Bug 41007 - Arabic interface layout breaks when switching from English to Arabic
Summary: Arabic interface layout breaks when switching from English to Arabic
Status: In Discussion
Alias: None
Product: Koha
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Templates (show other bugs)
Version: 25.05
Hardware: All Windows
: P5 - low minor
Assignee: Owen Leonard
QA Contact: Testopia
URL:
Keywords:
: 41056 (view as bug list)
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2025-10-14 07:13 UTC by Amira Kahtan
Modified: 2025-11-15 09:07 UTC (History)
4 users (show)

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Attachments
When switching the staff client interface language to Arabic, the entire layout becomes misaligned. Menu items overlap vertically, icons stack incorrectly, and navigation links are unreadable. (62.38 KB, image/png)
2025-10-14 07:13 UTC, Amira Kahtan
Details

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Description Amira Kahtan 2025-10-14 07:13:39 UTC
Created attachment 187851 [details]
When switching the staff client interface language to Arabic, the entire layout becomes misaligned. Menu items overlap vertically, icons stack incorrectly, and navigation links are unreadable.

When switching the Koha staff interface or OPAC to Arabic, the layout becomes misaligned and unreadable. 
All elements shift to the right, and menu items overlap each other. This issue happens for multiple users, 
especially on staff interface pages like circulation and cataloging.

Environment:
- Koha version: 25.05 (confirm your version)
- OS: Ubuntu 22.04
- Browser: Chrome / Edge (latest)

Steps to reproduce:
1. Log in to the Koha staff interface.
2. Switch the language to Arabic from the top menu.
3. Observe layout distortion and misplaced elements.

Expected behavior:
The interface should properly align text and menus in RTL mode.

Actual behavior:
All layout elements overlap and the interface becomes unusable.

Screenshot attached for reference.
Comment 1 David Cook 2025-10-14 23:49:14 UTC
Interesting. It kind of looks like the CSS isn't even being applied. 

Owen might have some ideas. 

I'll make a note to look at this myself too.
Comment 2 David Cook 2025-10-14 23:50:02 UTC
Amira, did you notice this after upgrading your Koha or on a fresh installation?
Comment 3 Amira Kahtan 2025-10-19 05:37:36 UTC

(In reply to David Cook from comment #2)
> Amira, did you notice this after upgrading your Koha or on a fresh
> installation?

The problem started after upgrading.
Comment 4 Amira Kahtan 2025-10-19 06:05:00 UTC
(In reply to David Cook from comment #2)
> Amira, did you notice this after upgrading your Koha or on a fresh
> installation?

What can I do to solve this problem? Because it makes our work unstable and difficult.
Comment 5 David Cook 2025-10-21 05:20:16 UTC
I'm looking at the main branch ("25.06" currently) and the Arabic interface looks good to me.
Comment 6 David Cook 2025-10-21 05:21:19 UTC
(In reply to Amira Kahtan from comment #3)
> 
> (In reply to David Cook from comment #2)
> > Amira, did you notice this after upgrading your Koha or on a fresh
> > installation?
> 
> The problem started after upgrading.

I'm guessing that you might not have upgraded your koha-l10n package. I'd suggest you upgrade that. You can do it via 'apt-get install koha-l10n' or by doing something like 'apt-get upgrade'. 

Then you might need to run the following:

sudo koha-translate --update ar-Arab -v
Comment 7 David Cook 2025-10-21 05:24:29 UTC
I'll wait for your response, but at the moment this looks invalid.
Comment 8 Amira Kahtan 2025-10-22 06:12:25 UTC
(In reply to David Cook from comment #6)
> (In reply to Amira Kahtan from comment #3)
> > 
> > (In reply to David Cook from comment #2)
> > > Amira, did you notice this after upgrading your Koha or on a fresh
> > > installation?
> > 
> > The problem started after upgrading.
> 
> I'm guessing that you might not have upgraded your koha-l10n package. I'd
> suggest you upgrade that. You can do it via 'apt-get install koha-l10n' or
> by doing something like 'apt-get upgrade'. 
> 
> Then you might need to run the following:
> 
> sudo koha-translate --update ar-Arab -v

Hi David,

Thanks a lot for your reply and suggestions.

I have already tried running the commands you mentioned (updating `koha-l10n` via `apt-get upgrade` and then running `sudo koha-translate --update ar-Arab -v`), but unfortunately, the problem still persists.

Do you have any other ideas that might help solve this issue?
Comment 9 David Cook 2025-10-23 00:16:11 UTC
(In reply to Amira Kahtan from comment #8)
> Thanks a lot for your reply and suggestions.
> 
> I have already tried running the commands you mentioned (updating
> `koha-l10n` via `apt-get upgrade` and then running `sudo koha-translate
> --update ar-Arab -v`), but unfortunately, the problem still persists.
> 
> Do you have any other ideas that might help solve this issue?

Is your OPAC library.yu.edu.sa? I'm looking at the Arabic interface right now and it looks correct.

It is possible that you're viewing a cached version. You might need to hold down the Shift key and press the refresh button in your browser. If it's affecting multiple computers at your organisation. It might be a proxy issue for your organisation.

I'd also suggest you use other devices than your regular organisation devices to try to work out if it's a problem with your local devices or local network. 

Other than that... I'd suggest you look for a Koha Support provider to provide you some paid assistance, as for a fee they could give you more specific expert help for your systems.
Comment 10 David Cook 2025-10-23 00:17:14 UTC
You could also reach out on some of the other support forms like the Koha chat on Mattermost or the mailing list to see if people have had similar problems.

But at the moment it's not looking like a software bug.
Comment 11 Owen Leonard 2025-10-30 13:23:58 UTC
*** Bug 41056 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 12 m_swehli 2025-11-15 07:40:42 UTC
We're having the same issue with Arabic on the staff interface. The OPAC works fine however.

Its a fresh install installed around September with the followingn environment:

Koha Version: 25.05
OS: Debian 13 (trixie)
Browser Chrome / Brave / Safari


When switching to arabic it appears that there is no CSS being applied. We've tried apt-get upgrade and sudo koha-translate --update ar-Arab -v but makes no difference. There are no errors in the console log or network tab either.
Comment 13 m_swehli 2025-11-15 09:07:48 UTC
Just to add one more thing, it seems the staff css file is not being included.
In english, i can see a link to the following stylesheet:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="/intranet-tmpl/prog/css/staff-global_25.0505001.css" type="text/css">

While when switching to arabic there is no equivalent. All other linked items in the head section seem to match up though in their RTL equivalents.