Text in tables -- smaller than or same size as regular body text?

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

Milan Davidovic wondered: <<I'm looking at a user's manual. I do not  
have access to the original author and therefore have to guess at  
their intentions. Looking at the paragraph styles, I see that the  
various table body (i.e. not heading) styles are in a smaller point  
size than the regular body style. In looking at other books I have  
close at hand, I see only table body text at about the same size (i.e.  
not obviously smaller, though I didn't get a point ruler out to be  
sure) as regular body text. Any thoughts on why table body text should  
be smaller?>>

Text size should always and primarily be chosen to ensure readability,  
with other factors such as the need to reduce page count or cram too  
much information into too little space restraining our tendencies to  
use 14-point type for everything. <g> The usual compromise is that you  
try to pick a font large enough that it's readable even by astigmatic  
old fogies like me, and standardize on that size wherever possible,  
while still fitting enough onto the page that your manager doesn't  
stroke out when they see the printing costs. Then you trim back the  
size where you have something like a table that simply won't fit on  
the page unless you shrink it somehow.

One nice thing about online documentation is that if you design it  
right, users can choose their own type size. For example, if they're  
viewing HTML etc.  in a decent Web browser, they can use the Control-  
+ shortcut to enlarge the type, or maybe even substitute their own  
style sheet. Typographic preferences are intensely personal choices,  
and there's no one optimal choice that satisfies everyone. So why not  
let your readers make that choice for themselves?

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geoff Hart (www.geoff-hart.com)
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effective Onscreen Editing:
http://www.geoff-hart.com/books/eoe/onscreen-book.htm
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