and p.m.-with lowercase letters and periods.
#How to use small caps in word manual#
The Chicago Manual of Style offers different guidelines: Instead of am and pm, CMOS specifies a.m. Set “U.S.” in normal caps, but set NATO in small caps. Some publications use small caps for acronyms and initialisms longer than three letters. Book Design Tip: Capitalization and Periods. The small capitals harmonize better with the surrounding text in the second example. In the first example, the big capitals are jarring they stand out from the text. Acronyms set in big or small caps can omit the periods between the letters with the exception of “U.S.” Use small capitals instead to keep the weight of the type consistent. When regular capitals are used, they create sections of type that are noticeably different than the words surrounding them. Groups of consecutive capital letters often appear in acronyms and abbreviations. Book Design Tip: Use Small Caps Instead of All Caps. Though the characters have the same height as the lowercase letter x (called “x-height” by typographers), they have thicker strokes to match the weight of the big capitals. The “real small caps” example uses small caps designed to harmonize with the big capitals. Notice how the big capitals have thicker strokes than the faux-small caps? Scaling the big capitals down scales down the thickness of their strokes disproportionately. The “fake small caps” example uses scaled down capital letters. The following examples reveal why small caps are necessary. Choosing a typeface that includes a set of specially designed small caps is also important.
![how to use small caps in word how to use small caps in word](https://img.indezine.com/v7/www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/learn/textandfonts/images/changetextcase2010-04.jpg)
In a previous article, I wrote of the importance of selecting typefaces that include both Lining and Oldstyle figures for correct typesetting of numbers. Many thanks to author and typographer Dick Margulis for editing and fact-checking. This article explores proper use of capital letters, explains the difference between big caps and small caps, and offers book design tips to help you manage abbreviations, names, directions, chapter starts and other typographic challenges. A real small cap is different from a full-capital letter in subtle but important ways. Word processors and even some typesetting programs reinforce the abuse of small caps by offering a “small caps” shortcut that scales down the uppercase letters to match the height of the lowercase characters.
![how to use small caps in word how to use small caps in word](https://i.stack.imgur.com/qlOhM.png)
We all should know that writing in all capital letters is the typographic equivalent of shouting-a “capital” offense.Ī Small Capital (or “small cap”) is a specially designed character- not a regular capital letter scaled down to a smaller size. We all know every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period.
![how to use small caps in word how to use small caps in word](https://cdn.extendoffice.com/images/stories/doc-excel/change-caps-to-lowercase-except-first-letter/doc-change-caps-to-lowercase-but-first-2.png)
I am having trouble doing this.Use of Small Capitals-uppercase characters designed at lowercase scale-is one aspect of writing and book design that isn’t taught in grammar school. I am aware I could likewise use small caps in the table of contents but I wish to revert back to normal, capitalised text. However, using default settings this translates in the table of contents as, obviously, 'chapter heading name'.
#How to use small caps in word code#
written as 'chapter heading name' rather than 'Chapter Heading Name' in the code itself. I like to have my chapter, section and subsection headings in small caps with no capitalised first letters, e.g.