Recommended usage of the @dir attribute

Typically, processors that fully support the Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm handle bidirectional text without the need to specify directionality in the DITA source, if the @xml:lang attribute is specified on the highest-level element.

The need to specify the @dir attribute primarily occurs in the following situations:

• Processors that do not fully support the Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm
• Documents that contain bidirectional text and characters with neutral bidirectionality

For the above situations, we recommend that DITA source documents, in addition to specifying the @xml:lang attribute, also specify the @dir attribute on the highest-level element that is necessary.