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Convention
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Explanation
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italics
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Introduces new terms with which you may not be familiar, and is used occasionally for emphasis.
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bold
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Emphasizes important information. Also indicates button, menu, and icon names on which you can act. For example, click Next.
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BOLD UPPERCASE
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Indicates keys or key combinations that you can use. For example, press the ENTER key.
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UPPERCASE
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Indicates SQL reserved words.
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monospace
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Indicates syntax examples, values that you specify, or results that you receive.
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monospaced italics
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Indicates names that are placeholders for values that you specify. For example, filename.
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>
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Separates menus and their associated commands. For example, Select File > Copy means that you should select Copy from the File menu.
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/
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The slash also separates directory levels when specifying locations under UNIX.
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vertical rule |
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Indicates an "OR" separator used to delineate items.
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brackets [ ]
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Indicates optional items. For example, in the following statement: SELECT [DISTINCT], DISTINCT is an optional keyword.
Also indicates sections of the Windows Registry.
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braces { }
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Indicates that you must select one item. For example, {yes | no} means that you must specify either yes or no.
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ellipsis . . .
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Indicates that the immediately preceding item can be repeated any number of times in succession. An ellipsis following a closing bracket indicates that all information in that unit can be repeated.
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