[Non-Touchscreen Windows Mobile Other] kingmabuto:
UPDATE (2009-12-19) – SMALL FIX

There is a small but important fix for writing in Arabic in Excalibur, it was missing 2 characters, و and ذ, details and fix in post #125.

This fix is for Excalibur only and any version.

Thanks to ahsb1982 for pointing it out.

UPDATE (2009-08-18) – RELEASE 3.0

v3.0 is based on the TSD modified VOX Smartphone Arabizer from this post #51.

More information about this build is in post #53.

Since it is based on an older build than v2.x and might be somewhat unstable and non-functional on some devices, I will keep v2.x downloads and continue to fix any issues with that version also.

CHANGES in v3.0 (2009-08-18)

* Based on TSD's VOX SmartArabizer (cleaned , modified and NLS running).

* Arabic Settings App.

* Perfect and clean font display with vowels, even very small and on 96dpi.

* Added v2.2.1 patch to sort out 08/08 3VO’s big font issue.

* Fixed SYM key not working in 3VO when English not Arabic is selected as language.

CHANGES in v2.3 (2009-08-18)

* Added v2.2.1 patch to sort out 08/08 3VO’s big font issue.

* Fixed SYM key not working in 3VO when English not Arabic is selected as language.

UPDATE (2009-08-10)

If you installed ookba's latest 3VO ROM on Excalibur dated 08/08, or having very large bold fonts all around, check post #47 for info and fix patch v2.2.1.(Install this patch ONLY if u meet the above conditions).

UPDATE (2009-08-09)

Added a LITE version CAB of the v2.2 Read Only Arabizer which doesnt contain the new Nina font, but the old one with font link method, as the new one doesnt show correct on 96DPI screens. However this comes at the expense of vowels not displaying correctly as in the full version. Vowels show as squares.

UPDATE (2009-07-30) - RELEASE 2.2

CHANGES in v2.2 (2009-07-30)

* Renamed to Smartphone Arabizer, Excalibur Arabizer and Vox Arabizer.

* Recreated Nina font again to fix some jagged edges on regular. Now Nina has the same Latin alphabets as Segoe Condensed hence giving the device a regular not overbloated looks while Arabic vowels work (more info in post #29).

* Cleaned the CAB installers and added all the necessary patches from previous fixes.

* Added wince.nls localization file after more testing and found to be stable (more info in post #26).

* Made the CAB installers for Excalibur and Vox for writing complete with reading, no need to install both, reading and writing.

* Added proper registry entries from nls/Arabic local.

* Renamed po.exe to poutlook_ara.exe.

* Vowels Issue appearing as overlapping square fixed (also post #29).

CHANGES in v2.0

* Fixed few issues with fonts. added certs and IE unicode in CAB.

* Arabic writing tests for Excalibur and Vox with full eT9 Dictionary. Tested on 6.5.

INFORMATION

Smartphone Arabizer will run on most Windows Mobile Standard devices running any ROM with 6, 6.1 or 6.5, OEM or Cooked. The Arabizer is for Reading purpose only such as SMS, emails and websites (IE Only, Opera Mini NOT supported). No writing system is included. As for the Excalibur and Vox Arabizers, those are full complete packages for both reading & writing. There 3 versions, v3.x, v2.x and v2.x.LITE.

v3.x

This version is based on the WM6 Smartphone Arabizer in the VOX Arabic ROM, modified and released by TSD and posted here by hmdshmds. This particular Arabizer is an older build than the one used in v2.x hence making it somewhat less stable. However since it was made originally for smartphones and not PPC, it seems to render Vowels correctly without a modified font and it include a fully functional Settings App. The localization file, wince.nls wasn’t working on this version, so usemynls was used to load the Arabic local file.

v2.x

The Reading part of v2.x is based on the latest build of the PocketPC Arabizers from Arabic ROMs released by HTC. Trimmed and modified for SP and a modified poutlook.exe, named poutlook_ara.exe used by Rai without replacing the original poutlook.exe. The original poutlook.exe on many 6.1 ROMs had many issues with this PPC Arabic. Issues includes freezing/hanging Contacts and no chars in edit boxes in contacts.

v2.x has an edited/modified Nina font to look like Segoe to completely Alias it instead of fontlinking.

v2.x has been extensively tested, widely used and proven to be stable, fast and quite functional, if you are having issues with v3.x , use v2.x.

v2.x.LITE

v2.x.LITE is a stripped version of v2.x without the wince.nls localization file and without the modified Nina font. Instead it uses fontlinking to replace the Arabic characters. This version have the advantage of working on almost if not all WM6+ devices/ROMs. Also it is for 96dpi as the modified Nina does not render correctly when very small. This version will not show vowels and some apps like WMP will not show proper Arabic, it is used for quick SMS and Email reading If nothing more is required. Very light and stable.

Writing (v3.x/v2.x)

The writing part is based on the official WM6 Vox Arabic ROM. And the released files by Dr. Martin Gonzo with special Thanks to him. this is the post, http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=318836.

INSTALLATION

For all phones except Excalibur and Vox, please use KM-SmartArabizer-x.x.cab.

If the phone is Official ROM it needs to be app and security unlocked 1st.

If you have an Excalibur or a Vox, choose the appropriate installer for the phone, u can still install the above if u don’t want writing capabilities. You DO NOT need anymore the reading part to install the writing, it’s a single combined installer for both.

If you install v3.x and u get errors at boot up, such us “bidi load error” or the Arabic Settings App is not running, phone needs to be security unlocked. If issue persist, it is better to install v2.x instead. Sometimes a reboot will do the trick.

If you installed any previous version and/or any patches, please uninstall everything in the order they were installed from last to first before installing this version. If you have installed the font fix patch or v2.0 which had that patch, leave that as is it might freeze some phones with certain ROMs after uninstalling. For more info on this check post #40 and post #41. Make a full backup of your data on the phone prior to uninstalling anything. v2.2 can be uninstalled safely. The best way around this issue is to backup your data, hard reset the phone and install new v2.2 cab.

If this is the 1st time installing, please do it on a clean ROM. If u cannot, delete your email accounts (ie. Gmail) 1st and resync-redownload after installation. Otherwise email subjects in the list will remain appearing as gibberish as they were saved that way. This also applies to contacts and calendar items in Arabic.

After installation you need to reboot the device if the installer doesn’t ask you to.

ISSUES

Text will not have right to left alignment, this is by design, if it is RTL also English will be aligned from right to left. Writing will only start from right to left if the sentence is started in Arabic.

Vowels don’t work in writing mode on Excalibur. Works only on Vox.

When installed, it will only have English, Arabic and French as xT9 lanuguages, if you had others they won’t show up. It will return to original when uninstalled.

Writing will only start from right to left if the sentence is started in Arabic.

EnergyROM 1.3 and 1.4 (6.1 based) showed some problems with Edit boxes in various areas. No characters appear until u navigate away from the box. this issue is not there in Later releases of NRG. And non harmfull.

In some cases, and only with v3.x, the phone might hang on the homescreen or when a phone reboots, it can’t load the arabizer. A reboot should fix it.

Samsung C6625 and Palm Treo 500 with Official ROMs are not supported (Freezing/Hanging).

Pre-WM6 devices also will not work.

SPECIAL THANKS

All who shared their PPC Arabic in xda forums. And TSD (at ce4arab) for making it work on all devices.

Dr. Martin Gonzo for the Arabic eT9 from Vox ROM.

To abofihmi, mobilis2009 and everyone in this thread for their valuable testing and feedback.

hmdshmds for posting the SmartArabizer.

Enjoy.