Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
Internationalizing Applications

Screen layout and composition

The layout of the user interface should be logical and easy to use. Menus and graphics that are used frequently should be easy to find and easy to recognize.

If the user interfaces you design can share one design for most or all markets, there is less maintenance to perform and more consistency. Remember that you might need to make changes to the user interface because of regional equipment differences or cultural requirements.

Equipment differences

In some cases, the layout and composition of the user interface must change from one language edition to another because of equipment differences. Computer companies often manufacture different models for each market. Technology standards vary from one country to another. Differences in keyboards and monitors might affect the design of the user interface. Recognize that many users do not have access to the latest computer components that might be available elsewhere. For example, some markets might not consistently have access to color systems, advanced graphics, large memory systems, or high resolution printers.

Monitors

There are many different models of monitors available, with features or limitations that might affect the look of the user interface. Consider this in the design phase. In general, you should design for a range of monitors and not just for the ones that offer the newest features. Monitor features that might affect user interface design include:

Color — Monochrome monitors are available in black and white, green and black, or amber and black. Gray-scale monitors are monochrome monitors that display different shades of gray. Color monitors vary in capability (depending on the model and video card) and can display 16 colors, 256 colors, or even millions of colors.

Choose a color scheme that is available and looks acceptable on all of the monitors you support. For example, choose a scheme that looks acceptable on both a monochrome monitor and a color monitor. Make color selection user-definable so the user can select colors based on what is available.

Resolution — Refers to the number of dots (pixels) on the screen. The higher the number of pixels the sharper the image. A common resolution is 640 dots on each of 480 lines. However, the Japanese NEC PC monitor displays 640 dots on each of 400 lines. Therefore, you lose a couple of rows of text on this monitor. If you design a screen that uses every row on a VGA 640 by 480 display, it cannot be used on these Japanese PCs. View your design before you finish it to see if the resolution on most screens supports your design.
Screen size — The amount of viewing space available on each monitor differs from model to model because of differences in monitor dimensions. Screen size is measured diagonally from one corner of the screen to the other. Some screens are smaller or larger than others. Additionally, screen orientation can be either portrait (height greater than width) or landscape (width greater than height). The design of the user interface must allow for these differences in screen size and orientation.

Keyboards

Keyboard layouts vary to support different languages so it is important to consider the variety of keyboards during the design phase. For example, you should not hard code short-cut keys (key combinations that perform specific commands) until you ensure that the short-cut keys are available to your audience. In addition to the availability of keys, there are ergonomic issues to consider. The short-cut keys you select should be easy to type. For example, typing CTRL-} on a United States keyboard is simple, however on a Finnish keyboard it requires three separate keys to complete the same function. Also, the at symbol (@) is one keystroke on United States keyboards but three keystrokes in some markets.

Culturally specific issues

You cannot rely on translation to make the user interface audience specific. You might have to design a user interface for each audience to accommodate the local conventions. For example, you might see the following translation of the label for a phone number field:

English:     telephone
French:      téléphone

However, a more appropriate label for this field is “Numéro de téléphone.” The first translation is correct but not as appropriate as the second translation if you consider the context.

Also, you cannot assume that the translation into a particular language allows for all of the dialects of that language. For example, translation into Spanish often does not account for regional differences between various Spanish-speaking users. OpenEdge provides three Spanish-language translations of promsgs: Castilian, Mexican, and South American to meet local language requirements. If you design separate language editions you can create fields that are language specific.

You might also have to design different user interfaces or interface objects to accommodate local conventions. Local conventions are discussed in the following sections:

Abbreviations and acronyms
Address formats
Calendar, date, and time formats
Colors and sounds
Numeric formats
Currency formats
Field labels and field sizes
Financial rules
Names and titles
Phone number formats

Local conventions might require you to design separate user interfaces for different audiences even if the audiences speak the same language. For example, you might design a user interface that has a “County” field for an Irish market and another user interface that has a “Province” field for a Canadian market.

You might also need to consider field size. If the user interface includes a field that allows a two-character entry for the state, a county or province name does not fit. So, you cannot simply create a field with the label “County/State.” The field must be large enough to accommodate the character input.

Abbreviations and acronyms

Abbreviations (shortened forms of words or phrases) and acronyms (words created from the initial letters of words or phrases) used in one locale are not always understood in other locales. For example, the English ordinal abbreviations “1st” for first, “2nd” for second, and so on, have no equivalent in modern Hebrew. In France, there is an organization that is known by two different abbreviations, ISDN (Integrated Standard for Digital Networks) and RNIS (Réseau Numérique Intégration de Services). The abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) also causes confusion. People often assume that ISO is an acronym for International Standards Organization.

Sometimes acronyms are well known only to some groups within a country, for example, people in the military or certain industries. You might see a sign near industrial areas with the acronym “Hazmats” for “hazardous materials.” Not everyone will understand this acronym. Also, some cultures do not use abbreviations, for example, China.

Address formats

Address formats—address fields, address-field lengths, and address-field order—vary from country to country. In Japan, addresses are written in order by country, city, street, then addressee. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, addresses include the county and are in order by addressee, street, city, county, then country.

Address formats might also include miscellaneous information like building names or names of regions within a city. The number of fields and the number of characters within each field must be considered. A small address format in one language edition might require more space in another language edition. The use of titles to address someone varies also.

Calendar, date, and time formats

Different cultures follow different calendars. The week might run from Monday to Sunday or Sunday to Saturday depending on the culture. Different cultures might also follow different calendar years. For example, the year 1996 is 2539 on the Buddhist calendar and Heisei 8 on the Japanese Emperor calendar.

