TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Abbreviation of measures From:Cheryl Kidder <chekid -at- SYMIX -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 6 Jun 1997 10:12:20 -0400
Rikki:
Here's the pages from the MS manual of style that pertain:
One megabyte is equal to 1,048,576 bytes, or 1,024 kilobytes.
· Abbreviate as MB, not M, meg, or Mbyte. At first mention, spell out
and use the abbreviation in parentheses.
· Leave a space between the numeral and MB except when the measurement
is used as an adjective preceding a noun. In that case, use a hyphen.
Correct
1.2-megabyte (MB) disk
1.2 MB
40-MB hard disk
· When used as a noun in measurements, add of to form a prepositional
phrase.
Correct
You cannot run Word if you have only 1 MB of memory.
And......
One gigabyte is equal to 1,073,741,824 bytes, or 1,024 megabytes.
· Abbreviate as GB, not G, G byte, or Gbyte. At first mention, spell
out and use the abbreviation in parentheses.
· Leave a space between the numeral and GB except when the measurement
is used as an adjective preceding a noun. In that case, use a hyphen.
Correct
10 gigabytes (GB)
10-GB hard disk
· When used as a noun in measurements, add of to form a prepositional
phrase.
Correct
You will need to free 1 GB of hard disk space.
Hope that helps,
Cheryl D. Kidder
Senior Information Developer
Symix, Inc.
chekid -at- symix -dot- com
----------
From: Mitman, Rikki[SMTP:Rikki -dot- Mitman -at- COMPAQ -dot- COM]
Sent: Friday, June 06, 1997 9:45 AM
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject: Abbreviation of measures
I'm looking for consensus on the abbreviation of things like megabyte
and gigabyte, which are typically represented as mb and gb (or, to my
dismay, MB, Mb GB, and Gb). To me, these are abbreviations, *not*
acronyms, and should not be capped.
What do y'all think?
(Sorry, Buck, I don't have an MS style manual here.)
Thanks,
Rikki Mitman -- speaking for myself
ECG Technology Communications
(281) 518-9855
rikki -dot- mitman -at- compaq -dot- com
Office 10441; MS 100403
~
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a
message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send
commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
Send list questions or problems to the listowner at
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html