A new approach to graphics localization

Localization and translation agencies typically rely on a patchwork of different applications to manage, process and QA graphics-intensive localization jobs. At my company, GlobalReady, we use an assortment of custom macros, freeware applications and native Windows functionality to create quotes, analyze images, process files and perform QA before final delivery.

The Globalization Image Assistant (GIA) by Austraat Globalization Solutions encapsulates all of these divergent functions into one handy application. GIA's author, Bjorn Austraat, is a veteran localization specialist and developer, and it shows in almost every aspect of GIA. The tool clearly reflects the experience of real-life localization challenges and provides practical and easy-to-use solutions to almost all of them.

Download and installation. GIA is available as a software download at www.imageglobalization.com (no packaged or CD versions are shipped). The installation package is a ZIP file of about 8 MB (transfer time between 20 seconds for a cable modem and 20 minutes for a traditional modem connection). Users who have not already installed the Microsoft .NET framework will also need to get the 20 MB framework file directly from Microsoft's Web site. The download page on the GIA Web site clearly explains all file requirements and provides direct links to the corresponding areas on the Microsoft Web site.

After completing the download, the standard setup wizard guides the user through the simple installation process. After the user agrees to the license agreement and selects an install directory, the installation process is completed in less than a minute.

Creating a new project. The first thing one notices when starting GIA is the unusual yet quite attractive interface design. The main window shows a backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge; all interface elements have a modern, almost Web-like look, yet are easily understandable and intuitive. On startup, GIA prompts the user to create a new project or open an existing one. Project files are saved in standard XML format that allows for straightforward processing and importing into other applications (such as TRADOS or other tools that provide XML filters).

A handy three-step guide walks the user through creating a new XML project file (specifying project details, selecting files, and starting the analysis).

Image selection. A common problem in complex Web and document localization projects is the overwhelming number of image files provided by the client, often stored in deeply nested directory structures. The Windows search interface or even a DOS batch command can be used, but these approaches often result in much manual processing and cut-and-paste cycles. GIA's visual file browser allows selection of up to eight file types for search, selection and preview operations (BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF, WMF, EMF, ICO).

The interface follows the basic Windows metaphor, although I noticed some quirky differences, such as the single-click activation of folders instead of the typically required double click.

An extremely handy aspect of the visual file browser is the "Add recursively" button that scans directory structures for files of the type(s) specified in the file selection box. We tested this scan functionality on a 1.2 GHz Pentium III production machine and a directory structure containing 1,243 graphics in 68 folders. The process was completed in less than eight seconds.

Image analysis. To analyze the images added to the project, GIA provides a comprehensive analysis interface that includes information about file size, dimensions, number of layers and file type. Additionally, the user can transcribe the source text into a Unicode text box, add comments or specify additional image attributes such as "Screen Capture."

For creating a quick quote, the Word Count box allows the user to enter the number of words in each image.

When we first downloaded GIA, the program required a mouse click on the "Next" button or an Alt-X keyboard command to advance to the next image after entering the word count. This was inconvenient and considerably slowed down analysis of large file repositories.

We contacted Austraat Globalization Solutions by e-mail to point out this shortcoming and, quite honestly, couldn't believe the response. Within six hours, Austraat had added the feature and sent us an updated executable free of charge. Now, hitting the "Enter" key in the Word Count text box automatically displays the next image in the list of project files.

Another handy aspect of the file analysis interface is the "auto-comments" feature, which allows for single-click annotation of images. Right-clicking in the Comments text box brings up a pop-up menu that displays a list of six common internationalization concerns. Selecting the appropriate comment inserts a corresponding text string into the Comments text box. Apparently, this feature comes at the expense of the normal right-click pop-up menu entries (Cut, Paste, Insert), although these functions are still accessible by using keyboard shortcuts such as Ctrl-X, Ctrl-V and so on.

Image QA. GIA focuses on the management and information extraction aspects of image localization but does not manipulate graphic files directly. Upon completing the graphics production process — for example, creating localized GIF files in Photoshop — the user can perform thorough QA in the GIA QA panel.

The QA engine offers a handy side-by-side comparison of source and target files with impressive detail. GIA matches files in source and target directories based on file names. If the project contains identically named files in different subdirectories, GIA flags those files using a color-coding system and provides an interface to manually link source and target files. Upon successful linking, each source-target pair is checked for matching file size, dimensions, type, and frame count. GIA repeatedly alerted us to QA issues that would not have been detectable by performing a simple visual comparison. One multiframe GIF was missing two out of 24 frames and a JPG file was saved as a GIF file with the extension *.jpg. Neither of these problems was particularly noticeable, although having the absolute certainty that the delivered graphics are 100% accurate both visually and mechanically is very reassuring for a quality-driven organization.

Since our purchase of GIA, all of our projects that included a significant number of graphics had English as a source language. Therefore, the ability to have text transcribed into a Unicode text box was insignificant during analysis, as we were only concerned with English. It came into play only after the translation was completed into French, Japanese and Arabic. Not only did the text box handle the proper storage, display and retrieval of these languages, it had no problem displaying them simultaneously.

Conclusions and suggestions for future releases. GIA already provides great value and probably paid for itself in the first two weeks of use through time savings and improved quality of deliverables. On the top of our wish list for future releases is support for proprietary image formats such as Photoshop and Illustrator and a Microsoft-Explorer-like ability to view thumbnails of all images in a folder so we can quickly identify relevant files. Support of Photoshop and Illustrator, however, is a tricky issue, as clients often provide layered files with dozens of useless or deprecated legacy layers and text is sometimes converted to rasterized formats for creative reasons. We would still recommend the inclusion of Photoshop and similar file formats into future releases, even if it is just in the form of display support without automatic string extraction.

Overall, GIA fills a tool niche that has been vacant for a long time. It is certainly poised to become the tool for graphics localization management in the years to come.