Xarab.shx Autocad Font < 2024 >

Unlike Latin fonts where a is always a, Arabic letters change shape. Xarab.shx contains four variations for each letter:

When you type "ب ب ب" (three B's), Xarab.shx automatically selects the initial, medial, and final forms to create a cursive string. If you substitute Xarab with Arial, you lose this connection, resulting in broken, stand-alone letters.

You will rarely create a drawing using Xarab.shx if you work in an English-only environment. However, you will inevitably receive one.

The name Xarab.shx might derive from:

In practice, many Middle Eastern CAD users rely on TrueType fonts like Simplified Arabic or Traditional Arabic because they preserve contextual forms. Others use specialized SHX fonts from third-party developers, but none named Xarab.shx appears in public records.

The most frequent complaint among CAD managers is: “I received a drawing that uses ‘Xarab.shx,’ but I don’t have it, and I cannot find it for download.”

Here is the hard truth: Xarab.shx is not a default font included with standard AutoCAD installations. It is a third-party or custom font developed by specific engineering firms or localized distributors (particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region). Xarab.shx Autocad Font

When AutoCAD cannot find Xarab.shx, it initiates the Font Substitution Mechanism:

Because Simplex.shx does not contain Arabic character mappings (Unicode range 0600–06FF), all Arabic text becomes gibberish—usually a series of upside-down question marks (¿¿¿) or empty rectangles.

| Pros | Cons | | :--- | :--- | | Industry Standard: Most engineering firms in Kurdistan and Iraq use it, ensuring file compatibility. | English Characters: The English letters included in the font are often considered aesthetically poor and hard to read. | | Print Quality: Crisp, vector-based lines that plot perfectly without fill issues. | Typing Difficulty: Depending on the version, simply typing the letters may not automatically connect them; you may need to type in a specific order or use a tool to fix connections. | | Lightweight: Low memory usage; fast regeneration times. | Lack of Styles: It generally comes in one weight. You cannot make it Bold or Italic dynamically. | | Special Characters: Excellent support for modified Kurdish letters. | Obsolescence: As AutoCAD improves native RTL support, the need for these "workaround" fonts is slowly decreasing, though they remain popular for legacy habits. | Unlike Latin fonts where a is always a

Visually, Xarab.shx is the Arabic equivalent of the standard Simplex.shx. It is a single-stroke, simplex-style font. It does not have varying line weights (bold/italic) in the traditional sense. Instead, it relies on line thickness determined by the plot style or layer settings.

For advanced CAD managers or LISP programmers, understanding the mapping is vital.

If you open Xarab.shx in a hex editor (like HxD), you will see the shape table. Unlike standard fonts that map ASCII 65 to "A", Xarab maps specific codes. When you type "ب ب ب" (three B's), Xarab

If you are writing a LISP routine to replace Xarab text with English, you cannot use ordinary string searching. You must use (vl-string-translate) with Unicode escape codes.

Example LISP snippet to detect Xarab text:

(if (= (cdr (assoc 7 ent)) "Xarab")
  (alert "This drawing contains RTL text requiring Xarab.shx")
)