Right-to-left mark


The right-to-left mark is a non-printing character used in the computerized typesetting of bi-directional text containing mixed left-to-right scripts and right-to-left scripts.
RLM is used to change the way adjacent characters are grouped with respect to text direction. However, for Arabic script, Arabic letter mark may be a better choice.

Unicode

In Unicode, the RLM character is encoded at.
In UTF-8 it is E2 80 8F. Usage is prescribed in the Unicode Bidi Algorithm.

Example of use in HTML

Suppose the writer wishes to inject a run of Arabic or Hebrew text into an English paragraph, with an exclamation point at the end of the run on the left hand side. "I enjoyed staying -- really! -- at his house." With the "really!" in Hebrew, the sentence renders as follows:
I enjoyed staying -- באמת! -- at his house.
With an RLM added after the exclamation mark, it renders as follows:
I enjoyed staying -- באמת!‏ -- at his house.
This happens because the browser recognizes that the paragraph is in a LTR script, and applies punctuation, which is neutral as to its direction, in coordination with the surrounding text. The RLM causes the punctuation to be surrounded by only RTL text—the Hebrew and the RLM—and hence be positioned as if it were in right-to-left text, i.e., to the left of the preceding text.