Use Case or Problem
Obsidian has made significant improvements in RTL support, which is greatly appreciated! However, there are still two areas where RTL users could benefit from additional refinements:
- Alignment Control – While the RTL Support plugin helps with text alignment, certain aspects—such as text display in Reading View—do not always stay properly aligned. This inconsistency can be frustrating when switching between different views.
- Mirrored UI Without Changing Interface Language – RTL UI mirroring makes the interface more intuitive to use, but currently, enabling it requires switching the interface language to an RTL language. This creates inconsistencies, especially with plugins, which remain in English and do not mirror properly. Many users would prefer to keep the interface in English while still benefiting from a mirrored layout.
Proposed Solution
- Enhanced Alignment Options – Improve native support for text alignment across all views, ensuring RTL text remains properly formatted in both Live Preview and Reading View.
- Modular UI Mirroring – Allow users to mirror the UI independently of the interface language, or even selectively mirror specific elements (such as sidebars, menus, and plugins). This would provide flexibility for those who prefer an RTL layout but want to keep the interface in Englishm, or only mirror certain UI components to prevent issues.
Current Workarounds
- The RTL Support plugin helps with alignment but does not fully address Reading View issues.
- Changing the interface language to an RTL language enables UI mirroring, but it forces users to navigate the interface in a language other than English. This often creates confusion and inconsistencies, particularly with plugins that remain in English and do not mirror correctly.