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.