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Use vertical and right-to-left text for Asian and Arabic languages

Japanese, Chinese, and Korean texts can be written vertically, and read from right to left. draw.io can display labels and text shapes vertically without rotating the characters, to be read top down, and from the right to the left.

Use the Text tab of the format panel to change the Writing Direction.
Change the orientation of Chinese, Korean and Japanese text to vertical, right to left in a draw.io diagram

Tip: Open any of the examples below in draw.io by clicking on the diagram.

Change the writing direction​

  1. Select the shape or text that you want to reformat.
  2. Click on the Text tab of the format panel.
    Change the orientation of Chinese, Korean and Japanese text to be vertical, and read right to left
  3. For Japanese, Chinese and Korean, select Vertical (Right to left) from the Writing Direction list.
    Change the orientation of Chinese, Korean and Japanese text to be vertical, and read right to left in a draw.io diagram

Here's how all four of the writing directions would look in both English and Japanese, using the Textbox shape.

Examples of the four Writing Direction settings on English and Japanese text in a draw.io diagram

Tip: Choosing Automatic as the writing direction will orient text from left-to-right, unless it is in a language that is only read from right to left (such as Arabic).

You will notice more of a difference in text alignment when you mix scripts, for example, Arabic and Latin characters.
The change in alignment using right to left as the writing direction is more obvious with mixed scripts, such as English and Arabic

Writing direction vs vertical text​

The Vertical button in the Text tab of the format panel can also orient text vertically. This button rotates the text so that it is read from the bottom up, whereas the Writing Direction vertical options are always read from the top down.

Comparison of using the Vertical button and the vertical Writing Direction settings on English text in a draw.io diagram