CRITICAL BUG REPORT: Disappearing Punctuation Marks in Hebrew RTL Justified Text

InDesign version: 20.0

Severity Level: Critical

Impact: Severe disruption to Hebrew text layout workflow and document integrity

Bug Description

Punctuation marks are randomly disappearing in justified Hebrew text blocks (RTL direction), specifically at:
- Paragraph endings
- Forced line breaks
- Last lines of justified paragraphs

Technical Context

• Text Direction: Right-to-Left (RTL)
• Language: Hebrew
• Text Alignment: Justified

Affected Punctuation Marks

• Periods (.)
• Semicolons (;)
• Commas (,)
• Colons (:)

Specific Behavior in RTL Context

1. When Hebrew text is set to justified alignment, punctuation marks vanish:
   • At the end of paragraphs
   • Before forced line breaks
2. Exception: Punctuation marks remain visible if the last line is explicitly right-aligned
3. The issue appears to be specific to RTL text direction and does not occur in LTR text

Known Workarounds and Their Limitations

1. Legacy Composition Engine Option:

   • While switching to the legacy composition engine in preferences resolves this specific issue
   • We strongly advise against this solution due to:
     • Previously reported bugs and limitations in the legacy engine (see bug reports #ID-4245219)
     • Performance issues documented in our earlier reports
     • Compatibility concerns with newer features
   • We require a proper fix in the current composition engine rather than reverting to legacy solutions

2. Temporary Layout Workaround:

   • Right-align the last line of affected paragraphs
   • This is not viable for production as it:
     • Affects layout consistency
     • Requires constant manual intervention
     • Disrupts automated workflows

Technical Impact

• Compromises Hebrew document accuracy
• Requires constant manual checking and fixes
• Disrupts automated workflows for Hebrew text processing
• May lead to incorrect final output in published Hebrew materials

Priority Level

Immediate attention required as this bug:
- Affects core Hebrew typography functionality
- Creates significant quality control issues in RTL text layouts
- Requires time-consuming manual verification
- May result in incorrect published content

Steps to Reproduce

1. Set paragraph direction to RTL
2. Create a Hebrew text block with justified alignment
3. Type a paragraph ending with any punctuation mark
4. Add forced line breaks within the paragraph
5. Observe the disappearance of punctuation marks at:
   • Paragraph endings
   • Before forced line breaks

Technical Investigation Request

Please investigate:
- RTL text rendering engine behavior
- Interaction between justified alignment and RTL text direction
- Potential conflicts between Hebrew text processing and punctuation handling
- Implementation of punctuation handling in the current composition engine

Request

Immediate investigation and hotfix needed in the current composition engine. While we acknowledge the existence of a legacy engine workaround, we require a proper fix in the current engine to maintain workflow efficiency and compatibility with modern features.