writing - Style Guide: Bold, Italic, or Quotes When I Want to Emphasize Something



Let’s say I have many lists of this kind on a page:



  1. Click on the Foo button.

  2. Tick the Bar box.

  3. Click on the Save button.


How should I emphasize Foo, Bar, and Save?




  1. Bold?



    1. Click on the Foo button.

    2. Tick the Bar box.

    3. Click on the Save button.




  2. Italic?



    1. Click on the Foo button.

    2. Tick the Bar box.

    3. Click on the Save button.




  3. Quotes?



    1. Click on the “Foo” button.

    2. Tick the “Bar” box.

    3. Click on the “Save” button.




NOTE: I want the lists to be read as easy as possible.



Answer



This is purely a matter of style, which is entirely subjective.


When writing this sort of text, I tend to use bold for button names, but there may be the means to name the actual button itself: foo


Using such styling might be useful if your line spacing is sufficiently wide to accommodate it.


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