Working with HTML symbols

It’s common to come across HTML code when working on a project. While you don't need to be an expert in coding, it's important to know how to recognize and handle code elements properly to ensure that the translated text is accurate and formatted correctly. 

In this article, we will provide you with some tips on what to do when you encounter HTML code, as well as how to remove unnecessary white space that may affect the final output of your translation.

Context

HTML symbols are special characters that are used to represent various things like math signs (±, <, >..) or other special symbols (μ, ®, ™… )

In some tasks, you will not see the symbols, but their double-escaped versions, that is, a code that represents the symbol. These codes ensure the actual symbols reach the client accurately. For example, instead of seeing this source:

You will see this source:

Here comes the important bit that you might have already noticed, namely, there is an error in the source text. 

There should be no space between “Intel” and “&amp;reg;”, because the ® sign should be attached to Intel. You need to ensure the spacing in the translation is correct. If you were translating into German, the correct translation would be:

There is one code, though, that is correctly surrounded by spaces. Take this:

The code &amp;amp; stands for “&”, so the above means “Cables & Sensors”. If you were to translate it into German, you would need to submit:

Note that even if “&” is not used in your target language as a synonym of “and”, you should still use it in the target language.

Last but not least: the non-breaking space

There is one “special” HTML symbol, that of the non-breaking space. It is represented by the &amp;nbsp;  in the text.

Non-breaking spaces are useful when you want to prevent line breaks between certain words or characters, such as in measurements or between a number and its unit. For example, inserting a non-breaking space between “10” and “V”, ensures that you don’t end up with “10” in one line and “V” in the next.

Non-breaking spaces will be surrounded by extra spaces in the source:

You’ll need to remove the extra spaces. If you were translating into Spanish, you would need to deliver:

You can find more information about HTML entities here.