2nd Try: Need style advice on lists in tables

["Judith Plummer" <jeplum -at- patriot -dot- net>]

Well, posting a message with typos in the subject line isn't very good for
an editor (even a very tired editor). Mea culpa! Let's try that again.

Hello Techwhirlers -

I'm back on this list after several  years' absence, and I would really
appreciate help with an issue my editing group is working on currently.

In our books, we often have situations where various options for a field
value are explained within a table description. If this list were in body
text, out style would be to use bolded run-in heads, followed by a period
and then a Roman-font explanation. However, in tables we don't want to use
bold at all. However run-in heads with no special treatment don't stand out:

For example (I'm rendering this table as best I can in plain text):

____________________________________________________________________________

Field                                                     Description
____________________________________________________________________________


Secret Question              The question used to identify you  if you have
                                       forgotten your password or
                                      user ID. Valid values include:

                                        * Mother's Maiden Name. This
                                            lastname your mother used before
she was
                                            married.

                                        * Childhood Pet. The name of the
                                            dog, cat, or other pet you had
as a child.
____________________________________________________________________________


I'd like to hear what styles others use in this situation. If you can't use
bold for the material before the period, then would you use italic, for
example, or how would you handle such a situation?

BTW, this is an accepted style for my doc department, and it's not going to
go away, so I'm not as concerned about whether or not there should even be a
list inside a table--they are there, and I have to deal with them as such.

Thanks! :)

Judith Plummer
Senior Technical Editor
jeplum -at- patriot -dot- net
Herndon, VA



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