Font Features
Scheherazade New 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. 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.
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 Scheherazade New as a web font see ScheherazadeNew-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.
Complete feature list
Language system tags
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+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 Kashmiri, Kurdish, Sindhi and Urdu. Microsoft Word 2019, but not LibreOffice, supports language-specific behavior for Kyrgyz. Neither application provides support for the Rohingya or Wolof languages. Some Harfbuzz-based apps, e.g., XeTeX, can access language-specific behavior. In the past, it was not always possible to override language-specific behavior in cases where the language-specific variants were undesirable but, as of version 4.300, the font now supports this possibility.
Kashmiri, Kurdish (Northern), Rohingya, Sindhi, Urdu
| Language | Meem | Heh Doachashmee (06BE) | 4 | 6 | 7 | 0650/064E | 064C | 0652 | Feature Setting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default | م ممم | ھ ھھھ | ۴ | ۶ | ۷ | بِّ | بٌ | بْ | |
| Kashmiri | م ممم | ھ ھھھ | ۴ | ۶ | ۷ | بِّ | بٌ | بْ | lang='ks' |
| Kurdish(Northern) | م ممم | ھ ھھھ | ۴ | ۶ | ۷ | بِّ | بٌ | بْ | lang='ku' |
| Rohingya | م ممم | ھ ھھھ | ۴ | ۶ | ۷ | بِّ | بٌ | بْ | lang='rhg' |
| Sindhi | م ممم | ھ ھھھ | ۴ | ۶ | ۷ | بِّ | بٌ | بْ | lang='sd' |
| Urdu | م ممم | ھ ھھھ | ۴ | ۶ | ۷ | بِّ | بٌ | بْ | lang='ur' |
Kyrgyz and Wolof
| Language | Dal | 0626 | 0650/064E | 064F | 0657 | Feature Setting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default | د | ئ ئئئ | بِّ | بُ | بٗ | |
| Kyrgyz | د | ئ ئئئ | بِّ | بُ | بٗ | lang='ky' |
| Wolof | د | 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.
Dal
Affects: U+062F, U+0630, U+0688, U+0689, U+068A, U+068B, U+068C, U+068D, U+068E, U+068F, U+0690, U+06EE, U+0759, U+075A, U+08AE U+10EC2
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | د ذ ڈ ډ ڊ ڋ ڌ ڍ ڎ ڏ ڐ ۮ ݙ ݚ ࢮ | cv12=0 |
| Alternate | د ذ ڈ ډ ڊ ڋ ڌ ڍ ڎ ڏ ڐ ۮ ݙ ݚ ࢮ | cv12=1 |
| Simple | د ذ ڈ ډ ڊ ڋ ڌ ڍ ڎ ڏ ڐ ۮ ݙ ݚ ࢮ | cv12=2 |
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 |
| Long-tail | م ممم ݥ ݥݥݥ ݦ ݦݦݦ ࢧ ࢧࢧࢧ | cv44=2 |
Heh
Affects: U+0647 (This feature is not recommended for use. The features available for Heh Doachashmee are preferred.)
| 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 |
| Bowtie | ھ ھھھ | cv49=2 |
| 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 |
| Mid hamza | ئ ئ | cv54=2 |
Maddah
Affects: U+0622, U+0627, U+0653, U+0653
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Small | آ آ ◌ٓ | cv60=0 |
| Large | آ آ ◌ٓ | cv60=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 |
| Crossed | بُ ◌ُ | cv70=3 |
Dammatan
Affects: U+064C
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | بٌ ◌ٌ | cv72=0 |
| Six-nine | بٌ ◌ٌ | cv72=1 |
| Two-nine | بٌ ◌ٌ | cv72=2 |
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 |
| Closed | بْ ◌ْ | cv78=3 |
End of ayah
Affects: U+06DD
These alternates are also available using the Stylistic Alternates (salt) feature, but at this time we know of no OpenType-based applications that can access these.
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
Honorific ligatures
Affects: U+FD40..U+FD4F, U+FDCF, U+FDFA..U+FDFB, U+FDFD..U+FDFF
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Calligraphic | ﵀﵁﵂﵃﵄﵅﵆﵇﵈﵉﵊﵋﵌﵍﵎﵏﷏ﷺﷻ﷽﷿﷿ | cv81=0 |
| Simplified | ﵀﵁﵂﵃﵄﵅﵆﵇﵈﵉﵊﵋﵌﵍﵎﵏﷏ﷺﷻ﷽﷿﷿ | cv81=1 |
Eastern digits
Affects: U+06F4, U+06F6, U+06F7
| Feature | Sample | Feature setting |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ۴۶۷ | cv82=0 |
| Sindhi-style | ۴۶۷ | cv82=1 |
| Urdu-style | ۴۶۷ | cv82=2 |
| Kurdish-style | ۴۶۷ | cv82=3 |
| Rohingya-style | ۴۶۷ | cv82=4 |
| Default | ۴۶۷ | cv82=5 |
Comma
Affects: U+060C, U+061B (This feature is not recommended for use. The Unicode Standard recommends the use of ⹁ U+2E41 and ⁏ U+204F instead.)
| 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 |
Other user font features
Line spacing
This feature is only available in TypeTuner Web.
Allows for adjustment of the default line spacing in the font (values shown are ordered in increasing line spacing).
| Feature | |
|---|---|
| Tight | |
| Normal | |
| Loose |