Arabic, CE and ME versions...

[tkuypers at pandora.be]

We build a FileMaker application for a multinational, but be are getting
into more and more impossibilities using FileMaker.
Now we have to integrate MS-Office spelling check with a bunch of layouts
and have to start creating an Arabic version of the interface.
And of course are running into some technical problems, so we would like to
use Revolution as the interface for these spellchecks. We have done a lot of
tests and think this could be the first step to switch from FileMaker to RR
but a few questions remain:

- FileMaker takes use of Unicode fonts, but we have to use special
  CE-fonts for countries like Poland or Russia, because of the
  special chars.
  We can also use FileMaker on Arabic PCs, but when typing, the
  textcursor stays on the right side of the text, instead of "walking"
  to the left when typing. We are not sure yet if copy-paste will
  work because of the invisible control-char used to build words
  in this language is supported by FileMaker.
  - How does RR interact with foreign Windows systems, like Arabic
    (reading and typing from right to left) and has anyone tested
    something like this in RR?
  - Since RR doesn't support VB-commands (the reason for choosing
    not doing this, would be very welcome...) we need a way to
    send commands and data to a stack from FileMaker.
    I guess the only way to do this is using the DDE-external? I
    don't seem to get this working from FileMaker, any help is welcome...
    (Going from FMP to RR would be done through DDE, from RR to
    FileMaker would be done through VB and the shell command.)

- How does RR use the installed systemfont? Do we have to supply and
  install the Unicode and CE-versions of Arial, or do we address a
  default-font?

Typing this, I really, really wonder why there is no support for Visual
Basic and VBA, because the majority of programs have API's for this language
on the windows platform. I use Applescripting on the mac, but have to twist
myself into very strange curves to do simular things on Windows...

Any help and/or advice is welcome :-)

Ton Kuypers