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Urdu

How to set up LyX under Windows to use it for Urdu

Note: Urdu will first be supported by LyX in the version LyX 2.3 that has not yet been released.

Installation

1. Install LyX for Windows
2. In the Windows installer don't forget to select to install the spell checker for "Urdu".
3. Install the package arabi using MiKTeX's Package Manager.
4. If LyX doesn't correctly accept your keyboard input, open the menu Tools → Preferences try to use a keyboard map as shown in this screenshot. Then click Save and restart LyX.

Prerequisite

• In Tools→Preferences→Look and feel→Screen fonts, select the fonts which have Arabic glyphs. (On Windows the standard fonts like Arial already support Arabic characters.) (When you have installed the Liberation fonts under Linux, set Liberation Serif, Liberation Sans, and Liberation Mono, for Roman, Sans Serif, and Typewriter, respectively).

Testing the Installation

1. Run LyX and press Ctrl+N to open a new document. Write a few words in English, and press Ctrl+R.
   A PDF viewer program should be opened; check that it displays the text correctly.
   
2. Open another document and call the menu Document → Settings.
   Select there in the Language section "Urdu",
   press OK and type in a few words. Press Ctrl+R and check the output.

Possible problems

• If you do not see Urdu, check that LyX's preferences are properly set (Check if the screen fonts support the Arabic script).

Notes

• It is possible to add new templates to LyX. Place the template files in
  ~:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\LyX2.3\templates. Then reconfigure LyX by using the menu Tools → Reconfigure and restart LyX.

Fonts

It is important that you select for your document fonts that contain the Arabic script. Otherwise you will get error messages when viewing your file as PDF. If you use in the document settings the option use non-TeX fonts, you can use any OpenType or TrueType font. Here is a list of known OpenType an TrueType fonts containing the Arabic script. Note: not all of them will also fully support Urdu, so you will have to try.:

Windows Urdu