Post 13: Introducing Frédéric Dufour

Introducing…

Frédéric Dufour – Administrator – Publications Standards – CCMC

 

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Frédéric Dufour and I am French. After receiving a postgraduate degree in English, I then went on to study translation of English and German. I enjoy learning languages and these days I keep up with German but am also picking up a few words from other languages. I am an avid reader and enjoy going to the cinema and concerts, and exercising a bit (e.g. swimming and yoga). I have been working as an editor at CCMC for more than six years now, and am in charge of editing and circulating deliverables at the Final Draft and Publication stages.

What are you working on right now?

I am on my way to a TC meeting taking place in the CCMC meeting centre. They have requested an editor to be present at the meeting in order to give editorial advice and help.

What help does CCMC offer to Technical Body meetings in terms of the drafting of European deliverables?

We at Standards Publications often provide TC members and experts with our advice regarding the layout and structure of a text at drafting stage. This help during the drafting stages can avoid delays at later stages. This service we offer aims at helping and guiding TCs so that their deliverables meet the editorial rules of the Internal Regulations Part 3 and CEN-CENELEC guides and guidelines. Asking us to come to a meeting also provides TCs with a different outlook and perspective on the deliverables they are working on.

During meetings, the CCMC editors also guide and advise TC members and experts through a more practical and pragmatic viewpoint, e.g. by informing them as to the person and/or department to contact regarding potential extra-editorial issues or by helping and finding the relevant source of information in the elaboration of a deliverable.

Do you need our expertise for the drafting of a draft? Would you like to have one of our editors come and bring her or his know-how? We are a limited size team so we can't be present at every meeting, but please feel free to contact us (production@cencenelec.eu)!

Frédéric Dufour (fdufour@cencenelec.eu)




© All CCMC posted information is copyrighted by CEN and/or CENELEC.  Extracts may be used providing that the source is mentioned.

Please note that the CCMC posted information is drawn from a variety of sources already publicly available on the CEN and CENELEC websites.

Post 12: Tables

This week's topic is tables, their identification, presentation and specification.

How do I identify the tables within the document?

Just like figures are identified by the word "Figure", tables are identified with the word "Table".‖ They also are numbered, with Arabic numerals beginning with 1, independently from clauses and figures.

EXAMPLE:   Table 1, Table 2.

For tables included in an annex, a full stop is inserted between the annex letter and the numerical part.

EXAMPLE:   Table A.1, Table B.2, Table ZA.1.

How do I present the tables within the document?

Here are examples showing how to present tables.

EXAMPLE 1:

Table # — Mechanical properties

Type	Linear density kg/m	Inside diameter mm	Outside diameter mm

 

Units are indicated in the column heading, but when all units are the same, a statement is placed above the table as shown in Example 2.

EXAMPLE 2:

Table # — Mechanical properties

Dimensions in millimetres

Type	Inside diameter	Outside diameter

 

Do not use the presentation in Example 3 but rather the one shown in Example 4.

EXAMPLE 3:

 

EXAMPLE 4:

 

When tables are continued over several pages, it is useful to repeat the table header.

What about notes and footnotes to tables?

Notes and footnotes to tables are independent from the notes and footnotes in the text. They are located within the frame of the relevant table with the notes coming before the footnotes in a separate cell.

Notes are to be designated "NOTE 1", "NOTE 2",… if there are more than one.

Footnotes are designated with superscript lower case letters, starting with "a".

EXAMPLE:

Type	Linear density	Inside diameter	Outside diameter
	l1 a	d1
	l2	d2 b
NOTE 1   Table note. NOTE 2   Table note.
a      Table footnote. b      Table footnote.

Do not include requirements or information indispensable for the use of the document in notes but rather in a footnote or in a paragraph within the table or in the text.

Advice for a stable table

Tables are very unstable elements in word. Easily corrupted, they may cause layout/format problems when, for example, a pdf is created from the word document. This is why it is best to build them very simply, creating the complete structure of the table from the start, and to avoid adding, splitting or merging cells as much as possible.

Finally

For more information on this topic, please follow the links to CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations - Part 3.

Any questions about the topics covered in this post? Post us a comment!

And don’t forget to follow us – next week we will be blogging about formulae…

Mélanie Herfurth  (mherfurth@cencenelec.eu, production@cencenelec.eu)

 

 

© All CCMC posted information is copyrighted by CEN and/or CENELEC.  Extracts may be used providing that the source is mentioned.

Please note that the CCMC posted information is drawn from a variety of sources already publicly available on the CEN and CENELEC websites.

