F.A.Q
Interleaf QuickSilver
Hyphenation ?
About Hyphenation
Hyphenation can improve the appearance of blocks of text by keeping the length of lines relatively the same. QuickSilver provides a number of ways for you to control hyphenation in your documents. You can:
- rely on default settings and the master dictionary, which generally ensures proper hyphenation
- change the way specific occurrences of words are hyphenated by using Hyphen commands on the Edit menu
- change the way specific words are hyphenated by editing the desktop dictionary
- turn hyphenation on or off for specific components or for an entire document
If you have an odd line break in a document, you can change the way a single occurrence of a word is hyphenated. To be sure that words you commonly use (for example, the name of your company) are never hyphenated, you can adjust the hyphenation of the word permanently in the desktop dictionary.
Hyphenation Points and Hyphens
As you type words into a new document, QuickSilver inserts invisible hyphenation points in those words. Hyphenation points are not hyphens; but they indicate where hyphens can occur in words when both of the following are true:
- In the Composition sheet of the Document Properties dialog box, the Hyphenation check box is selected.
- In the Composition sheet of the Component Properties dialog box for the particular component, Hyphenation has a setting other than Off.
Hyphenation Defaults and Conventions
To ensure proper hyphenation of most common words, QuickSilver uses three dictionaries: desktop, master (for the language of your text), and system.
Conventions
QuickSilver does the following to hyphenate words:
- Sets a hyphenation point after a hyphen character (-), a slash ( / ), an en dash (-) , and an em dash (-). As with other hyphenation points, you can set or clear these points.
- Clears the hyphenation point if you edit a word containing a manually set hyphenation point.
- Preserves a manually set hyphenation point if you cut or copy a word and then paste it.
- Uses an algorithm to set a word's hyphenation points if that word is not in any of the dictionaries.
The Hyphenation Commands
Use the commands on the Hyphen submenu of the Edit menu to view or modify hyphenation points for a particular word.
Show
Choose Show to display in the document message bar the hyphenation point(s) for the word adjacent to the text insertion point.
Set
Choose Set to insert a hyphenation point at the text insertion point. This command is only available with no text selected.
Reset
Choose Reset to restore the default hyphenation of the text selected. This command is only available with text selected.
Clear
Choose Clear to remove the hyphenation point at the text insertion point, or to remove all hyphenation points from the text selected.
To View and Adjust Hyphenation Points
Use the following procedures to display hyphenation points in words and to adjust hyphenation for a single instance of a word.
Showing Hyphenation Points
To view the hyphenation points in a word:
- Position the insertion point anywhere in the word, or select the word.
- Choose Hyphen > Show from the Edit menu.
The word appears in the message bar with its hyphenation points marked by dots.
Setting and Clearing Hyphenation Points
Note the following guidelines when you set and clear hyphenation points:
- A hyphenation point cannot occur immediately after the first letter or immediately before the last letter in a word.
- A hyphenation point cannot occur in a word that contains fewer than five characters.
- A hyphenation point cannot occur before a hyphen (-), an apostrophe ( ' ), a slash ( / ), an em dash (-), or an en dash , which is the same character on the keyboard as the minus sign (-).
To set a hyphenation point in a word:
- Position the insertion point in a word where you want the hyphenation point.
- Choose Hyphen > Set from the Edit menu.
To clear a hyphenation point in a word:
- Position the insertion point in a word at the hyphenation point you want to remove.
OR... Select the word to remove all hyphenation points for that word. - Choose Hyphen > Clear from the Edit menu.
Restoring Default Hyphenation Points
To restore the default hyphenation points in a word:
- Select the word.
- Choose Hyphen > Reset from the Edit menu.
To Permanently Adjust Hyphenation Points
You can permanently override the default hyphenation points for a word by changing the hyphenation points in your desktop dictionary.
To permanently change hyphenation points:
- Open the desktop dictionary.
- Find the word for which you want to change hyphenation points.
OR... On its own line, type a word for which you want to change default hyphenation points. - Position the insertion point in the word where you want a hyphenation point and type an asterisk (*).
- Remove any unwanted hyphenation points (asterisks) in the word.
- Save and close the dictionary.
If there is no dictionary on your desktop, you can create one.
Please contact us if you would like more information.
