 |
| Graphical images must be used carefully to ensure proper translation. |
|
|
| Text strings placed in graphical images must conform to the following rules:
- Use a text-only layer.
Place the text on a separate editable text-only layer in the graphical image. Adobe PhotoShop files (.psd files) for example, support layers, which means localizable text can go into a separate layer and the other components of the graphical image don't have to be touched. Graphical images in GIF or JPEG formats do not support separate layers for text. This is a technique for positioning text on top of a GIF with just a background (although the HTML codes do not work in Netscape Navigator V4.61):
<IMG SRC="foo.gif" WIDTH=100 HEIGHT=100>
<SPAN STYLE="position:relative;top:-50;left:-90;width:80">Text on Top</SPAN>
- Use invariant US-ASCII characters.
Use characters from the invariant US-ASCII character set only. Other characters may not display correctly when translated.
Here are the acceptable characters:
|
|
| Name |
Character(s) |
| Upper case English letters |
A to Z |
| Lower case English letters |
a to z |
| Digits |
0 to 9 |
| Space/blank |
0 to 9 |
| Exclamation mark |
! |
| Double quote |
" |
| Number sign |
# |
| Dollar |
$ |
| Percentage |
% |
| Ampersand |
& |
| Single quite/apostrophe |
' |
| Open parenthesis |
( |
| Closing parenthesis |
) |
| Asterisk |
* |
| Plus |
+ |
| Comma |
, |
| Hyphen/minus |
- |
| Period |
. |
| Forward slash |
/ |
| Colon |
: |
| Semi-colon |
; |
| Less than |
< |
| Equal |
= |
| Greater than |
> |
| Question mark |
? |
| At sign |
@ |
| Open square bracket |
[ |
| Back slash |
\ |
| Closing square bracket |
] |
| Underscore |
_ |
| Grave accent |
` |
| Open brace |
{ |
| Vertical bar |
| |
| Closing brace |
} |
|
|
Be careful when using:
- The circumflex (^) character, which is mapped in Japan and Korea to their respective monetary symbol
- The tilde (~) character, which is mapped by Japan to be an "overline" symbol.
- Symbols such as # to denote number and $ to denote the US dollars, as the United States meanings may not be evident in other countries.
|
|
Variant characters
Do not use variant characters, those above code point X80, since they do not display well in all languages.
Here is a list of variant characters and suggested alternatives:
| Varient Character Code Point (Hex) |
Recommended Substitution |
| 85 (ellipsis) |
... (three periods) |
| 91 (open single quote) |
' (straight single quote) |
| 92 (close single quote) |
' (straight single quote) |
| 93 (open double quote) |
" (straight double quote) |
| 94 (close double quote) |
" (straight double quote) |
| 95 (bullet) |
- (dash or minus) |
| 99 (trademark) |
(TM) |
| a9 (copyright) |
(C) |
| ae (registered trademark) |
(R) |
|
|
Page size
There are several different standards for paper sizes. Two common paper sizes are:
- Regular paper size
USA: 8.5 inches x 11 inches
ISO (common in EMEA): A4 - 210mm x 297mm (longer and slightly narrower than USA)
- Standard Booklet paper size
USA: 6 inches x 9 inches
ISO: A5, 148mm x 210mm (slightly shorter and narrower than USA)
If you design a graphical image that covers the full USA 8.5x11 paper, that image will not cover the entire A4 paper. You will need to accommodate the different paper sizes expected in the final product. You should create the image large enough for the largest paper size, and looks good on all paper sizes.
|
|
| | |
