Short process labels fail a word-for-word translation because English stacks nouns and Spanish needs prepositions. Write a one-line function description for every label, verify the panel renders the eight Spanish characters on a test screen, check each Spanish string against the space its text object holds, and confirm the result on the running panel with a Spanish-speaking operator.
Short process labels are the hardest text on a panel to translate. Pump Jog Time and Level Pause Time carry no grammar, so a word-for-word translation produces Spanish that reads correctly and describes the wrong timer. The method that works: write a one-line function description for every label, verify on a test screen that the panel prints the Spanish accented characters, and check every translated string against the space its text object holds. This page gives the test screen, a starter glossary for pump and level labels, and the checks to run on the panel after download.
Why short process labels mistranslate
Pump Jog Time compresses a sentence: the number of seconds the pump runs when it is bumped on briefly. Level Pause Time compresses another: the delay held after a level condition trips, before the logic acts. English stacks the nouns and lets the reader sort out which one leads. Spanish marks those relationships with prepositions, which is why Tiempo de pulso de bomba carries two de words the English label never shows.
A general translator has nothing to anchor on. With no function to work from, Jog comes back as the running exercise or a physical bump, and Level comes back as something flat. The output is grammatical Spanish for the wrong machine. Generic industrial command dictionaries rarely carry process shorthand such as jog either, so plan to build a short glossary for your own machine.
Translating word by word and keeping English word order fails the same way. Spanish puts the noun first and its modifiers after it, so English positions produce labels that are ambiguous or unreadable.
What you need
- The export of every English label, alarm message and button caption in the project, one line each
- A one-line function description for each label, written against the program logic, not the label text
- The character count of each English label and of every translated candidate
- One test screen with one full-width text object, to verify the panel prints á é í ó ú ñ ¡ ¿
- A Spanish-speaking operator or technician at the site to review the glossary and the loaded screens
Write the function, not the word
For each label, write one line that says what starts the action, what happens when the time expires, and the units:
Pump Jog Time: runs the pump for the set seconds while Jog is pressed, then stops. Units: seconds.Level Pause Time: waits the set seconds after the level switch trips before the logic acts. Units: seconds.
Add the English character count to the same line. The count sets the target the translation has to meet: equal length or shorter, or an object you are willing to widen.
Example: Pump Jog Time grows from 13 characters to 24
Inputs:
- English label
Pump Jog Time, 13 characters, read off the existing screen - Spanish candidates from the glossary below:
Tiempo de pulso de bomba, 24 characters, andtiempo de marcha por impulsos, 29 characters - The text object the English label sits in, sized in the project with no spare characters
The rule in words: a label fits when its character count is not greater than the number of characters the object shows without clipping.
The arithmetic:
Tiempo de pulso de bomba: 24 - 13 = 11 characters longer, and 11 / 13 comes to about 0.85, so the Spanish label runs about 85% longer than the English onetiempo de marcha por impulsos: 29 - 13 = 16 characters longer, and 16 / 13 comes to about 1.23, about 123% longer
The result: an object sized for 13 characters clips a 24-character string at the object edge, the same limit that stops an HMI button label taking a line break.
The decision: widen the object to at least 24 characters and load the full label. If the layout has no space to give, shorten the wording until the count fits; a site that prefers the impulsos wording needs room for 29. Read the final count on the panel after download.
Test the accented characters on the panel first
Spanish needs eight characters English screens never print: á é í ó ú ñ ¡ ¿. Before a single label is translated, verify the panel and its programming software carry them.
- Create one test screen with one full-width text object containing
Tiempo de pausa de nivel: ñ á é í ó ú ¿? - That string is 40 characters, long enough to catch clipping as well as missing glyphs
- Download it to the panel and read it on the display, not only in the software preview
- If characters drop out or print as boxes, read the font and character-set sections of the programming software help and the panel manual for the supported fonts and language options
A project or panel set to a character set without Spanish glyphs usually prints a question mark in place of each one; one page on accented characters showing as question marks during translation shows that failure and its cause. If the manual's font options do not clear it, settle the character set with the panel vendor before translating the rest.
