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Author in Right to Left Languages

Last updated on Apr 15, 2026

Captivate User Guide
Get to know Captivate
1. What's new in Adobe Captivate
2. Adobe Captivate System Requirements
3. Download Adobe Captivate
4. Frequently Asked Questions
Adobe Captivate releases
1. Adobe Captivate 13
  1. Adobe Captivate (13.1) release notes
  2. Adobe Captivate (13.0) release notes
2. Adobe Captivate 12
Project setup
1. Slide navigator
2. Project dimensions
3. Set preferences
4. Themes
5. Configure URL access for Adobe Captivate features
Import from PowerPoint
1. Import PowerPoint presentations into Captivate
2. Select PowerPoint slides to import into Captivate
3. Work with text on imported slides
4. Work with shapes on imported slides
5. Add media to imported slides
6. Add interactions and animations to imported slides
Import from Captivate Classic
1. Import Captivate Classic projects into Adobe Captivate
2. Import Captivate Classic simulation projects into Captivate
Generative AI in Adobe Captivate
1. Generative AI overview
2. Generative AI FAQs
3. Generative credits
4. Generate text
5. Generate images
6. Generate avatar
7. Generate transcripts
Add and edit text
1. Add text to a project
2. Add Adobe fonts to a project
3. Add quotes
4. Author in right-to-left languages
Add and edit images
1. Add images to a project
2. Edit the background image on a slide
3. Add SVGs to a project
Add and edit media
1. Add videos to a project
2. Add and edit audio
3. Add audio for widget interactions
4. Add closed captions
5. Add web objects to a project
Interactive components
1. Add a button
2. Add an input field
3. Add a radio button group
4. Add a dropdown
5. Add a checkbox
6. Variables in Adobe Captivate
Create quizzes
1. Add a Multiple-choice question
2. Add a True or false question
3. Add a Match the column question
4. Add a Short answer question
5. Add a Sequence question
6. Add question pools and random question slides
7. Import questions as CSV
Add widgets
1. Add a Card
2. Add Tabs
3. Add a Certificate
4. Add a Carousel
5. Add a Hotspot
6. Add Drag-and-Drop
7. Add a Timeline
8. Add Click to Reveal
9. Add an Accordion
10. Add a slider
11. Add a stack card
Interactions and animations
1. Add interactions to a project
2. Create interactive video with overlay
3. Create a slide-level interaction
4. Create an object-level interaction
5. Add animations to a project
6. States in Adobe Captivate
Enhance your e-learning project
1. Add padding to content blocks and components
2. Add a header to a project
3. Add a footer to a project
4. Create a long scroll project
5. Add a conversation slide
6. Add characters to your Adobe Captivate project
7. Assets in Captivate
Simulation projects
1. Simulation overview and setup
2. Demo mode
3. Training mode
4. Assessment mode
5. Full-motion recording
Timeline and TOC
1. Timeline panel in Adobe Captivate
2. Table of Contents in Adobe Captivate
3. Lock and hide slides in Adobe Captivate
Review and collaborate
1. Share for review
2. Create and manage reviews
3. Add review comments and collaborate
4. FAQs and Troubleshooting guide for sharing projects for review
Preview and publish
1. Preview your project
2. Publish your project
Accessibility
1. Create accessible eLearning content in Adobe Captivate
2. Make a slide accessible
3. Make slide objects accessible
4. Make an interactive component accessible
5. Make a widget accessible
6. Make a quiz accessible
7. TOC and Playbar accessibility
Design options in Adobe Captivate
1. What are design options?
2. Parts of a design option
3. Create custom design options
4. Modify a custom design option
5. Export a custom design option
6. Import a custom design option
Additional resources
1. Top How-tos in Captivate
2. Captivate Classic vs Adobe Captivate
3. Upgrade older Captivate projects to the latest version
4. Create and deploy Captivate packages in Admin Console

Overview

Right-to-Left (RTL) authoring lets you create eLearning courses in languages that read from right to left. You can use Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and other RTL scripts. Captivate handles text entry, layout, and editing for these languages. This makes courses feel natural for RTL learners.