 

Post 11: Introducing Hayat Amrani Jai

Introducing…

Hayat Amrani Jai – Officer  – Publications Standards – CCMC

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Hayat Amrani Jai and I am originally from Morocco. I like reading novels, listening to Arabic music and gardening. I have been working at CCMC since 2001. My primary responsibilities are editing drafts, preparing CEN publications in parallel with ISO, preparing CENELEC publications in parallel with IEC and compiling voting reports.

What are you working on right now?

Right now, I am preparing a CENELEC publication in parallel with IEC. Once I have done this, it will be quality checked by a colleague in the team and then sent to the CENELEC TC responsible to approve its contents before publication.

 

What are the steps before publication?

When the result of the parallel CENELEC vote is positive and after publication of the IEC corresponding standard, the CENELEC equivalent standard is ratified 5 weeks later, our Database is updated and the English, French and German versions are prepared and sent for TC approval.

Since the European Standard adopts the IEC standard, we prepare only the European foreword and the Annex ZA mentioning the corresponding European Standards to the International Standards included in Clause 2 "Normative references" of the IEC standard.

In case the document is linked to a European Union directive, the Technical Body responsible may be requested to provide an Annex ZZ, which is assessed by a consultant who verifies that the content of the standard supports the related EU directive, a positive assessment is the condition for publishing.

If you have any questions about above, feel free to send me a message!

Hayat Amrani Jai (hamrani@cencenelec.eu)

 

© All CCMC posted information is copyrighted by CEN and/or CENELEC.  Extracts may be used providing that the source is mentioned.

Please note that the CCMC posted information is drawn from a variety of sources already publicly available on the CEN and CENELEC websites.

 

 

Post 10: Figures (drawings)

This week, we are turning our attention to figures and their identification, presentation and specification.


How do I identify the figures within the document? 

Let's start with the very basics. Figures are identified by the word "Figure"‖ and are numbered, with Arabic numerals beginning with 1, independently from clauses and tables.

 EXAMPLE: Figure 1, Figure 2.

For figures included in an annex, a full stop is inserted between the annex letter and the numerical part.

EXAMPLE: Figure A.1, Figure B.2, Figure ZA.1.

How do I present the figures within the document?

Here is an example showing how the different elements of the figure are presented (i.e. the title, the dimensions, the key and any figure notes):

EXAMPLE:

Dimensions in millimetres

Figure

Key

1              xxx

2              xxx

 NOTE     please refer to our previous blog entry on figure notes and figure footnotes.

Figure # — Details of apparatus

What about subdivided figures?

Figures may be subdivided to one level. Subdivisions of figures are numbered using small alphabetic letters (a-z).

EXAMPLE

a) Vertical field of vision	b) Horizontal field of vision

Key
Zone A: Recommended
Zone B: Acceptable
Zone C: Not suitable
Line S: Imposed line of sight
 
Figure 1 — Field of vision when line of sight direction is imposed by external task requirements

When it comes to figure files, what are the required specifications? 

• Figures need to be in tiff or eps format;
• Figures need to be language neutral. (If figures contain textual elements, they will need to be edited and translated, which can lead to some difficulties. On the contrary, figures that are language neutral are easily usable for all language versions of a document.);
• The resolution should be 600 dpi;
• The image boundaries should not exceed 170 mm × 250 mm or 250 mm × 170 mm;
• A key should be provided if required.

 How do I name the separate figures files? 

When providing the separate figure files to CCMC, they need to be to identified as clearly as possible to avoid any mistakes when re-inserting them in the text.
Below, we have some examples of how figure files are named:

• 0001.tif, 0002.tif, ... 9999.tif: for Figure 1, Figure 2 ... Figure 9999.
• a001.tif, a002.tif, ... z999.tif: for Figure A.1, Figure A.2 ... Figure Z.999.
• za01.tif, za02.tif, ... za999.tif: for Figure ZA.1, Figure ZA.2 ... Figure ZA.999.
• 0001a.tif, 0001b.tif (for subdivided figures).

Some important editing rules to keep in mind

• Here are some basic principles that may be helpful when drafting a standard that contains figures:
• figures can be found in the body of the text but not in the Foreword, Clause 2 or the Bibliography;
• every figure should be referred to at least once in the text;
• figures can be listed in the Table of Contents, although it is not compulsory;
• key entries should start with a lower case letter.
• It is important to respect the size of the figure files so that they will not have to be resized and will not be reduced in quality.
• Avoid adding elements such as text boxes or arrows to a figure. All elements of a figure need to be grouped and provided in one file.

A final word

• CEN/TCs! Please note that when uploading the documents onto eTrans, it is important to add the separate figure files in the ZIP.
• There is no obligation for CENELEC/TCs to provide CCMC with separate figure files. However, if available, they could be included along with the documents.

