202D U+06DD U+0611 U+0622 U+0663 U+202C.
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 123 ١٢٣ | cv80=0 |
| Simplified A | 123 ١٢٣ | cv80=1 |
| Simplified B | 123 ١٢٣ | cv80=2 |
The DISPUTED END OF AYAH (U+08E2) is also now available in the font. It works in the same way as End of ayah.
٣٤٥
Eastern digits
Affects: U+06F4, U+06F6, U+06F7
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ۴۶۷ | cv82=0 |
| Kurdish-style | ۴۶۷ | cv82=3 |
| Rohingya-style | ۴۶۷ | cv82=4 |
| Sindhi-style | ۴۶۷ | cv82=1 |
| Urdu-style | ۴۶۷ | cv82=2 |
Proportional figures
Tabular digits are the default for Latin digits. Lateef supports the OpenType Proportional Figures (pnum) for Latin digits.
Affects: U+0030..U+0039
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| False | 0123456789 | pnum=0 |
| True | 0123456789 | pnum=1 |
Tabular figures
Proportional digits are the default for Arabic digits. Lateef supports the OpenType Tabular Figures (tnum) for Arabic digits.
Affects: U+0660..U+0669, U+06F0.. U+06F9
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| False | ٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩ ۰۱۲۳۵۶۷۸۹ | tnum=0 |
| True | ٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩ ۰۱۲۳۵۶۷۸۹ | tnum=1 |
Comma
Affects: U+060C, U+061B
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Upward | ، ؛ | cv84=0 |
| Downward | ، ؛ | cv84=1 |
Decimal separator
Affects: U+066B
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Small reh | ٫ | cv85=0 |
| Slash | ٫ | cv85=1 |
Disable digit kerning (see FAQ) — TypeTuner-only
The Arabic digits are proportional by default and Lateef includes kerning to improve the spacing of certain pairs of digits such as ٧٨. However there are some applications, including Microsoft Word for Windows, that process the digit kerning information incorrectly, actually making some digits too far apart and some too close together. We have added a special Typetuner feature that can be used to create a version of the Lateef fonts in which the digit kerning is disabled. When using those fonts in Microsoft Word the resulting digit spacing will be much nicer than Tabular, but not quite as good as it would be if the application’s kerning worked correctly. This is discussed further in the FAQ.