IdeaSift

RTL users struggle with mixed-direction text in developer tools

Developers who work with Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and English report difficulty reading or editing mixed-direction text in source files; cursor movement and insertion can feel unpredictable. Related reports describe RTL display problems in terminals and desktop apps, where support varies by application. Users report switching terminals or applying an unofficial patch, but those workarounds are app-specific.

For developers and technical users who work with RTL languages. Mentioned from Sep 2016 to Mar 2026 on GitHub and Stack Exchange.

9 different people described this problem in 5 separate discussions.

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0 mentions in the last 12 weeks
Indie fit
2.0/10
Pain
6.0/10
Frequency
8.3/10
Willingness to pay
0.0/10
Momentum
5.0/10
Who pays
Professionals
Competition
Medium
Build difficulty
High

What people said

Quoted word for word. Follow a link to read the whole discussion.

  1. The cursor movement is based on the language the cursor is on so it jumps in different directions. Inserting and appending text is also unpredictable
    otseng on GitHub (microsoft/vscode)Oct 2019+64 upvotesAsked for a tool
  2. Most of the time we work with mixed of English -Persian or in better words mixed of RTL and LTR texts
Build brief

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