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If you want to bring typographical subtlety and perfection
into a TW course, it might be worth your while to impress
your students, by knowing where it all came from.
Robert Bringhurst covers pretty much everything,
including the "×", in his award-winning, slightly pompous :-)
and totally inspiring: _The Elements of Typographic Style (1992)_,
Hartley and Marks, 3rd ed., 2004 -- a CMS for typography.
Bringhurst is very big on making type fit the human mind,
rather than the other way around. A reference and a thesis
from a very smart & sensitive guy. (End of ad; truly, I'm in awe
of Bringhurst's sober erudition. Btw, there's a more fun and
much simpler intro to typography for TWs in Robin Williams'
_The Non-Designer's Design Book_ at Peachpit Press.
She doesn't talk about the "×", though).
Regards,
YJ
-- Re-reading the funny _Bird by Bird_ by manic-depressive
writer Anne Lamott; great even for down-and-out TWs --
Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca> a écrit :
Rob Hudson wondered: <use dimensions (e..g "8.5x11") and I see that the Chicago Manual of
Style uses a character different from the "x" to express "by." Can
anyone confirm this character or direct me to the appropriate section
in the CMS about formatting dimensions?>>
The "x" is useful shorthand, but the correct character you're looking
for is the multiplication symbol: Alt-0215 in most Windows fonts, and
Option-Y in the Symbol font on the Mac. (If you're using Unicode-
friendly software on the Mac, you can also enter it as a Unicode
character for most fonts, but as I'm stuck back in Word X, I've never
bothered learning that code.)
Not complete by a long shot (i.e., biased heavily towards my own
needs), but still broadly useful. Someday, time permitting, I'll
extend it to include the Unicode numbers.
----------------------------------------------------
-- Geoff Hart
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
www.geoff-hart.com
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Coming soon: _Effective onscreen editing_ (http://www.geoff-hart.com/
home/onscreen-book.htm)
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Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
Now shipping: Help & Manual 4 with RoboHelp(r) import! New editor,
full Unicode support. Create help files, web-based help and PDF in up
to 106 languages with Help & Manual: http://www.helpandmanual.com
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