Date and time formats also vary from culture to culture. Table 5–1 illustrates just a couple of the many date and time formats you might see.

Table 5–1: Date and time formats 

Country	Date format	Time format
France	18 septembre 1996 18.9.96	16.45
Hungary	1996. oktober 18. 1996. 10. 18.	16:45
United States	18 September 1996 September 18, 1996 9/18/96	4:45 PM 16:45

Punctuation and capitalization in the date and time format also vary. A slash (/) might separate the numbers in a date format (as in 1996/9/18) or a period (.) as in (1996.5.4). You must design date and time formats that are appropriate for the audience.

Colors and sounds

How you use colors in your interface can help or hinder its usability. Associations or inferences made with colors might not be understood worldwide. For example, the color red means very different things throughout the world. Red signifies happiness in China, loyalty in France, and danger in the United States. Do not use colors in a way that could diminish the user’s understanding of your application. If you imply meanings with colors and you do not modify the colors you use for each country, you might alienate some of your users.

The meanings of sounds are subjective and vary from culture to culture. For instance, telephones have different rings in different countries. So do sirens. If you use a sound as part of your software, it might not be recognized in every market and it might be misinterpreted.

Sound should accompany other types of communication, not replace them. For instance, a beep might accompany an error message, but the error message serves as the primary indicator that something is wrong. Sound communication should not be used alone because sound is not available to all users for a variety of reasons such as:

Sound equipment is not available for the market or the individual.
Sound equipment standards vary from culture to culture.
Sound cannot be heard in a noisy environment or by the hearing impaired.
Sound is user controlled and can be shut off.
In some cultures it is not desirable to have the machine beep when you make a mistake. The beep might cause embarrassment in an open office environment.

Numeric formats

The symbol that represents the fractional separator (the symbol that separates the fractional portion of a number from the integer portion) and the thousands separator (the symbol that separates each group of three digits in a number), can vary greatly between locales.

Currency formats

The symbol that represents the type of currency and the general format can vary greatly between locales. For example, positive and negative currency values often have different formats. You must consider these issues when you create currency fields and field labels.

Table 5–2 shows examples of different currency formats.

Table 5–2: Currency formats 

Country	Currency value (positive)	Currency value (negative)
Germany	1022,89 DM	- 1022,89 DM
Italy	L. 1022	-L. 1022
Norway	kr1022,89	kr-1022,89
Portugal	1022$89 Esc.	-1022$89 Esc.
United Kingdom	£1022.89	-£1022.89
United States	$1022.89	-$1022.89

Note: Although the preceding formats show the same numerical amount, the actual amounts vary based on current exchange rates.

Field labels and field sizes

Consider field label names and field sizes during the design phase. For example, an application written for a user in the United States might have a user-defined field that reads “Social Security Number.” This field might have to read “Government ID Number,” or something else in another country. The field size might also change if the value is different, for example a nine-digit value instead of a ten-digit value.

Financial rules

The rules for rounding numbers vary from country to country. The following are some of the methods for rounding numbers:

Round numbers up or down using 0.5 as the determining value. For example, round numbers in the range 2.1–2.4 down to 2.0, and numbers in the range 2.5–2.9 up to 3.0.
Round numbers up or down using 0.25 as the determining value. For example, round numbers in the range 2.0–2.25 down to 2.0, and numbers in the range 2.26–3.0 up to 3.0.

Names and titles

Different cultures have different rules of social etiquette for addressing or referring to a person. German business people often use the titles “Herr,” as in “Herr Direcktor” and “Frau,” as in “Frau Direktor.” The Japanese append suffixes to names. For example, “Michael-san” is a polite way to refer to someone named “Michael,” as in “Mr. Michael” or “Herr Michael.”

The use of first, middle, and last names varies from culture to culture as well as the order in which the names appear. For example, names in Icelandic phone books appear in order by first names then last. In Indonesia, people are known by only one name.

You must allow for differences in naming conventions. Do not assume the order of names or titles.

Phone number formats

Phone number formats vary from country to country. In the United States, phone numbers are ten digits, including the area code. In Norway, phone numbers are eight digits; at one time there was a two-digit area code for metropolitan areas, but this has been discontinued. Also, the layout and punctuation of phone numbers change from country to country. The following examples show the same phone number in a variety of formats:

(64) 12512
(064) 12512
64-12512

Each of the examples shown above is an acceptable phone number format. Design phone number fields to accommodate appropriate formats.

Language issues

The expansion of the worldwide market necessitates the availability of software applications in many language. A variety of issues arise from the need for applications that work well in many languages. Four of the many language issues follow:

Direction in which text is read — Some languages are read from left to right, and some from right to left. This can influence your text design. Users who read right to left look for the most important information in the upper-right corner, while users who read left to right look for the most important information in the upper-left corner, so you must change the user interface accordingly. For example, order tab folders in the direction each is read, so that the most important or the most frequently used tab folder displays first.
Input Method Editors (IMEs) — Some cultures require a character input method editor on the screen. For example, Asian markets require an IME. A character input method editor is a system for generating characters through a sequence of keystrokes. The IME requires a lot of screen space and decreases the amount of available display space for the user interface. Design your interface with extra room to allow for these differences.
Letters and characters — Language differences often necessitate the use of different letters and characters on the user interface. Different fonts and varying type size might be available. Keyboards are available in a variety of key combinations that are designed specifically for certain languages.
Symbols and abbreviations — If you use symbols or abbreviations to replace text or to save space on the user interface, ensure that the symbols are available on the keyboard and that the abbreviations are appropriate. For example, in some languages the abbreviation might be longer than the original name or does not exist at all. Short-cut keys might need to change in order for the mnemonic abbreviation to have meaning.