Do people double space at the end of a sentence anymore?

[wienerdog]

I don't know if this has ever been discussed, but does anyone put two spaces at the end of a sentence anymore? I've seen people do it, but it looks funny to me now. I always thought it was a typewriter thing, and is obsolete now.

The same goes for Sans Serif fonts not being used for paragraph formatted text. Apparently the digital age did away with that rule.

[morea]

you're not supposed to - that was for typewriters, not computers.

[morea]

here are some links:

http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/concepts/rules_onespace/

http://www.westminster.edu/staff/nak/courses/spaces.htm

http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/taylor/topics/doublespace.htm

http://www.webword.com/reports/period.html

[Drorain]

yes...some moronic customers still insist on the double space thing though, oh the gloriously ignorant customers :mad:

[John G]

Wow really? That's the first I've ever heard of it and I had typing classes (computer) way back since 6th grade (it was always two spaces).

[wienerdog]

I knew that was the rule, just needed some confirmation. Thanks!

[morea]

from the 2nd link (Adapted from Robin Williams, The Mac Is Not a Typewriter (Berkeley: Peachpit Press, 1990)):

"On a typewriter, all the characters are monospaced; that is, they each take up the same amount of space – the letter i takes up as much space as the letter m. Because they are monospaced, you need to type two spaces after periods to separate one sentence from the next. But …

On a computer (unless you’re using the fonts Monaco or Courier, which are monospaced just like a typewriter and what would you want to use those for anyway) the characters are proportional; that is, they take up a proportional amount of space—the letter i takes up about one-fifth the space of the letter m. So you no longer need extra spaces to separate the sentences."

[jlknauff]

oh the gloriously ignorant customersHeh heh heh, I've had this argument more than once. Also had to argue about why not to use justified text on several occasions. Ahhh, our job is never easy.

[Drorain]

but jlknauff all we do is 'play on computers all day' anyone should know the rules of typesetting a document shouldnt they, I mean a monkey can do this right???

thats the feeling I get from some of these customers

[morea]

yeah, I can't wait to upgrade to Adobe CSI, which allows you to enlarge raster images infinitely without any loss of resolution, and to use the magic "design logo" tool create the perfect vector logo with just a click of the mouse!

[jlknauff]

LOL, we are so on the same page ;)

[John G]

Good to know I've now finally made it to the computer age.

[Drorain]

grab that book morea mentioned, some other important things to know as well for when your typesetting a document..."The Mac is not a typewriter" Its a very small book, maybe 40 pages, but its a great reference

[morea]

Good to know I've now finally made it to the computer age.

I only found this out about a year ago myself — before that I just used one space because I thought it looked better. I didn't know if one was preferred over the other.

[Drorain]

thats the designer instinct in ya morea, you were meant for this stuff ;)

[D-Frag]

I just found this out not to long ago myself, mostly from working in Ad Agencies and the like, they INSIST you don't put double spaces in, even in the body copy, which I thought was wierd because I too have had typing classes since 6th grade and was always taught that way. Even in my computer classes in highschool, wierd shit.

[morea]

^ yeah, me too... I guess we never got the memo when they changed it over! :p

[Sketcher]

I've always put double spaces after sentences because that was what I was taught in my computer classes in high school.

[LeftBrain Artist]

Yep, traditional typing calls for 2 spaces, I learned that too when in high school - geez - 14 years ago? When I went back for 2nd degree in GD about 6 years ago, they had us get that book you guys recommended earlier - so I got brought up to speed before I started working in the field.

Speaking of typing, I just found out recently that some of the people I work with don't use the "home row" method of typing - with all your fingers/no looking at the keyboard - they've gotten really good at modified hunt and peck/ three fingered techniques!

How many people here type traditionally, using the home row?

[D-Zine]

I type traditionally tho I never took any typing classes or anything. I learned to get fast when doing ads for auto dealers..LOL! You really have no other choice. I don't usually have to look at my fingers.

As far as double spacing...I have never double spaced. I'm sucha spazz :p

[The_Black_Knight]

How many people here type traditionally, using the home row?
I've forgotten much of what I learned in typing class in high school, but I still at least start from the home row. It really screws me up when I accidentally settle on the wrong home keys (say, one key to the right, smf oy ;ppld ;olr yjod [and it looks like this]).

I thought one space had been standard for computer typesetting for at least the last fifteen years; I'm surprised that so many here had never heard of it. Well, I guess that's why I've always made so much use of Find/Change in Quark and InDesign to get rid of those extra spaces...

[angerisagift]

i'm a home row typer. go me! but i know a kid who used three fingers in home row on his right, and hunts and pecks with one finger on his left. whatever works i guess

i've always single spaced, probably because i'm lazy. my mom always tried to tell me i needed to because when i got older teachers wouldnt accept my papers...still waitin for that to happen....:D

-sean

[jlknauff]

Three fingers...amatures, guess what I type with ;)

[LeftBrain Artist]

Oh yeah, getting off them home keys - that'll screw ya up. I didn't start typing a lot until I got into graphic design - and at that time, they were pretty clear that we didn't have to put in the extra space because the computer automatically detects where the periods are and places more space after them accordingly. So I never really had time to develop a habit to break. I can see why its so common though, the double space thing was drilled into peoples heads for years and years. What if programmers suddenly decided "Command P" exported pdf, and "Command M" brought up the print dialog box. There'd be an awful lot of pdfs being made.

[LeftBrain Artist]

Three fingers...amatures, guess what I type with ;)

Your toes? Tounge?

[jlknauff]

you don't want to know

[Mynock]

NO, only double space for mono-spaced font. Look at any book. All single spaced after a period.

[D-Frag]

im a "home base" typer myself, I think im averaging around 65-70 wpm. not too fast, but not slow either.

[Sketcher]

How many people here type traditionally, using the home row?

After learning the home row technique in high school, it just became a habbit for me. I still type that way. It's actually easier for me to type that way. I can average about 65 wpm without having to look at the keyboard. If I try to type any other way, I always have to look at the keyboard.

[Silence04]

**** 2 spaces. I use 3.

[cjoe]

i don't know what all the fuss is about. Really!

[D-Zine]

Silence! You're alive! WHEW! ;)

[Silence04]

alive and still kickin'...

[Skyler]

yeah, I can't wait to upgrade to Adobe CSI, which allows you to enlarge raster images infinitely without any loss of resolution, and to use the magic "design logo" tool create the perfect vector logo with just a click of the mouse!

There's a place out there on the web that sells generic logos using Flash. God, it was funny looking at it--lemme see if I can dig up the link.

Here we go: http://www.instalogo.com/howitworks.html

We're all gonna lose our jobs. :D

[kerrysmagicshirt]

no it's acceptable in letters and the like. It's somehting i think secretaries will always use - but for the purpose of printed articles it's a big no no. thank's for the links Morea