If an author has submitted a manuscript using a version of Word with a right-to-left language pack installed (e.g., Arabic language pack), Activating the document may cause all of the text to be aligned right-to-left. If you do not have the same language pack installed, the option to change the text direction to left-to-right is almost completely hidden.
You can reveal the Left-to-Right/Right-to-Left text direction option in Word by adding this function to either your Ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar. To do so:
- Open your Word options
- Select either Customize Word Ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar, depending on where you want to add this button
- In the right-side drop-down menu, select the location to which the button should be added
- In the left-side drop-down menu, select "All Commands"
- From the list of all Word commands, select "Left-to-Right Text Direction"
- Click the Add button
- Click OK
The new button should appear on your Ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar.
To change the text direction, select all text, and click the Left-to-Right Text Direction button.