For more information on this topic, please follow the links to Draftingof European Standards – Electronic preparation  and also CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations - Part 3

Any questions about the topics covered in this post? Post us a comment!

And don’t forget to follow us – next week we will be blogging about tables…

Cynthia Palagi  (cpalagi@cencenelec.eu , production@cencenelec.eu)

© All CCMC posted information is copyrighted by CEN and/or CENELEC.  Extracts may be used providing that the source is mentioned.

Please note that the CCMC posted information is drawn from a variety of sources already publicly available on the CEN and CENELEC websites.

Post 9: Introducing Sarah Gibson

Introducing…

Sarah Gibson – Administrator – Publications Standards – CCMC

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Sarah Gibson and I am originally from the UK. I have worked in the field of academic and professional publishing for the last eight years. I spend my free time travelling, reading and writing. I have been working at CCMC for almost a year and, like Elysia, my primary responsibilities are editing final drafts and publications of European deliverables.

What are you working on right now?

I am currently in-depth editing a final draft of a European Standard, prior to it starting the Formal Vote.

What is involved in the final draft editing process?

Well, once CCMC receives the approved text from the Technical Committee (TC) it is assigned to an Editor in the Publications Unit. The Editor then works carefully through the text, applying our Internal Regulations Part 3, which incorporates all of the drafting rules we are discussing here on the blog. The Editor then liaises with the TC Secretary to make sure they approve any changes to the text and to answer any queries which may have arisen during the editing process. The document will then be quality checked by another member of the Publications Unit (see Post 5 for more details) before it is sent to translation for a period of 8 weeks. After translation, it will then begin the Formal Vote/UAP or TCA depending on the nature of the deliverable.

If you have any questions about above, feel free to send me a message!

Sarah Gibson (sgibson@cencenelec.eu)

© All CCMC posted information is copyrighted by CEN and/or CENELEC.  Extracts may be used providing that the source is mentioned.

Please note that the CCMC posted information is drawn from a variety of sources already publicly available on the CEN and CENELEC websites.

Post 8: Notes, Examples and Footnotes

This week the topic of our blog relates to the various rules regarding the drafting of notes and examples, footnotes to the text, and notes and footnotes to figures and tables.

See 6.5.1, 6.5.2, 6.6.5.9, 6.6.5.10, 6.6.6.6 and 6.6.6.7 in the Internal Regulations Part 3 for additional guidance.

How do I draft notes and examples that are integrated into the body of the text?

a)     They shall only be used for giving additional information to help understand the document.
 
b)     They shall not contain:
      
       1)      requirements;

2)      instructions;

       3)      recommendations;

4)      permission.

See below for a detailed explanation of what not to include and citations to the relevant sections of the Internal Regulations Part 3 for further guidance.

 



c)      Notes may be written as a statement of fact.

 

d)     Notes and examples should be placed after the paragraph to which they refer.

e)     Regarding their numbering, notes and examples are not numbered unless more than one appears in the same clause, subclause, figure or table.

You will notice that the notes in Clause 3 (Terms and definitions) do not follow the same rules as notes integrated into the text. In Clause 3, notes are designated as Note to entry, they may provide provisions and further technical details and are systematically numbered.

How do I draft footnotes to the text?

They shall be kept to a minimum and shall give additional information only. As for the notes and examples integrated into the text, they shall not contain requirements.

Footnotes to the text shall be placed at the foot of the relevant page and be separated from the text by a horizontal line on the left of the page.

They shall normally be distinguished by Arabic numerals, beginning with 1, followed by one parenthesis. The footnotes shall be referred to in the text by inserting the same numerals, as superscripts, after the word or sentence in question: ^1),2),3), etc.

What about notes to figures and tables?

Notes to figures or tables are located above footnotes to tables or figures. They are not numbered unless there is more than one.

They shall not contain requirements. It is not necessary that notes to figures and tables be referred to.

Finally, how do I draft footnotes to figures and tables?

Footnotes to figures and tables follow different rules, not only in regard to their numbering, but also their drafting:

a)     Footnotes to figures and tables shall be distinguished by superscript lower case letters, beginning with "a". The footnotes shall be referred to in the figure or in the table by inserting the same superscript lower case letter.

b)     They may contain requirements.

Any questions about the topics covered in this post? Post us a comment!

And don’t forget to follow us – next week we will be blogging about figures…

Sophie Vandriessche  (s.vandriessche@cencenelec.eu, production@cencenelec.eu)

 

 

© All CCMC posted information is copyrighted by CEN and/or CENELEC.  Extracts may be used providing that the source is mentioned.

Please note that the CCMC posted information is drawn from a variety of sources already publicly available on the CEN and CENELEC websites.