Setting
paragraph margins and indents
Sizing
objects using the rulers
Using
the rulers to format tables and columns
Using
the horizontal ruler as a diagnostic tool
Reference
numbers and bookmarks
Instructions
Introduction
This brief document is designed to help
translators deal with common problems and keep the format in the translated files.
At the same time, several tips are provided to ensure no information is
deleted, left without translation, or lost due to lack of backup/viruses.
Translation
Procedures
Print the file you are about to translate if you
are provided with the electronic file.
Go to the menu TOOLS/OPTIONS/VIEW and select
“all.” This will allow you to see where a paragraph begins and ends, spaces,
and bookmarks. You can find additional information in Word’s Help.
Translate only a paragraph at the time (e.g.,
select only one paragraph to replace while you have the original document in
front of you). This will reduce the risk of inadvertently deleting information
or leaving information not translated.
Verbal
Forms
When
translating use the imperative corresponding to the formal version of
"you" in the target language, if applicable. For example, when there
are instructions use the imperative. In Spanish you would translate "Use
this manual to learn..." as "Utilice este manual para aprender..."
Acronyms
Whenever there is an acronym that must be left
in English (i.e., when the meaning conveyed by the acronym can not be kept
after translating), provide the appropriate translation after each constituent
word for the acronym the first time it appears.
The use of STAR will allow you to…
El uso de STAR
(Situation, Task, Action, Result –
Situación, Tarea, Acción, Resultado) le permitirá...
If the acronyms are pluralized in English,
these must be translated without adding the “s” at the end.
Carbonic Anhydrase
Inhibitors (CAIs)
Inhibidores de la Anhidrasa Carbónica (IAC)
Inhibidores de la Anhidrasa Carbónica (IACs)
Numerals
Please translate numerals using numerals (e.g.
if the source has the number 3 use the number 3 and not the word “three”) and
words that refer to numbers as words (e.g. five for five) in the target
language.
Font
and Paragraph Format
DO NOT type two or more spaces between words,
as this affects the formatting.
Keep the word format (type of font, font
size, italics, bold, etc.). When the sentence doesn’t fit in the original
location (i.e., when translating PowerPoint slides) you can reduce the font
size or spacing between paragraphs in order to keep the original look of the
slide.
Keep the paragraph format. Please DO NOT
use spaces or tabs to align paragraphs. To align paragraphs proceed as follows:
The way in which most users set a hanging
indent is as follows. They type until they get to the beginning of the second
line of the paragraph, and they press Tab. Then they type to the
beginning of the next line and press Tab. And so they continue. They
end up with paragraphs which (with non-printing
characters displayed) look something like this:
Figure 1: How NOT to set a hanging indent!
This document will be a maintenance nightmare
Later, if they need to add or delete a word
somewhere, or paste it into another document with different margins, the text
will go all over the place, and some poor soul will have to spend a great deal
of time reformatting the document.
To avoid spaghetti indents, set indents using the ruler:
Figure 2: These indents have been set properly, using the ruler.
The text can be modified or pasted into any other document without any
reformatting being required. This document will be easy to maintain.
If you work for a company of any size at all, then
simply getting your staff to use the ruler properly will save them many hours
every week, and significantly increase your company's profitability.
Setting
tabs
For a full explanation of how to set tabs using
the ruler, see Setting
tabs.
When you need to use the Format | Tabs dialog to refine
your tab formatting by adding tab leaders or fine-tuning the location of tab
stops, you can access this dialog from the ruler. With the mouse pointer on a
tab marker or the ruler itself, right-double-click with your mouse; or left
double-click on the grey portion at the bottom of the ruler. The chief drawback
to this method is that it results in setting a tab stop if you have clicked
where there was not already a tab marker.
Setting
paragraph margins and indents
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If
you hold your mouse over the triangular sliders at either end of the ruler,
you will see (provided you have ScreenTips enabled) that they are identified as
Right Indent, Hanging Indent, and First Line Indent. The rectangular slider
is Left Indent. A little experimentation in a previously entered text
paragraph will quickly reveal what they do. |
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You'll
see that the Hanging Indent drags the Left Indent Marker with it, but if you carefully
grab just the Left Indent alone, it will drag both the Hanging Indent and the
First Line Indent markers, resulting in indenting the entire left margin. Despite the name, you
can also use these sliders to “outdent” (or negatively indent) a paragraph. |
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You will probably have figured out that the white area in the center
represents the text area of the page and the darker portion on the right (and
left if you're in Page Layout/Print Layout view) represents the page margins.
If you drag a marker into the grey area, the paragraph will extend into the
left or right margin.
It might appear that the left margin markers cannot be dragged to the
left in
By default, ruler sliders snap to “detents” or “click-stops” at
intervals (the interval is 0.06" if you have selected inches as your unit
of measurement). But you can override this behavior by pressing Alt
while dragging. Not only does this allow the sliders to move freely, but the
relative measurements are also displayed as you drag (as illustrated below).
Setting
page margins
The horizontal ruler can also be used to set left and right page
margins, but only in Page Layout (Print Layout) view. If you hover your mouse
just above the Left Indent or Right Indent marker, you will see that the
pointer changes to a double-headed horizontal arrow, and the ScreenTip says
“Left Margin” or “Right Margin.”
