Using Macromedia Flash MX as a multilingual authoring application

Using Macromedia Flash MX as a multilingual authoring application overview The localization process adapts a document or user interface to the cultural and language requirements of a target audience. Macromedia Flash MX supports localization through Unicode and the various ways in which you can include different languages in a movie. The Macromedia Flash Player 6 correctly displays any language for which your user has fonts and that displays text left to right (not right to left or bidirectional). Some languages also have complex rendering requirements, such as Indic or southeast Asian languages, which might not render properly. This article is designed for Macromedia Flash MX users with intermediate knowledge of ActionScript. The article covers the localization process using Macromedia Flash MX by first providing information about Unicode; what it is and how to use it while creating a movie. The first section of this article also discusses different ways of including multi-language text in a movie. Next, the article discusses how to plan and document your FLA file, especially if you’re not handling localization yourself. See “Preparing your movie for localization,” on page 7. Last, the article takes you through the steps to create a movie that loads five languages (English, Spanish, French, Russian, and Korean) from external XML files into dynamic text fields. Because XML is becoming a standard for use with translation memory software, these steps introduce recommended practices. See “Localizing a Macromedia Flash MX movie example,” on page 13.

Computer text encoding overview Computer text is encoded as a series of bytes. Many different forms of character encoding (and therefore different bytes) represent text. Different types of operating systems use different kinds of character encoding (also known simply as “encoding”) for text. For example, Western Windows operating systems usually use CP1252 encoding; Western Macintosh operating systems usually use MacRoman encoding; Japanese Windows or Macintosh systems usually use Shift-JIS encoding. These forms of encoding are subsets of the Unicode format, tailored to world regions. Some of these forms of encoding are compatible with other types of encoding in some ranges and incompatible in other ranges; using the correct character encoding is critical for text to display correctly. Unicode, a standard encoding developed by the Unicode Consortium, offers an encoding solution by allowing systems to display characters not in the system codepage. A codepage specifies the character set in use.

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Unicode is a 16-bit character set that represents the writing schemes of most major languages. A character set is a group of characters used for a specific purpose, such as writing in a particular language. Each character in the character set has a one-to-one correspondence with a numerical code. Character encoding is an algorithm that presents the character digitally, in bits, by mapping to a code number from the character set. Unicode support greatly enhances your ability to use multilingual text in SWF movies that you create with Macromedia Flash MX, including use of multiple languages within a single text field. For background information on Unicode, see http://www.unicode.org.

About text encoding formats supported by the Macromedia Flash Player 6 By default, the Macromedia Flash Player 6 assumes that all text it encounters is Unicode encoded. If your Macromedia Flash Player 6 movie includes or loads external text or XML files, the text in these files should be Unicode encoded. You should create these files in a text or HTML editor that can save the files in Unicode format, such as Notepad for Windows 2000. The Macromedia Flash Player 6 supports the 8-bit Unicode format UTF-8, and the 16-bit Unicode formats UTF-16 BE (Big Endian) and UTF-16 LE (Little Endian). See “Creating movies with multilanguage text by loading external text or XML files,” on page 3. When text is Unicode encoded in Macromedia Flash Player 6 movies, users can view multilanguage text regardless of the operating system running the Macromedia Flash Player 6, although users must have access to fonts containing the glyphs used in the text. See “Using fonts with Unicode-encoded text,” on page 4. When reading text data in Macromedia Flash, the Macromedia Flash Player 6 looks at the first two bytes in the file to detect a “byte order mark” (BOM), which is a standard formatting convention that identifies the Unicode encoding format. If no BOM is detected, the text encoding is interpreted as UTF-8 (an 8-bit encoding format). If either of the following BOMs is detected, the text encoding format is interpreted as follows:

• If the first byte of the file is OxFE and the second is OxFF, the encoding is interpreted as UTF16 BE (Big Endian).

• If the first byte of the file is OxFF and the second is OxFE, the encoding is interpreted as UTF-16 LE (Little Endian). Most text editors that can save files in UTF-16BE or LE automatically add the BOMs to the text files. Note: If you load external files that are not Unicode encoded, you must set system.useCodepage = true. When you do this, the Macromedia Flash Player 6 assumes all text that it encounters is encoded using the traditional code page of the operating system that is running the player. See “Using external text or XML files that are not Unicode encoded,” on page 5.

