OmniDocComparative typesetting of Chinese and English instructions: How to create bilingual layout
It explains the common layouts of Chinese and English manuals, the writing methods and layout steps of each part, and explains how to use OmniDoc to directly output left-right bilingual documents to reduce the workload of manual layout.
Key points of this article
- For bilingual instructions, it is preferred to use left and right layouts, corresponding paragraph by paragraph, to save effort when checking; use upper and lower paragraphs when there is not enough space on the page.
- Safety warnings, technical parameters and model information must be checked one by one, and do not publish directly after machine translation.
- The title, number and figure number of each section are kept consistent in both languages, making it easier for readers and reviewers to check and find.
- Use OmniDoc to upload PDF or Word files, select bilingual output, and you can directly get the translation files arranged left and right.
When doing foreign trade or supplying goods to overseas customers, it is often necessary to turn a Chinese instruction manual into a Chinese and English version. What many people do is to first copy the Chinese text into Word, and then paste the English text section by section. As a result, the pages are misaligned, the pictures are misaligned, and the tables are deformed. It takes half a day to rearrange the version once. The problem often lies not in the translation itself, but in the layout that was not thought through in advance.
This article is written for product managers, technical documentation staff, and small team leaders who need to create bilingual product specifications. After reading, you will be able to judge which comparison format to use, know how to write each part, and understand how to use OmniDoc to directly output bilingual comparison documents instead of just filling in the blanks manually with a template.
If you already have a PDF or Word file of Chinese instructions on hand, then the starting point for typesetting is not "writing English from scratch", but "making the two languages correspond stably". Next, we will first give you the publication style selection, and then talk about the template structure and typesetting steps.
How to format bilingual instructions? One sentence conclusion
First use left and right comparison to correspond paragraph by paragraph; when the page is too narrow or the content is too long, use upper and lower paragraphs instead. The left and right comparison makes it easy to check, and is suitable for instructions with many safety warnings and parameter tables.
| your situation | Recommended practices | reason |
|---|---|---|
| The instructions are mainly text, with short paragraphs | Compare left and right, Chinese is on the left, English is on the right | Paragraph-by-paragraph correspondence, missed translations can be seen at a glance during review |
| Contains numerous diagrams, wiring diagrams or parameter sheets | Divided into upper and lower sections, only one copy of the picture is shown | Comparing left and right will shrink the picture and affect reading. |
| Need to be submitted to certification bodies or overseas customers for review | Compare left and right and add unified number | Auditors can quickly locate by segment number |
| Only for internal employees’ reference and not released to the public. | Only translation or bilingual comparison is available | For internal use, the layout requirements are lower and the emphasis is on accurate content. |
Template structure overview
The structure of the instruction manual is relatively fixed. It is recommended to determine the length of each part before starting to translate it, so as to avoid discovering that a certain part is too long only halfway through the translation.
| part | what to write | Space suggestion |
|---|---|---|
| Cover and product information | Product name, model, version number, scope of application | 1 page or less |
| Safety warning | Risks, contraindications, emergency handling | 3–5 items, 1–2 sentences each |
| Product overview and composition | Main functions, parts list | 1–2 sections plus a parts list |
| Installation and setup | Unpacking inspection, connection steps, first start-up | By step number, steps 5–8 |
| Operating Instructions | Main operations for daily use | 1 paragraph per operation |
| Maintenance and troubleshooting | Cleaning and maintenance, common problems and solutions | 3–5 common faults |
| Technical parameters | Electrical, size, environment and other indicators | 1 form |
| Warranty and contact information | Warranty period, after-sales channels | 1 paragraph |
How to write part by part
Cover and product information
The model, version and date should be written clearly on the cover, with one-to-one correspondence between Chinese and English. The model number must be completely consistent in the two languages. Do not write the full English name in one and the abbreviation in the other.
Example: Model: [Model]/Model: [Model No.], Version: [Version No.]/Version: [Version No.].
Safety warning
Safety warnings are the one part that can't go wrong. Each warning is first written clearly in Chinese about the risks and consequences, and then translated into English sentence by sentence. The action verbs in English must correspond one-to-one with the Chinese ones. After the translation is completed, please ask colleagues who understand technology to confirm it one by one. Do not just rely on the results of automatic translation.
