Re: Ellipses

[Jim Grey <jwg -at- ACD4 -dot- ACD -dot- COM>]

Karen Kay leaves nothing out when she asks about ellipses:
>I am revising a manual. And there are instances of commands and
>programs that need to be typed. In some cases, the whole thing isn't
>listed, just the relevant portions. So.....how do you show vertical
>ellipses? One period on each line? Or could a horizontal ellipsis be
>used to show that several lines are elided?

I've tried putting a period on each line.  Some people have had trouble seeing
the ellipsis when I do this.  I think people interpret the ellipsis as one
symbol: ...  When spread across three lines, the effect is lost.  I've tried
tightening the line spacing across the vertical ellipsis to draw them together.
I've tried using small bullets in place of periods, to give the ellipsis more
heft.  I've even tried showing the listing on a piece of paper (drawn with
Interleaf's drawing tool), with a ripped portion in the middle to indicate
missing stuff.  This was as subtle as a baseball bat to the forehead, which
is a mixed blessing:  clear, but too much noninformation for the purpose at
hand.  It was also time intensive, labor intensive, and too much trouble to
update.

So, I use three small bullets, with tight line spacing so the reader is more
likely to consider them a unit.  I also generally indent the vertical
ellipsis a little from the text body.

Hope this helps!

Peace,
jim grey
--
jim grey          |"Ain't nothin' better in the world, you know
jwg -at- acd4 -dot- acd -dot- com  |Than lyin' in the sun, listenin' to the radio" - D. Boone
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