Every segment has a Maximum Size property. This is used to define width and height limitations for a segment. You can use the Validate Expert to detect segments that exceed these limits. This is an especially useful property for localizing embedded-systems.

To add a Maximum size to a string, select the relevant string in the Workspace window and click on the Maximum size field in the Properties window.

Then select the type of Maximum size to apply and its definition.

No Maximum Size

 

This is the default option for every segment. Click this option to ensure that no height or width limitations are defined for a segment.

Maximum Characters

 

Click this radio button to define a character width and number of rows for a segment. These are validated using a Fixed Width font which can be defined in the FILE > Options > Defined Fonts.

  • Width: Specify the maximum width in characters for a segment here.

  • Rows: Specify the maximum number of rows a segment can have here.

Maximum Pixels

 

Click this radio button to define a width and height for a segment. These are validated using proportional fonts which can be defined in the FILE > Options > Defined Fonts.

  • Width: Define the maximum pixel width of a segment here.

  • Height: Define the maximum pixel height of a segment here. Setting this to ZERO ensures that no height restriction is defined for this segment.

  • Font: Select the font that is to be used to display the segment width. This is also the font that will be used to determine if a segment fits within it width and height dimensions.

 

Use HOME > Settings > Defined Fonts to define the Font Style for the Maximum Size property.

Proportional Characters

 

Click this radio button to define a limit based on the size of the original string. Setting the percentage of source to 100% means that the string must be no longer than the original.

 

Thus if you need to set the limit to 50% longer than the original string's length, set the percentage to 150%.

 

Working with Maximum Size Properties

Alchemy will draw a bounding rectangle in the Translator Toolbar if a Maximum Size has been defined for a segment.

The bounding rectangle will help the translator see the dimensions which are available for translation. If the translation does not fit into this available space, the bounding rectangle will change to red.

The Validate Expert can also be used to scan a project detecting segments that exceed the Maximum Size property values.

Using XLIFF to set Maximum Size

For information on using XLIFF to define the Maximum Size property of a segment, please refer to Configuring Maximum Size Property Using XLIFF.