why Windows 10 does not use this font for Urdu language?

[kamilmirza]

what is the reason to have this font when you are not going to use it? in Pakistan, we don't use Naskh variant font anywhere, we have always used and prefered Nastaliq fonts

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• ID: e49c0a80-1bad-7a41-fb6d-4ee348c38339
• Version Independent ID: bce9a14c-4ec8-be80-5b98-fcca4ae43ee7
• Content: Urdu Typesetting font family - Typography
• Content Source: typographydocs/font-list/urdu-typesetting.md
• Product: typography
• GitHub Login: @mijacobs
• Microsoft Alias: mijacobs

[alib-ms]

Hi,

Thank you for reaching out to us. The Urdu Typesetting font is available on Windows 10 through the Arabic Script Supplemental Fonts package. If you install the Urdu keyboard, the Urdu Typesetting font will be automatically installed.

[kamilmirza]

I do have Urdu Typesetting font and Urdu Keyboard installed I meant to say why don't Windows 10 use this font to display Urdu text instead of Naskh font

[RaeesBhatti]

I second this. macOS and iOS use a Nastaleeq font for Urdu text by default. Most people don't know how to install Arabic Script Supplemental Fonts package. It should be enabled by default or by region.

[alib-ms]

I second this. macOS and iOS use a Nastaleeq font for Urdu text by default. Most people don't know how to install Arabic Script Supplemental Fonts package. It should be enabled by default or by region.

Can you please share some pictures?

[RaeesBhatti]

Fonts included in macOS Catalina:

The font is applied everywhere in macOS without any configuration:

I just have to write or copy Urdu text anywhere in the OS, and it will automatically apply Noto Nastaliq font (installed by default). Even places where you don't have option to choose a font, for example, the launchpad search or Notes app.

This is in contrast to the default font Windows uses for Urdu. I'm not sure exactly which font it is, but as a person who was brought up in an Urdu speaking and writing society, I can tell you that Windows default font is unpleasant to look at and very hard to read especially when text is small.

Please enable either "Urdu Typesetting", "Noto Nastaliq" or some other Nastaliq font by default for Urdu. The functionality should be similar to iOS and macOS where users should not have to configure or install anything. It should be enabled automatically when Urdu text is written or copied.

[RaeesBhatti]

First problem

I guess the first problem in Windows is that there's no official QWERTY/Phonetic keyboard layout for Urdu language. i.e. "a" mapped to "ا", "b" mapped to "ب" and so on. I installed both Pakistan version and India versions of Urdu keyboard available in the settings and both of them use a different layout than Phonetic. Everyone I know who writes Urdu, uses the Phonetic layout. Please provide it as an option for Urdu language. QWERTY/Phonetic keymap is the default for Urdu in Android, iOS and macOS, so, it should be default in Windows too in IMO. Without Shift:

With Shift:

If you're tracking metrics around how many people are installing the Urdu language pack, it is way off the real number of people actually typing Urdu because people use third party keyboards to write Urdu. If you search for "Urdu Phonetic keyboard", you'll see that it is a very sore problem that most people using Windows are facing.

Second problem

Second problem is that even if you install the Urdu language, it doesn't apply "Urdu Typesetting" or any Nastaliq font when you're typing unlike Android, macOS or iOS. Windows search: Microsoft Edge (Chromium) on Windows: Microsoft Edge on macOS Catalina:

Sticky Notes:

Third problem

The third problem is with "Urdu Typesetting" font itself. The font size is similar to Latin fonts, it doesn't take into account that Urdu text needs larger size to be as readable as Latin text. Here is a demo using Noto Nastaliq Urdu: Using Urdu Typesetting:

An Urdu reader can easily tell that Urdu Typesetting is uncomfortable to read because of its size even for people with good vision. It will be especially hard for visually impaired people. This is important because if you actually do apply a Nastaliq font for Urdu text systemwide, it will be hard to read if the font is Urdu Typesetting without any modification.

[bgo-eiu]

This should be addressed. Noto Nastaliq is an open source font, it should be feasible to use Noto Nastaliq for Urdu by default. Most people are not going to know to install a font and/or change settings packages in order to see the language presented in the most recognizable format

[hassan3kb]

The default font for displaying URDU text should be the same as the android, which is "Noto Nastaliq Urdu". As the default font in windows is very unpleasant.

When inputting the URDU text, no one uses the keyboard layout that is provided in windows. People use third-party software to install the phonetic layout. Some examples: http://www.mbilalm.com/urdu-font-installer.php http://urdu.ca

[Feliks-WR]

By the way, I have tried Noto Nastaliq on Windows (11) via WinAeroTweaker. It sucks, a lot is broken. Gulzar, though, is much better, though annoying when file explorer "compact mode" is less compact than the normal mode. Urdu typesetting wins, iff it is made a bit bigger. Also, some Windows apps (e.g. settings, taskbar) are mostly unaffected by system font change...

Microsoft, PLEASE learn from Apple and Google!

[MortalKombater]

just signed into github, to comment, yes this is a very big problem. Mircosoft, and unicode should improve, urdu default naqsh font is terrbile, and urdu speakers are not accustomed to it, pls solve this easy, for the first time learn from Apple.