Example: WARNING: Do not use this equipment in wet environments. ／WARNING: Do not use this device in a humid environment.
Operating Instructions and Installation Steps
Use a numbered list for step content, and the number of steps in Chinese and English should be the same. If Chinese has 6 steps, English must also have 6 steps. Do not merge or split them due to word order adjustments in the middle.
Example: 1. Plug the power cord into [interface name]. ／1. Insert the power cable into the [Port Name].
Maintenance and Troubleshooting
A table is suitable for troubleshooting: the left column is the fault phenomenon, the middle column is the possible cause, and the right column is the solution. Chinese and English can be written in two rows in the same cell, or they can be written in separate columns, but the number of rows must be consistent.
Technical Parameters
The units, values and symbols in the parameter table must be checked item by item. Do not rewrite numbers such as voltage, power, size, etc., use international units for units, and indicate the test conditions at the bottom of the table.
Example: Rated voltage: [Value] V／Rated voltage: [Value] V.
Warranty and Contact Information
Warranty terms must state the starting time and scope, contact information such as phone number and email address must be bilingual, and international area codes must be retained. The content of this section changes frequently, so it is recommended to make it a separate page to facilitate replacement of the entire section in the future.
Layout in the editor
- First organize the Chinese instructions into PDF or Word files, and check whether the chapter titles use the same level title style.
- Upload the file to omnidoc.top, select bilingual translation as the translation method, and select left and right arrangement as the layout; if the instructions are mainly diagrams, select translation only, and then insert the pictures yourself. Scanned PDFs can also be uploaded directly.
- Check the translation by chapter, focusing on safety warnings, model numbers, and parameter tables. If you find any problems, modify the paragraph text directly in the PDF editor.
- If you need to unify headers, footers or numbers, perform page operations in the PDF editor to insert or adjust the page order.
- Use the PDF comparison function to compare the old and new versions to confirm that only the expected content has been changed and no other paragraphs have been accidentally changed.
- Before exporting, read it page by page to confirm that no paragraphs are truncated or tables are misaligned across pages, and then save it as PDF or export it to Word for subsequent modification.
Common writing problems
- The English paragraph is much longer than the Chinese one, resulting in high inconsistency between the left and right columns. It is recommended to delete repeated modifiers in the translation instead of reducing the font size.
- The Chinese and English names for the same component are inconsistent. For example, "power adapter" is written in Chinese but has two names in English. Make a glossary of terms and unify it throughout the text.
- Figure numbers and table numbers only appear in Chinese, and the corresponding locations cannot be found in the English version. Figure numbers in both languages should be placed in the same location.
- Directly using machine translation without checking, especially for safety warnings and parameters, is prone to semantic deviations. These contents require manual review.
- There are guidelines such as "see the picture below" in the Chinese manual. When the position of the English version of the picture changes, the guidelines will become invalid. Please check them one by one before exporting.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Do the Chinese and English instructions have to be side by side?
uncertain. When the content is mainly text, compare the left and right for easy checking; when there are many diagrams, it will be clearer to divide it into upper and lower sections or just put the translation and arrange the diagrams separately.
2. Can the scanned Chinese manual be directly translated into bilinguals?
Scanned PDFs can be uploaded directly for translation. After the translation is completed, it still needs to be checked page by page, especially the vague numbers, small font annotations and handwritten annotations.
3. Are there any general examples of the format of English manuals?
The general approach is to refer to the template structure of this article, first determine the chapters and length, and then fill in the parts. Specific examples are subject to the company's own product categories and certification requirements.
4. How to keep the page numbers consistent in bilingual manuals?
Bilingual documents usually only require one set of page numbers. If two separate documents are made, it is recommended that the two copies have the same number of pages and the same version number be marked in the footer.
📝 Summary
The key to typesetting Chinese and English instructions is to first select the right format and then unify the numbers, terms and models. Left and right comparison is suitable for instructions with a lot of text. Safety warnings and parameter tables should be checked item by item. Uploading files with OmniDoc and selecting bilingual output can save most of the manual imposition time.
