RE: Writing dimensions

["Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>]

Sandy Harris wrote:
 
> On 4/8/10, Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> > What's the correct way to write dimensions? This sure isn't it.
> >
> >  18inD x 17.7inH x 6.7inW / 40 lbs.
> 
> I'd use:
> 
>    18 x 17.7 x 6.7 inches, 40 pounds
> 
> There's no need to abbreviate the units or repeat them.

I like the simplicity and lack of redundancy. But unfortunately, that discards what may be quite important information, namely that this unit is tall, deep, and narrow. 

As for the "correct" way, I'm reminded of the old saying, "The nice thing about standards is there are so many to choose from." I suspect that the "correct" way depends a lot on the subject matter, context, industry, etc., which we don't know. I'd look into how such information is presented by leaders in the field, authoritative sources, etc. 


Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
------






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