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: Font questions, combining styles From:Janet Valade <janetv -at- MAIL -dot- SYSTECH -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 29 Jul 1998 09:10:57 -0700
> In the discussion of serif and sans serif fonts, Jane Bergen writes:
> <<Just an FYI: at my company, we combine the two styles very
> effectively.
> My text is 10 pt Palatino but filenames, function names, titles of
> dialogs, menu names, etc. are in 9 pt bold Arial. Everyone here really,
> really likes this look and so do our customers.>>
>
> How common is this combined styles formatting?
>
Actually, I do something very similar. I use Palatino at 11. I use bold
within the text when I refer to a command or command option. E.g. the
*speed* command sets the port to the specified speed. If you use the *i*
option, the speed will be set immediately, rather than when the system
reboots..
I use Arial for headings. I also use Arial for the lines that show the
command line syntax of commands. This makes them just slightly different so
they stand out a little for those users who are skimming to find the syntax.
E.g.,
To set the speed, enter:
set speed 3-5 9600 i
The set speed line is in Arial.
I probably do this because this is the way I use manuals. I skim for a
relevant example. I rarely read the text, unless something isn't working
the way I am SURE it should work.
Janet
----
Janet Valade,
Technical Writer, Systech Corporation, San Diego, CA mailto:janetv -at- systech -dot- com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
For every complex situation, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and
wrong.