Do you distinguish keywords from surrounding content?
Updated by Tiago Araújo [SSW] 3 months ago. See history
"We found that moving CodeAuditor's scan engine to be hosted on GitHub Action is not feasible."
❌ Figure: Figure: Bad example - It's possible to miss the word 'not'
"We found that moving CodeAuditor's scan engine to be hosted on GitHub Action is not feasible."
✅ Figure: Figure: Good example - The bolding draws attention to the main idea, which is 'No'!
When highlighting items (file names, user commands etc.) be sure to:
- Distinguish the items from the rest of the surrounding text
- Be consistent
Warning: Never underline the text if it is not a link. More info on Do you use underlines only on links?
Use the following rules to highlight items in your document:
Style | Use this style for | Example |
Bold text | Menus, commands, dialog box options, file names and paths | To access the application, click Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Defragmenter |
Initial Capitals + Bold | File paths and file names | Now open C:\My Documents\Invoice.doc |
"Quotes" | Exact reference, buttons, labels + Quoting others | Click "Submit" to complete the form. / Make sure your calendar is set to "Out of Office". / Einstein said it best: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." |
Different <span style="color:#cc4141">colour</span> styling | Web UI - Important words on headings | Want to build an <span style="color:#cc4141">Angular</span> application? |
UPPER CASE | Code keywords and database elements | Use the INNER JOIN clause in SQL Server to join one table to another. |
Monospace (i.e. Courier New font) | Code samples, error messages | You will see the following error: error opening database: database is currently in use. |
Note: If you're quoting longer sentences, such as when replying in an email, it's best to break the line and use clear visual indicators - like indentation, quotation marks, or a different text styles - so the quoted content is clearly separated from your own content.
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