About text encoding in the Macromedia Flash MX authoring tool When you author a movie, the Macromedia Flash MX authoring tool encodes text in the FLA document using the traditional code page of the operating system running the authoring tool. For example, these operating systems have associated code pages as follows:

• On Western Windows operating systems (English, French, German, and so on), the encoding is CP1252.

• On Western Macintosh operating systems, the encoding is MacRoman. 2

• On Japanese Windows or Macintosh operating systems, the encoding is Shift-JIS. You can create text in Macromedia Flash MX in any characters supported by the code page of your operating system. However, you cannot create text in Macromedia Flash MX that uses characters not supported by the code page of your operating system. For example, if you are using Macromedia Flash MX in US English for Windows, you can create text in most Western languages, but you cannot create text in Korean, because the CP1252 code page does not contain Korean characters. Instead, you can place your Korean text in an external file that loads into your movie. See “Creating a movie with text not in the traditional code page,” on page 3. When you publish or export a FLA document as a Macromedia Flash Player 6 movie, the compiler assumes all text in the document is encoded using the traditional code page of the operating system running the authoring tool. The compiler converts text in the document into Unicode, and the Macromedia Flash Player 6 interprets the text as Unicode. You can’t paste Unicode-encoded text into Macromedia Flash MX because the compiler cannot recognize Unicode-encoded text when you publish or export the document.

Creating a movie with text not in the traditional code page You can create a Macromedia Flash Player 6 movie that contains text using glyphs that aren’t in the traditional code page of the operating system running the authoring tool in several ways, including the following:

• Load an external text or XML file using the loadVariables action, the LoadVars object, or the XML object. See “Creating movies with multilanguage text by loading external text or XML files,” on page 3.

• Include an external text file using #include. See “Creating movies with multilanguage text by loading external text or XML files,” on page 3.

• In the authoring tool, add Unicode characters to a text variable using the four-digit hexadecimal code points for the Unicode characters. See “Creating movies with multilanguage text using text variables,” on page 6. If you use external text files that are not Unicode encoded, you can set system.useCodepage = to tell the Macromedia Flash Player 6 to use the traditional code page of the operating system running the player. See “Using external text or XML files that are not Unicode encoded,” on page 5. true

Note: For movies in version Macromedia Flash Player 5 or earlier that are authored in Macromedia Flash MX or earlier, the Macromedia Flash Player 6 and earlier versions display the text using the traditional code page of the operating system running the player.

Creating movies with multilanguage text by loading external text or XML files You can create a movie containing multilanguage text by placing the text in an external text or XML file and loading the file into the movie at runtime, using the loadVariables action, the LoadVars object, or the XML object. (For information about including external text files using the #include action, See “Creating movies with multilanguage text using #include,” on page 5). You should save the external file in UTF-8, UTF-16BE, or UTF-16LE format, using an application that supports the format. If you are using UTF-16BE or UTF-16LE format, the file must begin with a byte order mark (BOM) to identify the encoding format to the Macromedia Flash Player 6.

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You cannot change the encoding of an XML file by changing the encoding tag. The Macromedia Flash Player 6 identifies the encoding of an external XML file using the same rules as with all external files: if no byte order mark is encountered at the beginning of the file, the file is assumed to be in UTF-8 encoding. If a byte order mark is encountered, the file is interpreted as UTF16BE or LE. To load multilanguage text using an externally loaded file:

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In the Macromedia Flash MX authoring tool, create a dynamic or input text field that will display the text in the movie.

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Use the Property inspector to assign an instance name to the text field, for example, myText_txt.

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Create a text or XML file that defines the value for the text field.

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Save the file in UTF-8, UTF-16BE, or UTF-16LE format.

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If you are using a UTF-16 format, make sure a byte order mark is included at the beginning of the file to identify the encoding, as follows:

• For UTF-16BE, the first byte of the file should be OxFE, and the second byte should be OxFF. • For UTF-16LE, the first byte of the file should be OxFF, and the second byte should be OxFE. Note: Most text editors that can save files in UTF-16BE or LE automatically add the BOMs to the files.

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Use one of the following ActionScript procedures to reference the external file and load it into the dynamic or input text field:

• Use the XML object (a predefined client-server object) to load an external XML file from a specified URL. Note: The sample file that accompanies this tutorial demonstrates use of XML.load. For more information, see “Localizing a Macromedia Flash MX movie example,” on page 13.