RTL authoring ensures:

Cultural and linguistic accuracy across content, assessments, and media.
Clear comprehension in lessons, quizzes, subtitles, and on screen instructions.
Confident interaction with navigation, timelines, and interactive components.
Alignment with local reading patterns, interface behavior, and regional UI expectations.

Add RTL text
Customize RTL text
Create text in RTL languages using generative AI
Add RTL text to interactive components
Add RTL text in quizzes
Accessibility for RTL text

Before you start

To enter right‑to‑left (RTL) text in your project, you must first add the required RTL language to your Operating System. Captivate uses the system language settings to support RTL text input.

If you are using an English‑only keyboard to enter RTL text, enable the on‑screen keyboard:

Windows:

Open Settings > Time & Language > Language.
Add the desired language (Arabic or Hebrew).
Switch your input language to the selected right-to-left language before typing

macOS:

Go to System Settings > Keyboard > Input Sources.
Add the desired RTL language.

Enable RTL in Captivate

Enable right-to-left language support before you start authoring. You can switch between languages and adjust text direction for any text field.

Open a Captivate project.
Launch Preferences:
- Windows: Open the Edit menu > select Preferences. Or use the Ctrl + , shortcut from the keyboard.
- macOS: Open the Adobe Captivate drop-down menu > select Preferences. Or use the ⌘ , shortcut on the keyboard
Select Enable right-to-left languages for scripts like Arabic & Hebrew.

Enable text direction in Preferences for RTL language support
Select OK to confirm. The text direction control now appears in the Visual properties panel.

Author in RTL languages

You can use RTL languages in any text field. This includes components, widgets, quizzes, and buttons. Captivate supports bidirectional text. Both right-to-left (RTL) and left-to-right (LTR) scripts can appear in the same block.

Add RTL text

Add a text block to your slide.
In the Visual properties panel, set Text direction to RTL.

Text direction control in Visual properties

Note

Text direction option appears only if the author has enabled RTL in Preferences.
Enter text using an RTL input language that matches your active keyboard or on‑screen keyboard.

When RTL is enabled, text alignment, cursor movement, and punctuation behavior automatically adjust to match the selected text direction.

Customize RTL text

Formatting text and changing the appearance for RTL are the same as for left-to-right text. Adobe Captivate supports a limited set of Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian fonts for RTL languages. Learn more about formatting text in Adobe Captivate.

Select a text content block and, in the Visual properties panel, set the text direction to match the language of the content.
Select the text object and configure its font, alignment, and spacing from the Visual properties panel. Use an RTL compatible font, increase the font size slightly for readability, right align text by default, and adjust line, letter, and paragraph spacing as needed to support RTL scripts and diacritical marks.

Apply text formatting for RTL text

Create text in RTL languages using generative AI

Use the built‑in Generate text feature in Adobe Captivate to translate on‑screen content into right‑to‑left (RTL) languages using simple prompts, helping you localize courses faster without manual re‑authoring. With a short prompt, you can generate RTL‑ready text for slides, quizzes, and feedback messages.

Learn more about how to use prompts to generate text in Captivate.

Open your Captivate project and go to Preferences, then enable Generative AI features if they are turned off.
Select a text object and choose Generate text, then enter a prompt to translate or generate content in the required RTL language.

Generate text using AI for RTL text
Review the generated text, adjust formatting or direction if needed, and apply it to your course content.

Replace text with generated RTL text

Add mixed RTL and LTR content

Adobe Captivate supports mixed right‑to‑left (RTL) and left‑to‑right (LTR) text within the same text block. This allows you to combine languages such as Arabic or Hebrew with English content while maintaining correct text direction for each script.

Add a text block to your slide. The text direction displayed in the Visual properties panel automatically reflects the active input language.
Type your RTL content. The text flows automatically from right to left based on your selected input language.
Add LTR text. Type normally but make sure your input language is switched to English. Captivate automatically handles direction for each script.

Add RTL and LTR text in the same text box

In this example, the Arabic text flows in RTL. while the name, company, and designation display LTR within the same paragraph.

Add RTL text to interactive components

Add RTL text for interactive components, including buttons, checkboxes, dropdowns, radio buttons, and input fields. Here is an example of adding RTL text for a button:

From the left toolbar, select Add Interactive components > Button to add a button component on the slide.
Double-click on the button to enter RTL text for the button label.
Select the Text tab under the Appearance setting to format the button text, adjust font size, spacing, and alignment.

Add RTL text in button component

Add RTL placeholder text to Input fields

Input fields support learner responses in right‑to‑left (RTL) languages. To guide learners effectively, you can add placeholder text in an RTL language so the expected input is clear and language‑appropriate.

Select the input field on the slide.
In the Visual properties panel, enable Placeholder text.
Enter the placeholder content in the required RTL language and ensure the text direction is set to RTL.

Add RTL text in input field placeholder text

Add RTL text in quizzes

You can create quizzes for right‑to‑left (RTL) languages by entering RTL content, configuring feedback messages, and validating quiz results display.

From the left toolbar, add a quiz slide and choose a question type, such as multiple choice, true or false, match the column, short answer, or sequence.
Switch your system input language to the required RTL language. Ensure the text direction in the Visual properties is set to right-to-left.
Enter the question text and answer options in the RTL language.
Configure the correct answers and scoring as required.

Customize RTL quiz feedback messages

Default quiz feedback messages and button labels can be replaced with RTL text to ensure a consistent learner experience.

Select Preferences > Quizzing > Default Labels.
Replace the messages with RTL text.

Replace quiz messages with RTL text
Now select Preferences > Quizzing > General > Edit messages and add the RTL texts for the quiz review mode messages.

Add RTL text for quiz review messages

Enable RTL content in TOC

While the Table of Contents (TOC) feature does not offer full RTL customization, certain elements such as "Table of Contents," Slide Title," and "Duration" remain in English or the default system language. The following steps outline how to configure your TOC for RTL projects:

Select TOC and Playbar from the right toolbar.
Turn on the Show TOC option.
Input slide titles using RTL script.

Add slide titles in RTL text in the TOC
Preview and confirm that the TOC displays entries in RTL format during the course consumption.

Accessibility for RTL Text

To make right‑to‑left (RTL) courses accessible, define the correct language for screen readers and provide meaningful alt text in Arabic or Hebrew for all slide components. For a complete overview of accessibility features, see the main Accessibility in Adobe Captivate article.

Select the slide containing RTL content and then select Accessibility in the properties panel
Enter accessibility text and set the speech agent language to Arabic or Hebrew.

Add speech agents in RTL languages for accessibility text
Select each component on the slide (text, image, button, or interactive element), enable Accessibility, and add alt text in the same RTL language.
Adjust the reading order so components are read from right to left and top to bottom, matching natural RTL flow.
Repeat these steps for all slides that include RTL content.

Correct language settings and RTL‑aligned alt text ensure screen readers interpret content accurately and provide an inclusive learning experience for RTL audiences.

Best practices for RTL authoring

When authoring RTL content, certain elements should follow specific conventions to maintain clarity, consistency, and usability across languages and regions. Apply the following recommendations when working with RTL text in eLearning content:

Always set up your keyboard first. Add RTL language to your operating system before starting. This prevents input errors.
Enable RTL in preferences before authoring. Turn on Text Direction in Edit > Preferences > General. This unlocks text direction controls.
Use RTL-compatible fonts. Captivate supports limited Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian fonts. Test your font choice for readability.
Right-align RTL text by default. This matches natural reading flow for RTL learners.
Increase font size slightly for RTL scripts. RTL characters and diacritical marks need more space.
Adjust line and letter spacing. RTL scripts often need more spacing than LTR text.
Keep brand names in original format. Display brand names left-to-right in their original language.
Handle numbers consistently. Use Arabic-Indic numerals (٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩) or Western numerals (0123456789) based on audience expectations. Don't mix formats.
Display URLs left-to-right. Keep web addresses in standard format.
Display email addresses left-to-right. Keep email format consistent.
Follow regional date formatting. Use date conventions for your target locale.
Configure accessibility settings. Set the correct language for screen readers.
Use commonly accepted terminology. Research technical terms for your target locale.
Test mixed content carefully. When combining RTL and LTR text, preview how scripts interact.
Customize all user-facing text. Replace default messages, button labels, and feedback with RTL content.
Preview early and often. Check how content displays for learners throughout authoring.

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