Starter glossary: one term per concept
These entries cover common pump and level labels. Regional usage differs between sites, so a native speaker at the site reviews each line before it goes on a screen. Counts include spaces.
| English label | Characters | Suggested Spanish | Characters | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pump Jog Time | 13 | Tiempo de pulso de bomba | 24 | Short momentary run. Some sites use tiempo de marcha por impulsos, 29 characters, or keep jog |
| Level Pause Time | 16 | Tiempo de pausa de nivel | 24 | Delay tied to the level condition. Add (s) for seconds if space allows |
| Pump Run Time | 13 | Tiempo de marcha de bomba | 25 | Some sites prefer funcionamiento over marcha |
| High Level | 10 | Nivel alto | 10 | Check whether it labels an alarm or a setpoint |
| Low Level | 9 | Nivel bajo | 10 | Same check as high level |
| Manual / Auto | 13 | Manual / Automático | 19 | Abbreviate to Aut. only if the object forces it |
| Start / Stop | 12 | Arranque / Paro | 15 | Marcha / Paro is the other common pair. Pick one pair and use it everywhere |
One concept takes one term, on every screen, alarm and manual. Mixed words for the same timer generate operator questions at the worst times.
Steps to translate and load
- Export every English label, alarm message and button caption from the project into a list
- Add the one-line function description and the English character count to each line
- Run the 40-character test screen and verify every glyph prints on the panel
- Send the list for translation with the glossary, and have a Spanish-speaking operator at the site review the result against it
- Check the programming software help for whether one text object can hold more than one language. If it cannot, build a separate Spanish screen set instead of overwriting the English one
- Compare each translated string's character count with the capacity of its object; widen the object or shorten the wording until the count fits
- Download to the panel
- Keep the English project file untouched as the restore copy. A restore takes minutes; retranslating takes days
How to check it worked
Open each screen on the panel and check that no label is clipped, wrapped into another object, or missing an accent. Shortening wording and widening objects changes the layout, so the fit checks in checking HMI portrait panel fit before making changes apply to the edited screens too.
Trigger each alarm message once where the process allows, and read it on the display.
Have a Spanish-speaking operator explain what each timer does from its label alone, and rewrite any label that gets a wrong answer. Labels that gate a start, stop or jog get this check first; a misread label there is a safety problem, not a wording problem. Compare the finished labels against the actual logic, so pulso and pausa match what the program does.
Treat the English project file as the temporary restore and the reviewed Spanish set as the permanent version.
Recommendation: write the function descriptions and run the 40-character test screen before any label is translated. If the panel prints every character, translate from the glossary with one term per concept and check each string's count against its object before download. If characters still drop out after the manual's font options have been checked, settle the character set with the panel vendor first, because a finished translation cannot repair a font the panel lacks.
Questions
How do you translate Pump Jog Time into Spanish?
Start from Tiempo de pulso de bomba, 24 characters. Some sites prefer tiempo de marcha por impulsos, 29 characters, or keep the English word jog on the button. The function description decides: it should say what Jog starts and what stops when the time expires. Have a Spanish-speaking operator at the site approve the final wording, then reuse that one term on every screen, alarm and manual.
Can I drop the accents to save space?
Do not strip them. A Spanish word printed without its accent or ñ can turn into a different word, not just look wrong. If an object is tight, shorten the phrase first: nivel alto carries its accent and still fits a small label. When the panel refuses to print the characters at all, that is a font or character-set problem to settle with the panel vendor before translation continues.
Do alarm messages need the same treatment?
Yes, and they need the same character count against the same object widths. Put every alarm text in the translation list with its function description, keep each message short, and lead with the condition: nivel alto, paro de bomba. After download, fire each alarm once where the process allows and read it on the display, because operators read alarms under time pressure and a clipped message is worse than a long one.
Planning information, not legal or engineering advice. Rules differ by place: check codes and permits with your local authority and your licensed trades.