Folks, After some experiments, things are not so clear in my mind Here is a sample pdf that does not seem to fit the rules given by Hartmut It is an *LB or *RB direction sample and the characters are aligned top ignoring the baseline. What was wrong ? source: \synctex=1 \starttext \pardir TLB \textdir TLB TLB-Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. \par\noindent Praesent vitae massa sem. Donec venenatis sem et lectus viverra in adipiscing metus vestibulum. Sed accumsan rutrum sem ut tincidunt. Aenean diam nulla, egestas nec dignissim vitae, congue sed lacus. Nulla iaculis blandit diam eu rutrum. \page[yes] \pardir BRT \textdir BRT BRT-Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. \par\noindent Praesent vitae massa sem. Donec venenatis sem et lectus viverra in adipiscing metus vestibulum. Sed accumsan rutrum sem ut tincidunt. Aenean diam nulla, egestas nec dignissim vitae, congue sed lacus. Nulla iaculis blandit diam eu rutrum. \stoptext output: