Customizing Dialog Elements and Buttons

A difference in the length of source and target segments may make it necessary to adjust the size and position of dialogs, dialog elements and buttons.

When you translate a dialog element or button, the corresponding image is marked and corner markers are placed at the corners and around the edges. You can change the size of the image by moving these corners. To change the position of the image, place the mouse cursor on it and keep the left mouse button pressed to move it to the desired position.

During localization of .NET resources, magnetic alignment lines facilitate the accurate positioning of dialog elements and buttons to the millimeter. Moreover, the position and size of the current dialog element is displayed under the Target Editor.

The translation of a dialog element or button is displayed in the associated image as soon as you use the appropriate icon in the Target Editor toolbar to save the translation or switch to another paragraph.

Adjustment of dialog elements via multiple selection

Multiple dialog elements can be adjusted at one go via multiple selection. For example, several buttons can be selected by keeping the Ctrl key pressed and subsequently be repositioned by keeping the link mouse button pressed.

Multiple selection is possible by selecting the dialog elements in the WYSIWYG view or by selecting them in crossView:

Automatic resizing of dialog elements

If, when localizing Windows resources, the text of a dialog element proves to be too long or too short for the original size of the dialog element, the size can now be adjusted automatically by means of the shortcut key Ctrl+T or the command Resize according to the text size in the context menu of the crossView or the Target Editor.

The following example demonstrates how dialog elements are automatically resized:

Before the localization	The "Add" button is to be localized from English to German.
After the localization	The button has been translated as "Hinzufügen". The text is too long for the size of the button.
After using the command Resize according to the text size	The size of the button has been adapted to the correct size.

The function enables not only resizing of individual dialog elements, but also concurrent resizing of several dialog elements or of all dialog elements of a dialog. Instead of selecting an individual dialog element, you can select several dialog elements (via multiple selection) or the dialog whose dialog elements you want to resize in crossView. Using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T or the context menu item Resize according to the text size, you can adjust the dialog elements according to the correct size.

Aligning several dialog elements uniformly

You can align several dialog elements simultaneously by selecting them via multiple selection and then using the , , , or icon in the toolbar of the Target Editor or the corresponding commands in the context menu to uniformly align them to the left, right, top, or bottom. The alignment takes place on the basis of the last selected dialog element.

The following example demonstrates how dialog elements are aligned:

Before the Alignment
The text elements on the left-hand side of the dialog are aligned differently and are to be uniformly aligned to the left. The top text field "Phone" was the last selected text field; thus, the alignment will take place on the basis of this text field. Via the context menu or by clicking the icon, the dialog elements will be aligned to the left.
After the Alignment
The text elements have been uniformly aligned to the left.

Uniformly resizing several dialog elements

Several dialog elements can be resized simultaneously by selecting them via multiple selection and then using the , , , or icon in the toolbar of the Target Editor or the corresponding commands in the context menu to resize them. The resizing takes place on the basis of the widest/narrowest/highest/lowest dialog element.

The following example demonstrates how dialog elements are resized:

Before the Resizing
The text boxes have different lengths and are to be standardized to the size of the widest text box. Via selecting the context menu item or by clicking the icon, the text boxes will be resized accordingly.
After the Resizing
The text boxes have been uniformly adjusted to the size of the widest text box.

Distributing spaces between several dialog elements evenly

The horizontal and/or vertical spaces between several elements of a dialog can be distributed evenly by selecting them via multiple selection and then using the or icon in the toolbar of the Target Editor or the corresponding commands in the text menu to adjust them.

The following example demonstrates how the spaces between the dialog elements can be distributed evenly:

Before Distributing the Spaces Evenly
The irregular spaces between the text boxes are to be distributed evenly. Via the context menu item or by clicking the icon, the spaces between the text boxes will be distributed evenly.
After Distributing the Spaces Evenly
The spaces between the text boxes have been distributed evenly.

Restoring original size and position of dialog elements

Any changes of the dialog elements position or size can be undone via the context menu or via the shortcut key Ctrl+P. The original position and/or size of dialog elements will be restored.