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Best practices to Implement RTL in React Js

1 Install RTL-Support Libraries

Install the necessary packages for managing RTL layout:

npm install rtlcss postcss-rtl
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2. Update CSS/SCSS Styles

  • Use postcss-rtl for automatic conversion of styles.
  • Modify your CSS files to include logical properties like margin-inline-start and avoid hardcoded left/right styles.

3. Configure PostCSS for RTL
Add a PostCSS configuration in your project:

// postcss.config.js
module.exports = {
  plugins: {
    'postcss-rtl': {},
  },
};
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3. Detect Language Direction Use a utility function to detect and apply dir="rtl":

const isRTL = (lang) => ['ar', 'he'].includes(lang);
document.documentElement.dir = isRTL(language) ? 'rtl' : 'ltr';
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4. Dynamic Language Switching

Use a state management library (e.g., Redux, Context API) to toggle between ltr and rtl.

Test with RTL-Languages

Use Chrome DevTools to force RTL mode for testing.

Common Guidelines
Use Constants for Alignment: Define alignment constants:

const ALIGN_START = isRTL ? 'right' : 'left';
const ALIGN_END = isRTL ? 'left' : 'right';
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Test Early and Often: Validate UI components for both LTR and RTL layouts.
Leverage Tools for Translation: Use services like Google Translate for preliminary translations and hire native speakers for accuracy.

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