Re: Quotes/Comma question

["Paul Pehrson" <paulpehrson -at- gmail -dot- com>]

I suppose it depends on your audience. If you put the comma inside the
quote, a non-technical user might thing you are instructing them to type the
comma as well. In that case, a better option might be to split it up like
this:

1. When the Test Path screen appears, enter the following:
C:\Applications\test programs\TS3.exe
2. Click Next.

An advanced user probably won't make the same mistake, so you can just put
in your text in something like:

On the Test Path screen type C:\Applications\test programs\TS3.exe and click
Next.

(If your e-mail program doesn't show the HTML, the path is in a mono-spaced
font.)

Good luck,

-Paul Pehrson


On Dec 12, 2007 10:53 AM, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> wrote:

> Punctuation usage may have changed since my
> grade school years in the 50's, but in your example
> I was taught that a comma should be used, inside
> the right quotation mark.  "Then select..." does not
> seem to me to be sufficiently independent of what
> comes before it to use a semicolon.
>
> Gene Kim-Eng
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Butler, Darren J Ctr 584 CBSS/GBHAC"
> <Darren -dot- Butler -dot- ctr -at- Robins -dot- af -dot- mil>
> > Please help settle a debate. Is it correct to follow quotation marks
> > with either a comma or a semi colon?
> >
> > example:
> >
> > When the Test Path screen appears, type "C:\Applications\test
> > programs\TS3.exe", then select NEXT.
>
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