Arabic Knowledge Base articles

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HOW TO: set the Language for System default and User local for Windows XP and Windows 2000

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional
• Microsoft Windows XP Home

Symptoms:

Some applications do not display the Arabic text correctly, and Arabic appears not to be supported on the operating system.

More Information:

ANSI application displays the Arabic text as "?" or strange characters , this is due to the System language default is not set to Arabic, also Date , currency and numbers will not appear Arabic unless you set the user local properly.

Resolution:

For Microsoft Windows 2000:

1-Press Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Regional Options.

2-From the "Your local (Location)" list box, choose the appropriate location to set the user local (Including format for Date ,Currency ,Time ,Numbers ,..etc.)

3-From the "Set default" button, choose the language which will be default for your operating system , for example if you choose Arabic as default then the ANSI application will display Arabic text correctly.

4-Press "OK" button then restart.

• Changing the system locale will take affect after the system is rebooted, while changing the user locale only does not required system rebooting.

• Changing the system locale requires locale system administrative privileges, while changing the user locale does not.

There is no Win32 API or Scripting (WMI) to switch system locale. However, you can use this command line to do it:

rundll32 shell32, Control_RunDLL intl.cpl,,/f:”c:\locale.txt”

The content of C:\locale.txt looks like:

(This will change System and User locale to Arabic – Saudi Arabia and add Arabic keyboard).

By using this method, you can change System locale and User locale and add additional keyboard layouts at the same time.

Please note that the User locale and keyboard layouts only apply to current user.

More Information:

Current user that run this command must be an Administrator and have access to Windows 2000 source files (CD or network shares) because it may need to copy additional files.

Reboot is still pending, you must reboot the machine (either manually or using reboot.exe from Resource kit).  The command does not prompt for it.

For Microsoft Windows XP:

1-Press Start -> Settings -> Control Panel

2-From the left task pane press on the "Switch to Classic view" to find the "Regional and language options" icon , then double click this icon.

3-From the "Languages" tab, make sure you check on the "Install files for complex script and right-to-left languages (including Thai), then press "Apply" button to make the language appear on the other list boxes.

    

4-From the "Regional options" tab, make sure to choose the correct choice from "Standards and formats" and location list box to set the User Local settings.

5-From the "Advanced" tab, make sure to choose the correct choice for "Language for non-Unicode programs" list which will be default for your operating system , for example if you choose Arabic as default then the ANSI application will display Arabic text correctly.

6-Make sure to check the "Default user account settings" check box and press "OK" button then reboot.

Additional keywords:

Arabic BiDi

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