• Use the loadVariables action to load an external file. • Use the LoadVars object (a predefined client-server object) to load an external text file from a specified URL. For information on these procedures, see the respective entries in the online ActionScript Dictionary (Help > ActionScript Dictionary) or in the Reference panel (Window > Reference). Using fonts with Unicode-encoded text When you use external files that are Unicode-encoded, your users must have access to fonts containing all the glyphs used in your text files. By default, Macromedia Flash MX stores the names of fonts used in dynamic or input text files. During movie playback, the Macromedia Flash Player 6 (and earlier versions) looks for those fonts on the operating system running the player. If the text in a movie contains glyphs that are not supported by the specified font, the Macromedia Flash Player 6 will attempt to locate a font on the user’s system which does support those glyphs. It is not always possible for the player to locate an appropriate font. The behavior of this function depends on the fonts available on the user’s system, and the operating system running the player.

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You can also embed fonts for dynamic or input text fields. However, some fonts, particularly those used for Asian languages, can add significantly to the SWF file size when embedded. See About embedded fonts and device fonts in online Help (Help > Using Flash > Working with Text). Using external text or XML files that are not Unicode encoded If you load external files into a Macromedia Flash Player 6 movie that are not Unicode encoded, the text in the external files will not display correctly when the Macromedia Flash Player 6 attempts to display them as Unicode. You can tell the Macromedia Flash Player 6 to use the traditional code page of the operating system that is running the player. To do this, add the following code as the first line of code in the first frame of the movie that is loading the data: system.useCodepage = true;

You should set the system.useCodepage property only once in a movie, and you should not use the system.useCodepage property multiple times in an attempt to make the player interpret some external files as Unicode and some as another type of encoding. Setting system.useCodepage multiple times in a movie can yield unexpected results. If you set system.useCodepage to true, keep in mind that the traditional code page of the operating system running the player must include the glyphs used in your external text file in order for the text to display. For example, if you load an external text file that contains Chinese characters, those characters will not display on a system that uses the CP1252 code page, because that code page does not include Chinese characters. To ensure that users on all platforms can view external text files used in your movies, you should encode all external text files as Unicode and leave system.useCodepage set to false by default. This way the Macromedia Flash Player 6 will interpret the text as Unicode. For more information, see the entry for system.useCodepage in the ActionScript Dictionary. (Help > ActionScript Dictionary) or in the Reference panel (Window > Reference). Note: To view the entry for system.useCodepage, you must have installed the updates to the ActionScript Dictionary, available from the Macromedia Flash Support Center (http://www.macromedia.com/support/flash).

Creating movies with multilanguage text using #include You can include text files in your movie using the #include action. For example, if you are working on a Western Windows operating system and you want to include Chinese or Korean characters in a movie, you can place the Chinese or Korean text into an external text file, and include the external file into the Macromedia Flash movie.When the #include action is invoked, the contents of the specified text file are included in the movie when the movie is published, exported, or tested. You should save the text file in UTF-8 format. Save the file using an application that supports UTF-8 encoding, such as Notepad for Windows 2000. You must include the following header as the first line of the file, to identify the file as Unicode to the Macromedia Flash MX authoring tool: //!-- UTF8 Note: Be sure to include a space after the second dash (-).

By default, the Macromedia Flash MX authoring tool assumes that external files included using #include are encoded in the traditional code page of the operating system running the authoring tool. Using the //!-- UTF8 header in a file tells the authoring tool that the external file is encoded as UTF-8.

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To include multilanguage text using the #include action:

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In the Macromedia Flash MX authoring tool, create a dynamic or input text field that will display the text in the movie.

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Use the Property inspector to assign an instance name to the text field, for example, myText_txt.

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Create a text file that defines the value for the text field. Remember to add the header //!-UTF8 at the beginning of the file.

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Save the text file in UTF-8 format.

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Use the #include action to include the external file in the dynamic or input text field. For more information, see the entry for #include in the online ActionScript Dictionary (Help > ActionScript Dictionary).