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Dragging will then change the corresponding margin. Once again, pressing
Alt will allow you to see the relative measurements as you drag.
You should note an important difference
between this action and the action of setting tabs or paragraph margins or
indents using the ruler. When
you change paragraph formatting or set tabs without text selected, your actions
apply to the paragraph in which the insertion point is located. If you have
multiple paragraphs selected, the formatting is applied to all the selected
text. Because page margins are a section property, however, when you change
margins, whether or not you have text selected, the margins will be
changed for the entire document (or the current section if there is more than
one). This may surprise former WordPerfect users, who have been accustomed to
being able to change page margins for selected text (Word accomplishes the same
thing by changing the paragraph margins).
Using the vertical ruler
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In the same way, you can
change top and bottom margins using the vertical ruler. When you are in the
header or footer pane, you can also change the header or footer margin (as
well as the top or bottom margin, respectively). If you prefer to set
margins in the Page Setup dialog, or if you have other settings to make in
that dialog, you can easily access it by double-clicking on one of the grey
borders of either the horizontal or the vertical ruler (be careful to avoid
the white area in the center; although double-clicking the centre of the
white bit also brings up the Page Setup dialog, clicking nearer the bottom of
the white area will set a tab stop). When your insertion
point is in a text box or you have a frame or floating graphic selected, you
will see that the display on both horizontal and vertical rulers changes to
reflect the size of the selected object. |
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Sizing
objects using the rulers
You can size the object by dragging in the ruler in the same way that
you drag to change page margins. When your pointer shows the ScreenTip “Adjust
Left” or “Adjust Right,” “Adjust Top” or “Adjust Bottom,” you can drag to
change the size. You may wonder why in the world you would want to do this when
it's just as easy to drag the borders of the object itself. The difference is that
if you press Alt before dragging, you can see the resulting size of the
object. Better still, if you just press Alt and press and hold the left
mouse button without dragging, you can see the current size of the object
without a trip to the Format | Object dialog.
Using
the rulers to format tables and columns
In the same way, you can resize newspaper-style columns and table rows
and columns using the rulers. Although it is generally easier to drag row and
column borders within a table (especially given the risk of dragging paragraph
margins instead of column margins on the ruler), there is no other way to size
newspaper-style columns outside the Format | Columns dialog. And here,
too, you can press Alt and press and hold the left mouse button to get a
display of the current dimensions of rows and columns.
For newspaper-style columns, what you can do with the ruler depends on
whether or not you have checked “Equal column width” in the Columns dialog; if
this option is not checked, you can adjust the width of each column and the
distance between columns independently; if it is checked, then dragging one
marker drags all equally. For more on working with columns, see The strait and
narrow: using columns.
Using
the horizontal ruler as a diagnostic tool
If you choose not to display the horizontal ruler, you are missing out
on one of the most informative features of the Word workspace. Because it
displays paragraph indents and tabs, it can be very helpful in troubleshooting
problems with paragraph formatting. And if you've ever had text disappear
entirely from a table cell because of a negative right paragraph indent
combined with right-aligned text, you'll know how helpful the ruler can be in
troubleshooting table formatting. Naturally there will be times when you want
to eliminate clutter (though really this is what Print Preview is for), but as
a general rule, you would be well advised to keep the rulers visible.
Reference
numbers and bookmarks
Reference numbers must be kept in their
original place. You must be very careful not to delete reference numbers or
bookmarks as you might also automatically delete the information related to
that number/mark.
Remember to translate the text in Headers and
Footers.
Consistency
If the same text appears in different
sections/documents assigned to you, you must be careful that the text is
identical in both places.
The text in the Index/Table of contents must
match the text in Section Titles, etc., to which it refers.
If you are translating a glossary, it must be
sorted alphabetically after it is translated into the target language
If you have doubts about a term or phrase don’t
translate it. Consult with us, or with a knowledgeable source.
Safety
It is your responsibility to have your
Anti-Virus Software updated to avoid potential contamination.
Keep a backup copy of the file you are
translating at least once a day. In the worst case you will only lose one day
of work.
Quality
Proofread the document
everyday. For example, if you translate 20 pages per day proofread those 20
pages at the end of the day. It is difficult and tiring to proofread a large
document once it is finished, and can lead you to miss errors.
Instructions
Regarding PowerPoint Slides
(in case you have Word files with images inserted from PowerPoint):
Translate the slides first (PowerPoint files)
Copy the slides to the other documents in which they appear. Don't work directly on the images in a Word
document, unless you are told to do so. Also, if you were not assigned the PowerPoint slides for translation
don't work on the images on the Word document. We will take care of that.
In the View Menu in PowerPoint select to view
several slides on the screen (go to the menu VIEW/SLIDE SORTER)
1.
Select the
slide
2.
Copy the
slide clicking the right mouse button or pressing Ctrl + C
3.
Delete the
original image (slide) in the Word document
4.
If the
cursor remains in the place of the deleted image proceed with the next step; if
not, place the cursor in the right place
5.
Paste the
slide in the Word document