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Subject:Wordless manuals From:geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA Date:Fri, 27 Jun 1997 12:54:38 -0500
Mary Howe noted that <<we're... interested in doing
something without words. The product will have an
international market, and it would be very cost-effective,
not to say elegant, if we could do something that didn't
need to be translated.>>
From all I've read on this subject, it's not a good bet
that you'll succeed. There are all kinds of issues: for
example, if you're also selling the product in the middle
east, you'll at least have to flip the graphics so they run
right to left instead of English's left to right. You can
probably establish sequences clearly for readers (viewers,
I suppose) who recognize English numerals, but things such
as arrows and animation marks aren't universal. Finally, I
doubt you'll be able to use purely graphical warning and
caution messages; most people just aren't visually literate
enough for your lawyers to be comfortable in the absence of
carefully worded warnings, not to mention any licensing,
copyright or disclaimer information you'll need.
My advice: If you do try to create something purely
graphical, try what I proposed at this year's STC
conference: find some colleagues in the destination
countries and offer to swap editing services with them.
They can tell you whether your graphics will work in their
country, and you can do the same for them.
--Geoff Hart @8^{)} geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.
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