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End-of-line division

End-of-line division

End-of-line division

(OP)

Is there a general rule for putting a hyphen at the end of a line to divide a word on writing ?

RE: End-of-line division

A 'hard' hyphen is one that you insert manually to control where the word breaks as opposed to allowing a word processor program to automatically insert 'soft' hyphens.  A disadvantage of hard hyphens is that they must be manually redone whenever you reformat.

A 'non-breaking' hyphen is used more as a control character which prevents a hyphenated word from being spread over 2 lines. Kind of the opposite of inserting a line break.

Google on hard soft hyphen for more detailed explanations.

RE: End-of-line division

I was taught (and this has nothing to do with what a word processor can and cannot do) NEVER to use hyphens in a paper (i.e., never hyphenate a word--put the full word on the next line).

DaveAtkins

RE: End-of-line division

Two rules as I remember:
1.) Always divide between syllables.
2.) The word segment starting the next line should be at least two syllables.  This means can't do two-syllable words.  Three syllable minimum.

RE: End-of-line division

Thirty five years ago I was taught not to use a hyphen and split the word. I have been following this all along.

RE: End-of-line division

I agree... I never hyphenate words.  I'd rather have a ragged edge or wide spacings between words than a single hyphenated word.

333

RE: End-of-line division

I turn off the autohyphenate feature....it is one of my pet hates.
It also bugs me that this is the default condition in some software.... and not just Big Bill's but in Seraph publisher also... that, and "Times New Roman" (I know, there are reaosns for this as there are for everything, but I like to be an individual sometmes and whatever the reason, I absolutely loathe TNR).

Of course, I have written "autohyphenate" and one of the advantages of not using spellcecker is that it doesn't nag me to insert a hyphen into such words.
"Flowmeter" to me is one word; to Big Bill it is either two or I should hyphenate. "Pipework" is another.

By now you will recognise that this is partly due to my own ignorance of the use of the hyphen.. (I don't remember, wsas this covered in "Eats, Shoots and Leaves"?) so if anyone can clarify its use for word structures that do not break the end of the line, please illuminate away.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com

RE: End-of-line division

Of course, as you can see from my pre-coffee post, there are a lot of good reasons for spellchecker and I should have said: "...and whatever that reason, I absolutely loathe TNR"
What a difference swapping "the" for "that" made.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com

RE: End-of-line division

I heard that Times New Roman is the default in MS Word because it looks like the font found on most manual typewriters.

I prefer Arial, myself.

DaveAtkins

RE: End-of-line division

Much has been written on fonts and read-ability.  I have studied this some because I publish a couple of newsletters.  Times New Roman is the default in MS Word because it is the easiest to read when printed on paper.  Arial is the easiest to read on a computer screen but is a little slower to read when printed on paper.

RE: End-of-line division

Does slower to read or faster to read relate to comprehension at all?

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com

RE: End-of-line division

Always hyphenating between syllables I remember (and cringe when I see words broken otherwise).  Any requirement for three syllables I do not.

As regards TNR, I don't particularly like it either.  I see it as being fine for literary applications or sales pitches.  But - just my opinion here - it's suspiciously too "pretty" for use in engineering communications, calculations, or reports that aren't likely to be looked at more than twice in any five year period after being filed.  Arial is much closer in appearance to neat hand lettering; nobody in their right mind would attempt to hand-letter anything serious in TNR.

Norm

RE: End-of-line division

Huh.  To me Arial looks unprofessional--like a kids' book or something.  The notion that engineering communication should look hand-done is decades out of date.  I buy the readability arguments for where each should be used.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376

RE: End-of-line division

I once worked at a company that did (automotive) engineering, where Arial was the "official" font for all reports, etc.

RE: End-of-line division

I agree that for it to perfectly mimic hand lettering is unnecessary.  

But making it "prettier" or "fancier" than necessary hints that too much thought or priority may have been given to the physical appearance of the text relative to its content.  I expect that in a sales brochure or on a web page, along with the implication that I'm not being told everything.  Not characteristics that I care to associate with engineering.

Norm

RE: End-of-line division

Isn't going to the trouble of changing the default font a mark of putting too much thought into the appearance of the text?  If I see Arial, I know that's what someone did.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376

RE: End-of-line division

25362-

i keep 3 style guides at arms-reach.

the chicago manual of style, strunk and white's elements of style, and the associated press' guide to punctuation. you can get all three by way of amazon (used) for around $50.

learn to fish for yourself.

h.

RE: End-of-line division

Quote:

Isn't going to the trouble of changing the default font a mark of putting too much thought into the appearance of the text?  If I see Arial, I know that's what someone did.
To the extent that the "plainer" Arial font reduces any distraction caused by the physical appearance of the text relative to the content, probably so.  Arguably, that's a good thing for most engineering purposes.

Norm

RE: End-of-line division

I still remember a document i saw in the early days of Word Perfect. The author had used about eleven different fonts on the title page. The profusion of fonts was so distracting that I had no idea what the document said. I still remember that it was remarkable for the overwhelming confusion of fonts.

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