[Ham-Mac] Space after a Period

[Bill Coleman]

On May 3, 2006, at 1:11 PM, Dick Kriss wrote:

> I just noticed the text editor in this MS Entourage mail program  
> does not
> add extra space after a period at the end of a sentence.  I have to  
> remember
> the old High School typing class rule to manually enter two spaces  
> after a
> period.  I wonder what happened to the old typing rule?

Used to be, the period for a standard typewriter was squarely in the  
middle of the fixed character position. Putting two spaces afterwards  
helps to make it look more like a proportional font.

Today, computers use proportional fonts. There's no longer any reason  
to put two spaces after a period. One will do just fine.

The old typing rule has become obsolete with computers.

> I was under the impression that modern word processors and text  
> editors all
> added some extra space after a period.

The proportional fonts do that.

> Life was easy back in 1986 when we only had to deal with Mac Write  
> and it
> would always add an extra half space after a period.

Ah, the good old days....

Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
             -- Wilbur Wright, 1901