Bug 113802 - Punctuation in Text Box Fillable PDF for Hebrew in LibreOffice types to right
Summary: Punctuation in Text Box Fillable PDF for Hebrew in LibreOffice types to right
Status: RESOLVED INSUFFICIENTDATA
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
5.3.3.2 release
Hardware: x86 (IA32) Windows (All)
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Hebrew
  Show dependency treegraph
 
Reported: 2017-11-13 14:09 UTC by Chayim Phillips
Modified: 2020-05-08 18:21 UTC (History)
4 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Sample of Reported Hebrew in Fillable PDF (15.08 KB, application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics)
2017-11-15 09:48 UTC, Chayim Phillips
Details
Another Sample of reported Hebrew Fillable PDF problem (15.36 KB, application/pdf)
2017-11-15 10:00 UTC, Chayim Phillips
Details
RTF text fields in PDF forms not working properly (10.69 KB, application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text)
2017-11-15 13:22 UTC, Chayim Phillips
Details
fillable PDF with bug (46.55 KB, application/pdf)
2017-11-21 02:28 UTC, Chayim Phillips
Details

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Description Chayim Phillips 2017-11-13 14:09:25 UTC
I am using LibreOffice to create a Fillable PDF document where the fill-ins will be in Hebrew.  Everything works when the fill-ins are in English.  The Hebrew types in right-to-left when I tell LibreOffice to set up the fill-in box to do that.  The problem is when I am going along and have finished a sentence and try to type in the period, the period types out on the right of the block, same line just not at the end of the Hebrew text.  It’s the same thing with an exclamation mark.  I am running Complex Text Layout.  I tell LibreOffice to type out right-to-left when creating the block and the text works, just not the punctuation. It's also a challenge to get the punctuation marks and numbers to stay in their proper locations in the sentence. Also, as before, little boxes with x's in them start showing up once I've typed something; these boxes cover up the typed words, though they can be temporarily removed simply by clicking on them.
Comment 1 Xisco Faulí 2017-11-13 16:34:04 UTC
Thank you for reporting the bug. Please attach a sample document, as this makes it easier for us to verify the bug. 
I have set the bug's status to 'NEEDINFO'. Please change it back to 'UNCONFIRMED' once the requested document is provided.
(Please note that the attachment will be public, remove any sensitive information before attaching it. 
See https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/QA/FAQ#How_can_I_eliminate_confidential_data_from_a_sample_document.3F for help on how to do so.)
Comment 2 Chayim Phillips 2017-11-15 09:48:41 UTC
Created attachment 137773 [details]
Sample of Reported Hebrew in Fillable PDF

Incidentally, I did find a work-around.  If you type in Hebrew, then type the punctuation mark (period, comma, exclamation mark) the punctuation mark will type to the right, but if without a space bar tap you type the next letter the punctuation mark shows up in the right place.  However, you do not have a space between the punctuation mark and the first letter of the next sentence.  But I do not know how the users are going to take to any work-around.
Comment 3 Chayim Phillips 2017-11-15 10:00:09 UTC
Created attachment 137775 [details]
Another Sample of reported Hebrew Fillable PDF problem
Comment 4 Chayim Phillips 2017-11-15 13:22:54 UTC
Created attachment 137779 [details]
RTF text fields in PDF forms not working properly

It seems that no matter how one formats the text box in LibreOffice, there is no actual RTL support when exported as a PDF, and also not in LibreOffice while in the text box.
Comment 5 Omer Zak 2017-11-20 22:41:43 UTC
The attachments do not really demonstrate the bug.
The attached file types are *.odt and *.odg, no file is PDF.
In the *.odg files, the Hebrew text is reversed - could be another bug. When I changed the text box direction to RTL, it displayed the dot to the left of the Hebrew text.

Please attach a fillable PDF file which actually demonstrates the bug.
Comment 6 Chayim Phillips 2017-11-21 02:28:06 UTC
Created attachment 137882 [details]
fillable PDF with bug
Comment 7 Chayim Phillips 2017-11-21 04:37:10 UTC
As requested, I have submitted as an attachment, a PDF file containing the actual bug.  The bug is most evident in the larger text box in the lower half of the file.
Comment 8 Xisco Faulí 2018-11-27 13:08:38 UTC
Hello Chayim Phillips,
Could you please try to reproduce it with the latest version of LibreOffice
from https://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-fresh/ ?
I have set the bug's status to 'NEEDINFO'. Please change it back to
'UNCONFIRMED' if the bug is still present in the latest version.
Comment 9 Chayim Phillips 2018-11-28 06:05:54 UTC
In Comment #8 on bug 113802 from Xisco Faulí on 27 November 2018, he asked that I "try to reproduce it with the latest version of LibreOffice" and "change it back to 'UNCONFIRMED' if the bug is still present in the latest version."

