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Subject: Thoughts on Graphical Callouts
One of the things I wanted to clarify requirements around are callouts. Hopefully this summary will be of value to someone and may encourage discussion. Example of A Callout-creating Workflow ====================================== This example is designed to describe the full requirements for a complex but realistic situation. Most situations will be simpler along some dimension or another. A technical communicator needs to create a document describing the parts of a computer screen about the types of injuries that accompany a certain kind of accident. She finds a photograph illustrating the different injuries in a single picture (abrasions on one body part, bruises on another, etc.). We call this picture the "Underlying graphic." The communicator works with a graphical artist to define a series of lines and boxes that highlight each portion without having lines criss-cross or boxes too far from the text they define. They capture this in a vector diagram that can be placed on top of the underlying graphic. We call this the "Graphical annotation overlay". In the context of her particular document, she associates text with the boxes in the graphical annotation overlay. The boxes grow and shrink to accomdoate the text. When the document is translated, the text will also be translated. Both the source and translated texts are kept separate from the graphical annotation overlay, so that the graphic can change shape with affecting the text and vice versa. Examples of Callout Presentation Styles ======================================= Integrated Annotations and Graphics: Lines, boxes and text: http://www.ballistix.com.au/Marketing_articles/Communications/ad_with_ca llouts.jpg Lines and text: http://docs.sun.com/source/806-4743/images/Audio.Play.callouts.hc.tif.gi f Lines, ovals and text: http://www.digi-net.com/newsletter/images/02.05/DCAV_callouts_small.gif Marks: Floating letters: http://www.scag.com/images/spindle-with-callouts.jpg Lines and numbers: http://www.walkerequip.com/images/silo.jpg Floating numbers: http://www.puc.org/files/leads/imagesl/callout/Page-1.gif Question: how important is the callout style in effective communication? Does a publishing system that supports only a subset of these (e.g. only marks) still meet the needs of authors? Which styles are most appropriate for documenting software? Definitions =========== Annotated Graphic: the combination of 1. an underlying graphic 2. a graphical annotation overlay 3. callouts (usually text) Underlying graphic: something visual to be annotated. Examples include a map, a diagram or a photograph. Graphical annotation overlay: a definition of 1. annotated areas 2. visual annotation relators Note that the annotated graphic and the graphical annotation layer may be combined into a single file (especially with standard vector graphics formats like CGM, EPS or SVG) Annotated areas: Regions (or points) of the graphic that are associated with callouts. Visual annotation relators: Geometric objects like lines, boxes, circles and perhaps numbers which visually relate each annotated area with some annotation. For example a relator might be a line drawn from a box surrounding an area of a picture to a box containing text describing the area. Relators might be automatically generated by software. This is easy if the relator is just a mark at a point. It is harder if it is (e.g.) a line with an associated box. Callouts: text and other content describing the significance of a particular region of a graphic. Note: the callouts and the annotated graphic may be combined in a single file. Alternately, the callouts and the surrounding text file may reside in a single file. Potential Files and Formats =========================== The Underlying graphic might be in a bitmap format like TIFF. The Graphical Overlay might be in a vector-ish format. Each translated version of the Annotated Graphic might be in an XML format. A document would embed the translated versions. So there are up to four files and up to four file formats. But in any particular situation, multiple files or formats could be merged. For example, a binary FrameMaker file can embed all four layers (at a cost of flexibility and maintainability).
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