Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!pasteur!helios.ee.lbl.gov!nosc!ucsd!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!hplabs!hpda!hpcuhb!hpcilzb!tedj
From: tedj@hpcilzb.HP.COM (Ted Johnson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Re: A question for Mac Authors (*LONG*)
Message-ID: <870223@hpcilzb.HP.COM>
Date: 30 Aug 88 17:16:06 GMT
References: <1233@aucs.UUCP>
Organization: HP Design Tech Center - Santa Clara, CA
Lines: 32

>And while we're on the subject...
>
>When I write user documentation, I often have things like
>
>   ...click on the button called "Okay".
>
>Note the period:                       ^
>Should this be outside the quotes as I have it, or should it go inside
>the quotes?

Outside the quotes.

>What are the general rules for quoted words/phrases and
>punctuation in cases like this in technical documents?

If the item that your were quoting contained a period or any other
punctuation, then this would be enclosed in quotes, and then the
sentence would be terminated with a period (or whatever).  E.g.,
if the button said "Click me if you hate Reagan!" then your documentation
would read:

	...click on the button labeled "Click me if you hate Reagan!".


>And one final one: When an italicized phrase ends in a semicolon or colon
>and the text that follows is not italicized, should the colon or semicolon
>be italics or normal?

Italics.


-Ted