What is current convention?
Thanks
John

A slightly open em dash looks similar in running text to an en dash with full word spaces on either side, but does not have the problem of having those regular word spaces opening up even more when dashes appear on a looser line.

You mention the apparent standard practice being different in the UK and Australia, and I’ve noticed it as well. Sometimes I will actually get a familiar book published in the UK just to get the experience of a different typesetting regime.

There is a qualitiative difference to the reading that makes for an awareness-expanding experience that I quite enjoy.

An interesting yet humourous and entertaining read.

In regard to em dash spaces, I have found spaces between words and em dashes tend to be used in the UK and Australia, whereas no spaces are used in the American market. Lynne’s book has both American and UK editions.

I’ve also programmed in compensation for, and correction of, typical bad dash habits, as well. This may affect the display of your intended literal examples (making bad examples to illustrate a point into good examples and confounding your point).

BTW, I’ll have to look up Felici’s notes on ellipses but I do remember that the computer keystroke for creating an ellipsis actually sets the points way too close. It’s better to use “…”.

Thanks for pointing out the 3/M vs M/3 mistake, I shall fix. Also your comments in general.

Joan:

You’ve hit on a very good point again. I gave the Bringhurst guidelines partially in the interests of clarity and partially in the interests of aesthetics. When I see the endash without spaces–like this–the dash and the words on either side tend to merge, for me, into one word shape. I find this distracting.

Jeremy mentioned Felici, who says to do it this way. I find the Bringhurst method more personally aestheticallly pleasing.

But your point – that consistency counts – is well taken (notice that I’ve used both methods so far in this text). If you’re inconsistent either you’re trying to illustrate a point (as I’m doing here) or you’re just being sloppy. As a designer and a typophile, I hate sloppy. For those not so trained, I’m convinced that they notice this on perhaps a subliminal level. As someone once said, you cannot not communicate.

And, since you mentioned the ellipsis . . . maybe I’ll look into that.

I’ve also gone back and forth about ellipses… I’ve seen them that way (all together with no spaces, but a space after) as well as this way . . . (a space before and after each one). I think I prefer them with no spaces, but now I don’t automatically look down on people who do use the spaces.

I found the rule on using en dashes and spaces to denote phrases – like this – interesting. I adhere to James Felici’s Complete Manual of Typography (Adobe Press) and he says to use em dashes without spaces—like this— to do the same. I wonder which is proper?

BTW, is the three-to-em dash abbreviated as 3/M, or M/3? You use both in the article.

Thanks again for this illuminating piece!

In a perfect world I suppose we’d all be able to compose type perfectly and all OSs we send them to would interpret them just as meant. Obviously we don’t live there, and we must make allowances for our Windows friends, as you correctly pointed out.

The guidelines a la Bringhurst make eminent sense but we should follow them, IMHO, only as far as it makes sense to follow. I do a lot of my mail in plain text, which doesn’t know from such typographic refinement, so I agree your subsitutions as mentioned are perfectly proper.