Being able to surf the web, search Google in Arabic, use Microsoft Word in Arabic, and other tasks on the computer is an immense help in learning the language. On the other hand, setting up the computer for typing in Arabic seems complicated? Actually, Windows XP and some other operating systems make it simple to do, if you know where to look to change the settings.

Enabling Arabic in Windows XP

If you have Windows XP, go to the “Control Panel” -> “Regional and Language Options”. Then, click on the “Languages” tab, and check the box, “Install files for complex script and right-to-left languages (including Thai)” . This also enables Arabic language features.

After you do that, you should add the “Language bar” to your task bar (the blue bar, with the start button, icons, …). Do that by right clicking, and go to “Toolbars”. Having that available allows you to easily switch the keyboard from English to Arabic, and back again.

If you have other operating systems, then take a look at this Multilingual Computing article.

Arabic keyboard

How to know what letters correspond with which keys on the keyboard? There is a built-in “On-Screen Keyboard” in Windows XP, which can be accessed from “Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Accessibility”. You can use that to learn which keys go with which Arabic letters.

Another option is to print off a “cheat sheet”, such as this Arabic Keyboard diagram and reference that when typing. The shift key can be used to access extra letters and diacritical marks.

Arabic Keyboard (pdf)

It is also possible to buy overlay stickers to put on your keyboard.