First of all, I truly appreciate the hard work the team puts into DEVONthink.
I previously posted about this issue from my previous account here: Is RTL Text Possible in Markdown Source Mode? And I was hoping to see an improvement in the recent updates.
However, the issue remains specific to the Editing (Source mode). The Markdown Preview works perfectly for Arabic, thanks to a custom script I added to the settings. But when I am actually writing or editing in the editor, the direction is forced to Left-to-Right, which makes the writing process very frustrating.
Could you please explain what makes implementing RTL support for the Markdown Editor such a complex technical challenge? As a researcher who relies on Arabic, I would love to understand the limitations so I can better manage my workflow.
…via Format > Alignment > Writing Direction > Right to left.
Thank you for the response.
Actually, as I mentioned in a reply in my previous post here, I already tried the Format > Alignment > Writing Direction > Right to left option. It works when I select existing text, but the moment I start typing, it automatically reverts to LTR—even while the RTL option remains selected in the menu! The screenshot below clearly shows this behavior.
(I invite you to try editing an Arabic Markdown file in DEVONthink; you will quickly see exactly what I mean.)
Since I rely heavily on this application for my daily writing tasks, I need a convenient way to edit Arabic Markdown files directly within DEVONthink, rather than having to switch to another app like Obsidian (which I currently use to edit these files).
My question is: Is there a way to make this setting permanent, or is this a known limitation of the current Markdown editor?
Hi again,
I am just checking if there is any update on this issue.
I also found something new: This problem is not just in Markdown. It happens in plain text (.txt) files too.
This means the issue is in the main editor of the app. Since I use DEVONthink every day, I really want to know if you plan to fix this in a future update.
Thank you for your help.
Hi @BLUEFROG,
I am following up for the third time regarding the RTL/Arabic issue without a response.
As an academic moving my workflow to DEVONthink, I want to recommend this powerful tool to my colleagues. However, the editor’s failure to handle Markdown in my language is quite frustrating. As I’ve shared with you—along with screenshots—this happens in both Markdown and plain text files.
Could you please clarify: Is RTL support on your roadmap? If not, I’ll need to finalize my workflow for writing and editing Markdown files using other tools.
I look forward to your clear response.
Best regards.
I can’t answer for DT development. But I know that they will never tell you when a feature they’re working on will land in a release version.
So, instead of holding you breath and getting impatient here (I think that you’ve made your point and everyone reading got it already), just switch to another MD editor for the time being.
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I can’t speak for development and we don’t issue public roadmaps. Development is far too dynamic an environment and time and resources are finite.
I know there are modifications to Markdown editing in the works but I have no information on this specific thing.
I’m glad to hear that Markdown editor modifications are in the works. I noticed something recently that might be useful: RTL alignment works perfectly in the current editor when using Lists (bullets or numbering), while it behaves differently in standard paragraphs.
I truly hope the team can address this in the upcoming updates, as it would make DEVONthink the ultimate tool for researchers in our region.
Best regards.
Interesting the difference. We shall see what the future brings.
Cheers!
