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To: "Roger Shuttleworth" <rshuttleworth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Graphics, callouts, and internationalization
From: "Thomas Michanek" <thomas.michanek@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 16:50:28 +0100
Cc: "Free Framers" <framers@xxxxxxxxx>
References: <LISTMANAGER-71113-12407-2002.11.27-08.16.26--chattare#telia.com@lists.FrameUsers.com>
Sender: owner-framers@xxxxxxxxx
[The original message appeared on the FrameUsers mailing list. This reply is sent only to the "Free Framers" mailing list.] From: "Roger Shuttleworth" <rshuttleworth@visualplant.com> > My software documentation has lots of procedures that include numbered > steps and corresponding screenshots. I would like to tie the steps to the > screenshots, so one possibility is to use callouts with lines or arrows. > My screenshots, imported by reference, are in anchored frames. I > understand that for internationalization purposes, callouts should be kept > outside the anchored frame. Is there anything else I need to observe? There should be no text at all that needs to be translated within an anchored frame. This includes call-out texts made in FM (with text lines and arrows), *and* any text part of the imported image. Sometimes illustrators put text in the images themselves, e.g. "Right", "Left". Make sure to tell illustrators to not include text that needs to be translated within the image. Of course, all of this does not pertain to textual elements that are actually part of your product and that will not be changed in localized versions! (product names, engravings, etc.) Instead, make call-outs with numbers (or letters) and lines/arrows. Using a special font that makes circled numbers can be nice. In the surrounding text, refer to the image elements using the same numbers/letters, e.g. "locate the blahonga device (1) and ..." or make numbered/alphabetized lists: "(A) whizbang gadget" "(B) yahoo device" etc. A further problem could be if images will differ between localized versions, for instance if dialogs have localized contents. As long as the localized images will be of the same size and ratio, you can use the same file name for all versions, but put them in different folders. With a well thought-out folder structure in which you copy files between "language" folders, you never have to concern yourself with conditional images, re-importing images, or relocating images. However, if the localized images will differ in size, you can end up with call-outs in the wrong place or anchored frames being too small. Then you probably need to make separate anchored frames for each language and make them conditional. Obviously, try to avoid this... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thomas Michanek, FrameMaker/UNIX/MIF expert Technical Writer, Uppsala, Sweden mailto:Thomas.Michanek@telia.com http://go.to/framers/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ** To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@omsys.com ** ** with "unsubscribe framers" (no quotes) in the body. **