Chinese in Indesign?
Thread poster: Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:19
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Mar 22, 2012

Hi All,

I've been asked to copy Chinese and Korean text from Word into Indesgn, and do the DTP. However, when I copy and past this text into InDesign I get XX and ?? in the place of characteres

Any help, please?

TIA,
José Ruivo


 
Xavier84
Xavier84  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:19
English to French
+ ...
Fonts? Mar 22, 2012

Hi José,
Sounds to me like you need to use a compatible font - you should actually have one if the text displays correctly in Word. Word uses a compatible replacement font automatically when you don't have the original font but InDesign doesn't necessarily do so (it probably tries to use the English font of the original document which most likely does not support Chinese/Korean).
Are you on PC? If so, try to use Arial Unicode and see if you get any luck. This is a very generic font
... See more
Hi José,
Sounds to me like you need to use a compatible font - you should actually have one if the text displays correctly in Word. Word uses a compatible replacement font automatically when you don't have the original font but InDesign doesn't necessarily do so (it probably tries to use the English font of the original document which most likely does not support Chinese/Korean).
Are you on PC? If so, try to use Arial Unicode and see if you get any luck. This is a very generic font which is probably not the ideal choice but at least it works with most languages.
Choosing the best font and setting the copy is obviously something best left up to someone who speaks the language but from a technical standpoint you should be able to work with Chinese or Korean copy in InDesign, provided you use a compatible font...
Collapse


 
Xu Dongjun
Xu Dongjun  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 20:19
Member (2006)
English to Chinese
correct fonts Mar 23, 2012

Jose,
It seems you don't have the correct Chinese/Japanese fonts installed on your PC. I can send you something if you know which fonts are missing.
Good luck!
Dongjun


 
Shang
Shang
China
Local time: 20:19
English to Chinese
related to localization Mar 23, 2012

If you use non-Chinese version of InDesign Chinese characters can't display correctly when you paste or import Chinese documents. You can select all or part of strings you paste or import, and choose a Chinese font you want to display contents correctly.

If you want to use an English font to English text, and a Chinese one to Chinese characters in one block or all, you can define a composite font which apply these two fonts to the correct text when you choose it.


 
XX789 (X)
XX789 (X)  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 13:19
English to Dutch
+ ...
Please let the job handle by an expert Mar 23, 2012

You can't just copy and paste Chinese in InDesign, not even if you have all the correct fonts. Chinese has logical and illogical places to break lines, and there are other rules: for example, the Chinese language almost never uses italics.

Don't touch Chinese if you can't read the language. The same applies to any other language not written in ABC.


 
Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:19
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Fonts... Mar 26, 2012

Hi Xavier,

Xavier84 wrote:
Hi José,
Sounds to me like you need to use a compatible font - you should actually have one if the text displays correctly in Word. Word uses a compatible replacement font


Word appears to be using the font PMingLiu. I can't find it the Windows\fonts folder though, and neither in Adobe\Indesign CS5\fonts


Xavier84 wrote:
Are you on PC? If so, try to use Arial Unicode and see if you get any luck. This is a very generic font which is probably not the ideal choice but at least it works with most languages.


I am on PC. Can't find the Arial Unicode font though


Xavier84 wrote:
Choosing the best font and setting the copy is obviously something best left up to someone who speaks the language but from a technical standpoint you should be able to work with Chinese or Korean copy in InDesign, provided you use a compatible font...


Yes! In this case the client was beging me to do Chinese, Korean, Farsi and Tamil. That's why.

Thanks a lot!

José Ruivo


 
Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:19
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Fonts again... Mar 26, 2012

Hi John,


stonejohn wrote:
It seems you don't have the correct Chinese/Japanese fonts installed on your PC. I can send you something if you know which fonts are missing.
Dongjun


Yes, please, just in case

Thank you,
José Ruivo


 
Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:19
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Versions of InDesign Mar 26, 2012

Hi Shang,

Shang wrote:
If you use non-Chinese version of InDesign Chinese characters can't display correctly when you paste or import Chinese documents. You can select all or part of strings you paste or import, and choose a Chinese font you want to display contents correctly.


Yes, non-chinese/asian version of Indesign. I guess I just don't have the proper fonts.

Thanks,
José Ruivo


 
Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:19
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Asian vs (Western) European Mar 26, 2012

Hi Loek,


Loek van Kooten wrote:
You can't just copy and paste Chinese in InDesign, not even if you have all the correct fonts. Chinese has logical and illogical places to break lines, and there are other rules: for example, the Chinese language almost never uses italics.

Don't touch Chinese if you can't read the language. The same applies to any other language not written in ABC.


My ideal scenario. I'd prefer to work only with European languages.

This time, however, I had the text in Chinese in a Word file, which I thought should serve as reference for paragraphs. However, now that you mention it.... The stops signs in the Chinese text seem rather diferent than in other languages I understand
I suppose that in Korean, Farsi and Tamil things wouldn't get better...

Thanks,
José Ruivo


 
Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:19
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Money wise? Mar 26, 2012

As you certainly have understood already, I'm fairly new at the DTP game. I've searched for references on common rates for DTP, and haven't found much info. Yet, I'd like to have a notion if I'm being underpaid, a little or a lot

Assuming you might be reluctant to post your rates, I'l ltell you what my client has ofered me... 6 USD per page Indesign page. In this case I had to copy/paste text from a 6 pages Word file i
... See more
As you certainly have understood already, I'm fairly new at the DTP game. I've searched for references on common rates for DTP, and haven't found much info. Yet, I'd like to have a notion if I'm being underpaid, a little or a lot

Assuming you might be reluctant to post your rates, I'l ltell you what my client has ofered me... 6 USD per page Indesign page. In this case I had to copy/paste text from a 6 pages Word file into a 2 pages Indesign file, for which the client supplied the master page.

So, how good/bad is this payment offer?

And if I simply had to arrange the translated text already in an inx/idml file so that all translated text would display correctly?

TIA,
José Ruivo
Collapse


 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Laureana Pavon[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Chinese in Indesign?






CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »
Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »