Practitioner Tips: On-screen reading

Conventional wisdom has it that the best format for proofing a document is hard copy, but how many of us print out these days? The cost of paper and ink, the time it takes to print documents, and the general trend towards the ‘paperless office’ for environmental reasons mean that most of us have become used to proofing on screen.

As with most tasks, the more you do it, the better you get at it, but there’s also a variety of tools and methods that can make on-screen proofing easier and more effective. Many of these do double duty by helping to reduce eye strain—a problem that can affect all of us, whether we do a lot of on-screen proofing or not.

Some of the suggestions below are available as inbuilt features of word processing applications or computer systems, some of them can be applied manually, and others can be implemented with the help of separate software. Have a fossick to see what’s available in your own particular translation environment, or worth buying:

- Change the page and/or font colour: white text against a blue background seems to make the words jump out and to illuminate typos. Play around to find combinations that work for you.

- Change the view mode: you’re probably familiar with ‘Print’ mode, which shows you documents as they would look in hard copy, but some programs also have a ‘Focus’ mode in which the page appears on a full-screen blue background, without desktop clutter or the formatting ribbon along the top.

- Change the column width: why do newspapers (and this magazine) present text in columns and short paragraphs? Because they’re easier to read. Columns reduce the lateral movement of the eyes when reading, which reduces eye strain. Creating columns is a basic word processing feature (some applications will present a temporary 'column view' of text without you having to reformat), but the simplest method is just to make the font size bigger, which will mean fewer words per line. When reading webpages, narrowing the window width will give you ‘instant’ columns.

- Text-to-voice tools: these can be used for proofing text, but I find them especially useful for documents containing long columns of numbers (financial statements!). Have them read out your translation while you follow along on the source document to instantly pick up discrepancies.

- Change screen warmth and brightness: these can usually be ‘manually’ adjusted in system controls, or set to automatically adjust to the time of day or ambient light. Over-screen filters are also available.

- Eyewear: there are many glasses, lenses and lens coatings available, both off-the-shelf and on prescription, that are designed to reduce blue light and/or reflective glare.

I hope you found something both new and useful to you in this list. Nothing, of course, is a substitute for taking a break to rest and refresh your eyes, mind and body. Stepping away from the screen isn’t just about protecting your health, it’s also a method of quality control, so don’t feel guilty taking time out, however busy you are.

Happy proofing!