On Mon, 2006-01-30 at 11:00 +1000, Jean Hollis Weber wrote: > I don't think it's necessary to have an explanation of the > typographic use of em and en dashes in OOo user documentation, > but what is needed (if it's not already there, and it certainly > is not in the Help) is a description of the other ways one can > insert these dashes in addition to using AutoCorrect, e.g. by > using an ALT+numeral keystroke combination or by choosing from > the Special Characters dialog (and telling people what the code > is for the dashes).
I agree, except where it makes the description of the AutoReplace function clearer. I found the first two paras of Jallan's description enough to really clarify the difference between typing A--B or A -- B. Because I'm not regularly using specialised typography, I've always been confused by what was happening with these, and the documentation wasn't helping. With some context I will more easily remember the difference and use them with confidence, and I'll be able to recognise and fix them if I type them incorrectly. AFAIKS, user_guide2_draft (under the section Hyphen, en dash and em dash) describes a very useful method for creating dashes (which effectively disables the built-in AutoReplace double dash functions), but it doesn't mention the [built-in] methods. On the other hand, the Online help describes the Auto-replace dashes option as "This option replaces one or two minus signs under certain conditions with a long dash". This could definitely use some of Jallan's description. A little experimenting shows that: A-B is unchanged (hyphen) A- B is unchanged A-- B is unchanged A - B and A -- B are changed (en-dash with space before and after) A -B and A --B are changed (en-dash with no space after) A--B (em-dash with no space before or after) So for the en-dash, the space before is the key, and for the em-dash no space before or after is the key. Where you want A - B or A = -B to remain unchanged (math formulas etc) you need to use the no-break hyphen (no-break minus in this case). As there is A -- B or A --B, why can't the single hyphen be left unchanged in every situation? The ALT+numeral method won't necessarily work on all platforms. I can't seem to get it to work on Linux. Ross Johnson > --Jean > > Ross Johnson wrote: > > Hi Jallan, > > > > Thanks for this clear description. I hope nobody minds that I've logged > > the following issues: > > > > Online help: > > http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=61325 > > Manual: > > http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=61326 > > > > Ross Johnson > > > > On Sun, 2006-01-29 at 11:59 -0500, Jallan wrote: > > > >>Both en-dash and em-dash are used for normal dash usage, depending on > >>preference. There is a tendency today to either use en-dash surrounded > >>by spaces or em-dash with no spaces around it. > [...] > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
