Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
work, set Word to prompt you. To do this, go to File > Preferences (Windows) or
Word > Preferences (Mac OS X). In the dialog box, you can choose to have Word high-
light spelling and grammar errors as you type, so you can fix problems as they arise.
Fractured headlines
One little-known fact about spell checkers is that they don't check words in
all capital letters unless you tell them to. You are less likely to notice mistakes in
all-cap words because they are usually headlines or captions. While you're setting
preferences for checking bad grammar, ask Word to spell-check uppercase words as
well. It is usually worth the added hassle of false positives.
After you've unchecked the default “Ignore words in UPPERCASE,” Word will
stop on every acronym it doesn't know. To avoid this problem, create a custom dic-
tionary. In the Word Spelling and Grammar preferences dialog box, click Dictionaries.
In the next dialog, you can add a personal dictionary. (I like to put mine in the
Office folder where Word's default dictionary lives.) The first time Word stops you on
an acronym such as AIGA, add it to your custom dictionary. Not only will Word stop
bothering you, but it will alert you when you mistype the acronym in the future.
Sloppy typing
Having a program with a spell-checking tool is only half the battle. You must
also remember to use it. It's human nature when you're pressed for time to type
something in without checking it, because it's only of few words long. That's how
mistakes happen in navigation bars and headlines.
Verbal diarrhea
Strange but true—people who hate to write almost always write too much
once they start. Just as minimalist design is the art of deleting until you get it right,
the trick to good writing is good cutting.
Too many “and”s
Don't use the word “and” unless it's in a series of things. “Books, periodicals,
and
annual reports” is fine. “This project was created to serve the needs of the client
who wanted to focus their brand
and
they planned to use it for future online proj-
ects,” is incorrect. It's actually two sentences glued together. Run-on sentences,
besides being bad writing, are hard to read and understand onscreen.
Capital objects
In general, you should only capitalize words that begin a sentence, are proper
names, or are acronyms (such as UI for user interface). Excessive capitalization puts
emphasis where emphasis doesn't belong. Be particularly alert for this problem if
English is your second language. In German, for example, capitals are used much
more liberally than they are in English.