Creating movies with multilanguage text using text variables In ActionScript, you can include Unicode literal code points using the syntax \uXXXX, where the backslash (\) is the escape character, and XXXX is the four-digit hexadecimal code that represents the Unicode character. The Macromedia Flash MX authoring tool supports Unicode code points up through \uFFFF. To find the code points for Unicode characters, refer to the Unicode Standard at http://www.unicode.org. Note: You can use Unicode code points only in text variables. You cannot include Unicode code points in external text or XML files; the Macromedia Flash Player 6 will not recognize Unicode code points in external files.

For example, to set a dynamic text field that contains Japanese, Korean, Chinese, English, Hebrew, and Greek characters and the Euro sign, you can do the following: To create an example movie using Unicode code points:

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Open a new movie. Select the Text tool and use the Property inspector to select dynamic text from the Text type pop-up menu. Make the text 32 points. Use the Font pop-up menu to select _sans.

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On Frame 1 of Layer 1, create a text field on the Stage that’s at least 250 pixels wide.

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In the Property inspector, with the text field selected, enter Loc_txt in the Instance Name text box.

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In the Timeline, add a new layer and name it Actions. Select Frame 1 of the Actions layer and open the Actions panel (Window > Actions).

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In the Script pane, in expert mode, type Loc_txt.txt = "\u304B\uD55C\u6C49hello\u05E2\u03BB\u20AC";

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Test the movie. When the movie plays, the text field displays the following:

For best results when creating a text field that contains multiple languages, use a font that includes all the glyphs needed for your text. See “Using fonts with Unicode-encoded text,” on page 4.

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Preparing your movie for localization When creating a movie for localization, planning is essential. Adhering to a localization strategy offers benefits to anyone working on the same movie and ensures that the process runs smoothly, especially if others will handle localization. Effective planning involves the following techniques:

• Using text compatible with translation memory software, if necessary • Documenting your movie • Managing assets and content About Translation Memory Software If you’re submitting your Macromedia Flash movie to a company that handles localization, it’s probable that the company uses translation memory software. In its most basic form, translation memory software includes a database of sentence pairs from previously translated documents, where a source language sentence is combined with a translated target language sentence. If a similar source language sentence appears in a new file, the translation memory program finds the previous translation and suggests it as a basis for the new translation. Additionally, sentence pairs from the new document become part of the database. Translation memory software differs from machine translation systems because translation memory does not translate anything by itself—humans handle the translation. Machine translation systems do generate translations based on linguistic data. If you know that your localization team will use translation memory software, use the following guidelines when including text in your movie.

• Do not include text strings that should not be translated in the same external file as text strings that require translation.

• Use external XML files, which are preferable as XML is becoming a standard for translation memory systems. Also, it’s generally easier for a localization company to work with text or XML files rather than FLA files.

• Avoid rewriting sentences that might already be in the company’s translation memory database (generally because a version of the file has been translated before).

• In advance of writing text in your movie, find out if the localization company has guidelines on use of controlled language. (Using controlled language involves limiting the types of words used in a document and implementing writing guidelines that improve “translatability.” Some translation strategies involve using controlled language software).

• Use a sequential format in external files. Translators often find it helpful if the text in external files is placed in the same order in which the text appears in the movie. A sequential layout provides better contextual information and is more helpful than, for example, a format that places all heading text together, or all button text together regardless of the text order.

• Check with your localization team to determine a preferred way of including text strings in an external file; either including all language strings in one XML file, or including one language per XML file. Most localization companies prefer the latter.

• Name all external text, ActionScript, or XML files using low-ASCII characters. • Check with your localization team to see if they use a naming convention for external files.

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Documenting your movie for localization One of the first tasks localizers complete is analysis of the movie to better understand how it’s assembled and to determine the scope of localization. Creating a movie specification document simplifies this task. Additionally, you can rely on the Movie Explorer to assist in your analysis. Last, you can create a text specification document that provides details about text assets requiring translation. Creating a movie specification document The movie specification document includes general information that will assist localizers, such as the following:

• • • • • •

Systems fonts and other text used in the movie Color specification ActionScript information relevant to localization Information about animation Navigation and interactions Components that require localization

The following table is an example of the types of entries you can include in a project specification document. Specification document: Localization_home.fla (Home page) Title text: 36 point Vonnes Bold - Extended (embedded static text) Body text: 14 point _sans Navigation buttons (created in Fireworks. FW_template_buttons.png: Template is provided) up state— 14 pt _sans. Hexadecimal value of #ff9900. Button effect-linear gradient, inner bevel. down state—12 pt _sans. Hexadecimal value of #FF3300. Button effect-linear gradient, inner bevel. Marker names: do not require localization ActionScript: does not require localization Screen shots: user_interface.bmp requires replacement shot using the localized operating system Text on the Products layer is masked by the ProductsMask layer. Turn off the masking to edit the text.

Using the Movie Explorer To aid you in noting the specifications of your movie, you can use the Movie Explorer (Window > Movie Explorer). Among its varied features, the Movie Explorer can display objects in your movie in different ways to provide the localization team with information that will assist them in their analysis. You can display objects in a hierarchical structure, as well as display properties of objects in your movie. The Movie Explorer lets you complete the following tasks:

• Display all text and text fields in the FLA file

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• Print the list currently displayed in the Movie Explorer; a printout can be a helpful accompaniment to the movie specification that you prepare for localization.

• • • •

Search for an object by name Display the Properties panel for a selected object Find all instances of a symbol or action Replace all occurrences of one font with another

For additional information about the Movie Explorer, refer to online Help (Help > Using Flash > Working in Flash > Using the Movie Explorer). Creating a text specification document Text that is converted into broken apart text for use in your document is non-editable and must be extracted for translation. It’s also helpful to create symbols of text that you can edit in your FLA file so that it’s easily accessed through the Library window. By documenting text in your movie that requires translation, you’ll streamline revisions and the process of analyzing the source language content. You can also use text from the documentation to help you formulate meta tags for HTML pages that include the movie. The text specification document should indicate the path to the text asset, the content, and any additional notes. Path

Text

Additional Notes

Library/buttons/products-editable

Products

Button can accommodate 10 characters.

Library/buttons/support-editable

Support

Button can accommodate 10 characters.

Library/Buttons/downloads-editable Downloads

Button can accommodate 15 characters.

Using Macromedia Flash MX as a multilingual authoring application

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Path

Text

Additional Notes

Library/Text/intro_text

Macromedia Flash is the key to designing and delivering lowbandwidth animations, presentations, and websites.

Text is static and uses _sans device font.

News.txt (external XML file)

(see file)

Create duplicate version of the text file for localization. Append file name per our naming convention.

Managing assets and content for localization Before beginning a movie, and throughout authoring, you can use the following content management strategies that simplify localization:

• • • • •

Organizing the library for localization Designing for differing text areas between text or ideographs in different languages Designing animation and navigation that will also be logical after localization Commenting and localizing ActionScript Testing the localized movie

Organizing the library for localization By simply organizing your library in a way that’s logical for localization, you can eliminate many of the hurdles that tend to slow the process. One recommended strategy is to include, in the library, an editable version of all symbols. For example, before converting an editable text symbol to broken apart text, make an editable duplicate of the symbol.

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The editable duplicate symbol should have the same name as the publishing version, appended to include the word “editable.” You can place the editable versions in their own folder, or sort the library so that the editable versions appear in the Library window next to the publishing version.

Another recommended practice is to keep screenshots that require localization in a separate folder in the library. Accommodating expanding contracting text areas Because text in Macromedia Flash occupies a fixed area, such as within the size of your Stage, buttons, or fields, you must take text expansion and contraction into consideration when creating a movie for localization. If your source language is English, note that the text of most western European languages can take up to 25% more horizontal space. Additionally, these languages require vertical space for accents and other diacritical marks. Languages that use ideographs, such as Japanese and Korean, if placed to be read horizontally, might require less horizontal space and more vertical space than the corresponding English version. In the following illustration, the Macromedia Flash designer did not size the download button to accommodate a longer word in another language.

Design your text fields for the language that requires the most space. Also, consider if use of scrolling text fields is appropriate for your movie.

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Designing graphics, animation, and navigation For the graphics and animation in your movie, think about issues that might arise after localization, such as differences in grammar or use of languages. It also helps to be familiar with the customs, social taboos, and even hand gestures relevant to those who’ll play your localized movie (for instance, the OK hand gesture in the United States is an insult in Brazil). Consider the culture of all users who will view your movie in a specific language, and do not assume that language equals locale. Avoid using flags in your movie to represent languages. A good general practice is to keep graphics and animations simple and generic enough so users in cultures other than that of the source language will understand it. When creating navigation controls, you’ll again need to pay attention to word usage, taking care to avoid ambiguous words. Both animation and navigation should accommodate the potential for expanding and contracting text areas.

Handling ActionScript Ideally, the ActionScript (other than text variables) in your movie should not require localization at all. Exceptions do exist, however, especially if end users will work with the movie in the Macromedia Flash authoring environment. In your movie specification document, include any notes localizers need to know about the ActionScript in your movie. Additionally, localizers can more easily analyze movies if complex ActionScript includes comments about the purpose of the script and how it works.

Testing the localized movie Once localization is complete, the localized movie should be systematically tested for script errors and broken links. Don’t assume that because the source movie passes testing, that the localized version will as well. Text should be checked to verify that literal translations make sense and that translations that aren’t literal still capture the intention of the original text.

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Localizing a Macromedia Flash MX movie example In the flashmxlocalization folder that you downloaded, open localization.fla. Notice the Stage contains three dynamic text fields with the following instance names: train_txt, sub_txt, and content_txt. field_txt sub_txt content_txt

The Stage also contains five buttons, each representing a language. When the user clicks a button while the movie plays, the playhead moves to the frame that corresponds to the language, and text in external files loads into the dynamic text fields.

Properties for the dynamic text fields are set in the Property inspector. Text fields that display English, French, and Spanish are set to Arial. Text fields that display Korean are set to Batang, and text fields that display Russian are set to Arial CYR.

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Note: If the text is not displaying as expected when you play the movie, you do not have the correct fonts installed. If you’re using Macintosh OS 9 or higher, you must use the international system fonts included on your installation disk. Windows users should have the correct fonts installed by default. If necessary, refer to your operating system online Help for instructions on installing multilanguage support.

The Character options (click Character in the Property inspector) for all dynamic text fields are set to Embed Font Outlines for No Characters. To view the ActionScript that loads the French XML file:

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In the Timeline, select Frame 10 of the Actions layer. As the frame label indicates, Frame 10 marks where French is loaded into the movie.

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Open the Actions panel (Window > Actions) to see the following ActionScript: doc = new XML (); doc.ignoreWhite = true; doc.load (“int_fr.xml”); function myonLoad () { _root.train.txt.text = doc.firstChild.childNodes [0].firstChild; _root.sub_txt.text = doc.firstChild.childNodes [1].firstChild; _root.content_txt.text = doc.firstChild.childNodes [2].firstChild; } doc.onLoad = myOnLoad stop ();

In the previous script, the following line creates a variable, named doc, and identifies doc as an XML file: doc = new XML ();

The XML file includes white space that prevents the external text from loading correctly unless the following line of ActionScript is included: doc.ignoreWhite = true;

The following line specifies the name of the text file that loads: doc.load (“int_fr.xml”); Note: For additional information about the XML.load method, see the ActionScript Dictionary (Help > ActionScript Dictionary).

Next, the ActionScript creates a function named myonLoad: function myonLoad () { _root.train.txt.text = doc.firstChild.childNodes [0].firstChild; _root.sub_txt.text = doc.firstChild.childNodes [1].firstChild; _root.content_txt.text = doc.firstChild.childNodes [2].firstChild; }

To understand how the myonLoad function works, you must understand the structure of the XML file, which is as follows: Note: Oftentimes, your localization team will have suggestions about a structure for XML files that works best with their filters for translation memory software. Check with your localization team to see if they have recommendations.

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In the XML file, the text that loads into the movie is nested within tags. Each tag represents a hierarchical position; the position at the top of the hierarchy is referred to as firstChild. The text for the three text fields is nested within firstChild in the 0, 1, and 2 positions, respectively. The line of script doc.onLoad function myonLoad is called.

= myOnLoad

specifies that once the variable doc loads, then the

The following illustration is of the XML file that loads into the movie on Frame 10 (int_fr.xml).

When you create an XML file, many text editors automatically include text that specifies the version of XML and the character encoding. As you create XML files for each language, check the specified encoding to ensure that it’s correct.

Links to additional localization resources For more information about localization, standards, Unicode, and XML, see to the following websites: Localisation Industry Standards Association (LISA) at http://www.lisa.org The Unicode Consortium at http://www.unicode.org The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at http://www.w3.org

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