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Subject:Re: Quote Marks From:"W. Michaels" <stinky5 -at- TELEPORT -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 11 Jan 1996 10:26:39 -0800
A snip of Tracy's:
>> I've used italics for things the user types, small caps for keys
>> (such as ENTER or F3), bold for menu commands.
A snip of George's:
>you type in or click on should be bold. However, when indicating a single
>key, enclose caps in angle brackets, as in <ENTER> or <CTRL>+<F3>.
>I was told never to capitalize words except in these angle brackets.
What I do:
Ordinarily, I type the Key-name exactly as it appears on the key: Enter, F3,
or Ctrl-F3 (after explaining to press Ctrl and F3). I avoid bold and odd
fonts mixed into the text, for readability and skimability. "Click this"
refers to a button or menu item on the screen, and "press that" refers to a key.
I could live with angle brackets in an awkward discussion, but I wouldn't
use all caps: <Enter> <Ctrl>+<F3>
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W. Michaels : stinky5 -at- teleport -dot- com
Michaels Documentation Services