TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Callouts on Artwork - Best Method Please? From:Bill Burns <BillDB -at- ILE -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 2 Nov 1998 09:23:49 -0700
Once again, I'll chime in with the internationalization/localization
perspective.
If you're producing documents that will or may eventually be localized, and
if the callouts are textual, it's better to add callouts using the features
of the DTP application. If the localization company strips or converts the
text, the callouts stay with the rest of the content. Otherwise, you'll need
to modify and maintain every graphic for each target language, and that can
be a huge time and resource drain. If the text is in the graphic, the
translated text will likely have to be cut and pasted into the graphic file
(since the translators usually do not work in the native graphic production
application), then exported again--for each language.
If you're using a word processor that has limited capacity for layering
callout text on a graphic, then you might use numbered callouts with a
legend. This is a less-than-optimal solution, but it's favored over
recreating and maintaining multiple versions of the same image.
Bill Burns
Senior Technical Writer/Technology Consultant
ILE Communications
billdb -at- ile -dot- com