Unfortunately, I am unable to do that.  The latest version requires Windows 7 or newer.  I am still using Windows XP Professional.
Comment 10 Xisco Faulí 2018-11-29 10:33:49 UTC
Hello Chayim Phillips,
Can you reproduce it with the latest version available for Win XP? -> LibreOffice 5.4.7.2 -> https://downloadarchive.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/old/5.4.7.2/
Comment 11 Chayim Phillips 2018-12-05 11:40:08 UTC
Response to Comment # 10 Bug 113802

Version 5.4.7.2 was successfully installed.

I experimented with the fix after installation.  Everything seems OK, but for one thing, the cursor.

Using Forms Control with Wizard On, I created a “Text Box.”  I then went to “Control” and brought up “Properties: Text Box” and then under the “General” tab, changed the “Text Direction” to “Right-to Left.”  I also changed the horizontal and vertical “Alignment” so the cursor would begin at the upper right.  After turning Wizard Off, I went to File and “Exported to PDF” using the default settings.

As I said, the cursor and its position while typing is the problem.  When I type in Hebrew and than hit the space bar, the cursor moves all the way back to the right of the text box on the same line.  I then type a letter and it moves back to where it should type that letter.  When I want to end the sentence with a period, the period moves back to the beginning of the same line in the test box.  I type the first letter of the new sentence and the period is at the end of the last sentence.  Except for what the cursor is doing, everything else seems OK.

I did not make any other setting changes (e.g. in Events in Properties: Text Box) because I did not think they would be relevant.  However, there is the possibility I do not understand something about the program and should have made other setting changes.
Comment 12 Xisco Faulí 2019-06-04 14:09:00 UTC
Hello Chayim Phillips,
Are you still using Win XP ? Noone has been able to confirm it in more than 6 months...
Comment 13 Xisco Faulí 2019-07-05 10:12:10 UTC
(In reply to Xisco Faulí from comment #12)
> Hello Chayim Phillips,
> Are you still using Win XP ? Noone has been able to confirm it in more than
> 6 months...

Setting to NEEDINFO
Comment 14 Chayim Phillips 2019-11-04 15:02:50 UTC
In response to you question in June and July:     

I am still using Windows XP.  However, I anticipate that I will be upgrading to Windows 10 by the end of the year
Comment 15 Xisco Faulí 2019-11-05 11:35:59 UTC
(In reply to Chayim Phillips from comment #14)
> In response to you question in June and July:     
> 
> I am still using Windows XP.  However, I anticipate that I will be upgrading
> to Windows 10 by the end of the year

Ok, thanks for the update.
Please, come back to us once you update to Win 10
Comment 16 QA Administrators 2020-05-04 03:43:08 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete)
Comment 17 Chayim Phillips 2020-05-04 09:06:42 UTC
I no longer need this version fixed.  You may close the case
Comment 18 Xisco Faulí 2020-05-04 11:07:30 UTC
(In reply to Chayim Phillips from comment #17)
> I no longer need this version fixed.  You may close the case

Do you mean you can no longer reproduce it ?
Comment 19 Chayim Phillips 2020-05-04 14:00:25 UTC
I am using a version compatible to Windows XP which I no longer need fixed.  At some point, I will upgrade to Windows 10 and will use that version of LibreOffice.  In the meantime, I no longer have an outstanding need to be able to create a Hebrew document in Fillable PDF format.  This case can be closed.
Comment 20 QA Administrators 2020-05-05 03:44:29 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete)
Comment 21 Dieter 2020-05-08 18:16:50 UTC
(In reply to Chayim Phillips from comment #19)
> In the meantime, I no longer have an outstanding need to be
> able to create a Hebrew document in Fillable PDF format.  This case can be
> closed.

So let's close it. Chayim, feel free to change it back to UNCONFIRMED if you're able to install actual version of LO.
Comment 22 Eyal Rozenberg 2020-05-08 18:21:29 UTC
FYI - the RTF file (attachment 137779 [details]), when opened with LO 6.4, has both textboxes directed left-to-right, and aligned right.