POLL: Which method do you use to apply bold and italics?

[Combs, Richard]

John Wilcox wrote: 

> This came up as a possible style standards issue here. Please 
> reply off-list, and I'll summarize the results next week. 
> Thanks for your time!
> 
> A. Click the B and I buttons, or press Ctrl+B and Ctrl+I.
> B. Select Bold and Emphasis from the Character Catalog.

Well, everyone else is replying on list, so... 

I use named char tags always. Like Andrew Becraft, I prefer tags that
provide metadata ("indicate the purpose or meaning of the text"). In the
last round of template revisions, I had to back away from that somewhat
to accommodate others' preferences and reduce the number of char tags.
But we still have, for instance, Emphasis, NewTerm, and Title -- all
defined as As Is + Italic. 

I've gone a step farther than most, though. Starting from Schlomo
Perets' Express Customization kit for FM (no longer available for free;
replaced by the more comprehensive Toolbar Plus; see www.MicroType.com),
I've further customized my toolbars, menus, and shortcuts to remove all
opportunities for ad hoc formatting. 

I don't have the B, I, and U buttons, or the Align Left, Center, and
Align Right buttons. If I press Ctrl+B or Ctrl+I, it opens the character
catalog. I've redefined over 60 shortcuts so they open a catalog instead
of creating an override. 

The only way I can create an override or ad hoc formatting is via the
Designer dialogs. 

If you're in charge of template compliance, and especially if you're a
tech pubs manager, you might want to learn how to customize the FM
interface -- it's much easier to avoid overrides and ad hoc formatting
if the tools for creating them simply aren't there. :-) 

Richard 


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Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
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rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
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