Re: Spaces between numbers and heads--readability

[Peter Martin <peterm -at- FOXBORO -dot- COM -dot- AU>]

At 16:03 8/04/99 -0400, Peterson Karen wrote:
>Dear Techwhirlers,
>
>I recently changed our head styles so that there is only one space between
>the number and the title. We used to have a tab character. I think one space
>looks fine in the body, but when I generate a TOC, the number and words are
>very close (one space apart).
>
>My co-writers say that the new spacing is hard to read. I can't tell if
>they're right or if they're just not used to the new spacing. Does anyone
>know whether or not this spacing truly affects readability? If it does, does
>anyone have experience with changing the spacing in Word (without using
>tabs)?
>
>For clarification, I'm talking about outline numbered heads, and the space
>is represented by the asterisk below:
>
>2.12*Using Cool Software
>
OK. Here's a stir :-)

Your best solution is to drop the numbers completely.

Numbers on headings are more like information noise than useful
information.  They started because people (e.g., engineers and
bureaucrats ) genuinely needed them as cross references in paper
documents which could only be updated by cut-and-paste methods,
and where page numbering could be unreliable and numbers could
not be automatically updated.

I assume you're using some sort of modern tool with automatic
pagination,  numbering changes, and ease of cross reference to
heading wording and page numbers.     So why stick slavishly
with an out of date procedure that dates from the days of the
typewriter and glue ?

Which would you find easiest to recall when thumbing back through
a document:

"See 'Use of Heading Numbering' on page 27", or

"See 'Section 2.3.4.' ?

The former at least gives you a context of the referral.
The latter gives you a number to remember.

Of course, military documents get +really+ stupid to the point
of pig-headedness, with things like 'Section 2.1.4.7.9.14.27.'
-- that one really trips off the tongue, doesn't it ?  +Really
handy+ and pointless.

Ask any recalcitrant engineers if they use DNS lookups ..
and which they'd prefer: something like "www.web.address.com",
or something like "202.12.114.231" ?
[The latter, BTW, finds you a nice IDE/editor in development]

One day, maybe the military and the legislators will catch
up with the network engineers' discovery.  But that would
be dangerous... it would add meaning to their work ;-)


Naah... numbers are ritual...

Stand clear  for the religious responses .  :-)




--
Peter Martin, Contract Tech. Writer            peterm -at- foxboro -dot- com -dot- au
+61 2 9818 5094 (home)  0408 249 113 (mobile)  peterm -at- zeta -dot- org -dot- au

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=