Non-Designer’s Type Book, The, Second Edition

First, a Review of Quotation Marks and Apostrophes

Most software has a checkbox called something like smart quotes, true quotes, typographer’s quotes, or a similar phrase, like one of these:

If you check that box, the software will automatically insert true quotation marks when you type the ″ key on the keyboard. You will also get a true apostrophe when you type the ′ key on the keyboard, as displayed below:

“No, don’t do this.”

“Yes, isn’t this better?”

But be careful—if you trust the computer to always put the correct mark in the correct place, you will find people snickering at your work. For instance, when the automatic feature is on you will ...