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Arabic Keyboard on iPad uses GeezaPro font and obviously keys are limited compared to available glyphs, but what should I do if I want to use a glyph that doesn't have its own key. Is there any way I can add/use it somehow? The reason I need to do this is so I can write in Persian/Farsi.

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Please explain what glyph exactly it is you want to make, since the keys are normally sufficient to make everything standard arabic requires, even if it seems at first glance like they are limited. – Tom Gewecke Nov 14 '11 at 19:23

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If you search the app store for "persian" you should find a few keyboard apps which will make the characters you are missing and which may be useful for email and some other purposes.

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You may be able to access what you want by using Character Viewer (Edit > Special Characters). It would help to know exactly what it is you think cannot be made from the keyboard.

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This question is asking about glyphs on the iPad, where there is no Edit menu – Nathan Greenstein♦ Nov 15 '11 at 1:16
Yes, I was not paying attention. The correct answer is to use Unicode Maps or a similar app as suggested by Jonathan VM. Although I would still like to hear why additional glyphs are believed needed, as that is not at all obvious. – Tom Gewecke Dec 16 '11 at 3:26
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As far as I know, not with the "soft" onscreen keyboard. Unfortunately the Arabic keyboard doesn't have the "tap and hold for more glyphs" feature that some of the other keyboards support.

But there is support for 3 different hardware keyboard layouts (Arabic, Arabic PC, Arabic QWERTY), so perhaps with an external Bluetooth keyboard you could gain access to more glyphs.

Another alternative would be to use a 3rd-party app like Unikey or Unicode Maps that gives you access to a full range of Unicode glyphs and lets you build a custom keyboard. Not as elegant and usable as having what you need built in to the OS, but it could be a stopgap solution until Apple further improves their Arabic support.

Make sure to submit feedback to Apple to let them know your language needs better support!

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The Arabic keyboard Does in fact have several keys which you can tap and hold get more glyphs, such as ا ه ز ك ل ب ف ج ً – Tom Gewecke Dec 16 '11 at 3:35
Ah, I stand corrected. Doesn't materially change the rest of my answer but might be good for the original poster to know if they haven't already found those. Good correction! – Jonathan VM Dec 16 '11 at 14:17
Yes I already know about that tap-and-hold, but I'm talking about the other hundreds of keys available in the Geeza Pro font, or any other font for that matter -- any way to access this on iPad? – Nimbuz Dec 18 '11 at 13:10
As I said, not with the software keyboard, but you can try a Bluetooth keyboard, or one of the apps Unikey or Unicode Maps. – Jonathan VM Dec 18 '11 at 14:18
@Nimbuz I am still puzzled why you think this is necessary. Could you give an example of something in Geeza Pro that you think you have to input but cannot? – Tom Gewecke Feb 14 '12 at 16:19
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