Re: Typography for gui items

[Sarah Lee Hauslinger <slhauslinger -at- gmail -dot- com>]

On Mon, Feb 27, 2012 at 4:53 PM, Richard L Hamilton <dick -at- rlhamilton -dot- net> wrote:
> Does anyone have any suggestions for typographically distinguishing gui items like buttons or menu items in printed documents?
>
> Right now, we don't distinguish them, but I've got a book that uses them pretty heavily. In addition, many of them in this book are common words that could be confused with their meaning as a word. So, I'm considering doing something typographical to set them apart.

We typically format GUI items in the bold weight of the font we use
for body text, which is the convention recommended in several style
guides, including Microsoft. Although Sun recommends using an unbolded
font and capitalizing, IMO bolding enhances clarity because it lessens
the chance of confusion.


Sarah Lee Hauslinger
slhauslinger -at- gmail -dot- com

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help. Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need.

Try Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.

http://bit.ly/doc-to-help

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com


Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.

Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives