Constraints

What is a constraint ?

Constraints allow you to check if the file matches certain rules. These rules allow to ensure the subtitles readability when displayed during a video. They have to, for example, be displayed long enough. These rules change according to the subtitle language. Some customers also want the supplied subtitles to match their own rules.

A constraint has a description, a priority and sometimes a value. Description is a constraint's text, value is a parameter you can change, and priority allow to distinguish and classify more efficiently constraint violations. Three priorities exist (high, medium and low). Each one has a color. You can choose each constraint priority.

Each constraint can be activated or deactivated thanks to the checkbox located in front of its description. This allows to ignore some constraints.

Default constraints, preferences constraints and constraints specific to a file

Constraints can be modified in two locations in the software :

• In preferences, under "Constraints", you can define the constraints applicable to all open projects in the application. The "Reset to Defaults" button allows to reset constraints to the Subs Factory defaults, suitable in most cases. Their value is shown in grey in the right column.


• In each project, in the "constraints" palette of each subtitles file, you can define the constraints that will be specific to the subtitles file by clicking on the "Constraints" button. This requires to check the box "Use specific constraints for this file". Preferences constraints will then be replaced by those defined for this file. The "Reset to Preferences" button allows to reset these specific constraints to those defined in the preferences (whose values are shown in grey in the right column).