Progress
Translation Manager
Guide


Planning for Text Expansion

When preparing your screen for translation, you should be aware that a translation can be much longer than the original text phrase. This is especially true when translating from English. Table 1–1 lists the standard formula for determining how much developers should plan for text expansion if English is the source language. This is the same table that the Translation Manager tool uses internally to calculate text expansion in the Compile dialog box. For example, if the length of the source text phrase is fourteen characters, you should plan to add space for eleven to fourteen additional characters, or a total of between twenty-five and twenty-eight characters. See "Incorporating a Translated Kit into the Project," for information on how the Translation Manager handles text segment expansion.

NOTE: This table is meant as a guide. There is no one rule or formula that can accommodate all translations. Discussion with a translator about a particular language and its text expansion properties can help you develop an application that is usable in the target language.

Table 1–1: Standard Text Expansion Table for English Source Language 

Length of English Text Phrase
Recommended Expansion for
Target Phrase
Up to 10 characters
100–200%
11 to 20 characters
81–100%
21 to 30 characters
61–80%
31 to 50 characters
41–60%
51 to 70 characters
31–40%
Over 70 characters
30%

Developers should oversize the widgets in the interface layout and provide adequate space around labels and messages to accommodate text expansion in translation. For example, they should make buttons, list items, and radio options large enough to fit translations, otherwise the translator will need to abbreviate the translation.

For example, if you use the following code, there will not be enough space for the Spanish translations “Avion,” “Camion,” and “Barato”:

DEFINE c AS CHAR VIEW-AS SELECTION-LIST
  LIST-ITEMS "air", "truck", "boat"
  SIZE 14 BY 2. 

Depending on the target language, the font for text phrases in a user interface can increase or decrease in size from the source language. Therefore, make sure the application developer leaves plenty of space around text and between objects so that when you translate the application, the user interface still appears in order. Often a developer creates an interface that looks perfect in the source language-with exact spacing. However, when you translate the text phrases to a language that uses a larger font, the text phrases in the user interface look crowded, overlap, or truncate.

The developer should also be aware of text expansion when sizing and positioning objects in the interface. A crowded interface in the source language could result in overlapping objects and text in the target language. Using the Text Expansion table will not always result in a perfect translated interface, and the translator will need to do some cleanup to achieve optimal results. However, properly planning for text expansion makes the translator’s job smoother, results in a translated application that is clear and usable, and saves time that would be spent retrofitting the application.


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