RE: Hyphenation in technical documentation

["Jones, Donna" <DJones -at- zebra -dot- com>]

> Here's my question for all you seasoned professionals: what do you
> think about hyphenation in technical documentation? Do you think
> hyphenation is okay as long as you don't hyphenate jargon words?
> Should hyphenation be turned off for a whole project? Where do you
> draw the line (pun intended)?


Hi Paul,

Welcome to the tech writing profession and to the list. I hope that you enjoy both as much as I have.  :-)

I have always disliked automated hyphenation, but I can't give you a concrete reason as to why. Maybe it's because I read fast, and I can't stand the feeling of being inter-

rupted in the mid-

dle of a word. See what I mean? This pause at hyphens is how I "hear" hyphenated words as my brain glues the two parts of the word together, and I find it annoying. I can read and comprehend much more quickly when the text is NOT hyphenated, so I always turn off the automated hyphenation in any program that I'm using.

Happy Wednesday! Friday is coming fast!

Donna

Donna L. Jones
--------------------------------------
Technical Writer II
Zebra Technologies Corp.
Vernon Hills, IL
djones -at- zebra -dot- com

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