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Arabic Spreadsheets & Right-to-Left Grids
Alpha status (14 October 2026): XiSheet is planned and its public installer is not verified. This page describes the checked GridCraft foundation; XiKey integration is still in progress. Alpha is free today.
Honest Status: What Works Today vs. What Is Coming
The checked GridCraft foundation can mirror an individual worksheet grid. It does not provide Arabic contextual shaping, bidirectional text layout or an Arabic interface. Non-Latin PDF export is unsupported.
| Capability | Status Today | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic interface and one-click English ⇄ العربية switch | In progress | XiKey integration is not yet available in a verified XiSheet release. |
| Sheet Right-to-Left | Upstream capability | Column A starts on the right; this does not provide Arabic text shaping. |
| Arabic font dialog | In progress | Style grouping is being developed; product integration is pending. |
| Kashida, tashkeel, digit styles and Hijri dates | In progress | These office text tools are not current XiSheet controls. |
| Arabic PDF output | Unsupported in the checked upstream | The PDF exporter uses standard PDF fonts and cannot export non-Latin text. |
Working with Right-to-Left Worksheets Today
- On the View tab, choose Sheet Right-to-Left to mirror the active worksheet. Other worksheets can retain their own orientation.
- Enter Arabic text in standard logical Unicode order and keep lookup labels consistent. Check representative text matches and calculations.
- Inspect joined letters and mixed text carefully: mirroring the grid does not fix the text engine limitations.
- Keep the editable workbook when sharing Arabic data; do not assume the current PDF exporter can preserve Arabic.