On a Windows Vista-based computer, you may notice that some right-to-left characters are displayed incorrectly when they are used with Left-to-Right Override (LRO) and POP Directional Format (PDF) control characters

On a Windows Vista-based computer, you may notice that some right-to-left (bi-directional or "Bidi") characters are displayed incorrectly when they are used with Left-to-Right Override (LRO) and POP Directional Format (PDF) control characters. Specifically, the "(" character (opening parenthesis) and the ")" character (closing parenthesis) are displayed in the reverse order of how they should be displayed.

For example, you have the following string:Note LRO and PDF represent the LRO and the PDF control characters, respectively. A, B, and C represent Bidi characters.

When you view this string example in an application in Windows Vista, such as Notepad, the Bidi characters are incorrectly displayed as follows:However, when you view this string in Notepad in Windows XP or in Windows Server 2003, the Bidi characters are displayed correctly as follows:Note This problem occurs in applications that use Uniscribe in Windows Vista.

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows Vista. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Windows Vista, 32-bit versions

Windows Vista, 64-bit versions

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Windows Vista Service Pack 1.

For more information about Unicode control characters, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information about Uniscribe, visit the following Microsoft Web sites:For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: