When creating a user interface with globalized support, you should follow some rules and guidelines.
The rules and guidelines are shown in the following table:
| Complies | Not applicable | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| The use of a graphic character for software control purposes must not preclude the use of the same character in the text of messages, menus, prompts, input fields, or output fields. | ||
| Graphic symbols and icons must be translatable. | ||
| Language-dependent parts of a product must be isolated from nonlanguage-dependent parts for easy modification. | ||
| All user interface text and presentation control information must be isolated from the running code. | ||
| Sufficient space must be available for user-interface text expansion caused by translation. | ||
| Functions dependent on display field length and display field position, or display field position alone, must not be designed in such a way that they are affected by user-interface text expansion. | ||
| A method must be provided to allow for the identification and tracking of panels and messages during the translation process. | ||
| Variables must be permitted to assume any location and order within a display field. | ||
| Messages and other displayed words or phrases must be complete entities and must not be constructed from individual words or phrases. | ||
| Entry of end-user commands, keywords, or responses must be possible without regard to uppercase or lowercase characters. | ||
| Date and time formats must be selectable. | ||
| Numeric punctuation must be selectable. | ||
| Number rounding and mathematical formats must be selectable. | ||
| Monetary format must be definable. | ||
| The default currency symbol and its abbreviations must be selectable. | ||
| The currency symbol position must be selectable. | ||
| Field sizes for monetary values must be selectable. | ||
| The measurement system must be selectable. | ||
| Lowercase alphabets should not be assumed to be invariant. | ||
| Special characters, including punctuation marks, should be definable and not program dependent. | ||
| User-interface text modules should be packaged separately from the running code. | ||
| User-interface text modules for single-byte coded character set systems should be loaded separately from the running code. | ||
| A consistent convention should be used throughout the product for denoting variables and input fields. | ||
| Words should not be used in place of numbers. | ||
| The terminology in user interface text should be consistent throughout a product. | ||
| Abbreviations should be avoided. | ||
| Slang, jargon, and humor should not be used. | ||
| Trademarks should be identified and explained. | ||
| Ambiguous words should not be used. | ||
| Proper style and sentence structure should be used in user interface text. | ||
| Negative questions should be avoided. |