Typographic Conventions

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This content is no longer actively maintained. It is provided as is, for anyone who may still be using these technologies, with no warranties or claims of accuracy with regard to the most recent product version or service release.

The following typographic conventions are used in Help:

Example of convention Description
On the File menu, click Open. Elements that appear in the user interface are bold when the steps for performing a procedure are detailed. 
expr, path
 In syntax, italics indicate placeholders for information you supply. In text, italic letters are used for defined terms, usually the first time they occur in a topic. In addition, italics are used occasionally for emphasis. 
ReadOnly, FileName
 In text and syntax, the use of bold and italic together indicates named arguments. 
[expressionlist]
 In syntax, items in square brackets are optional. 
{While | Until}
 In syntax, braces and a vertical bar indicate a choice between two or more items. You must choose one of the items unless all of the items are enclosed in square brackets. 
Dim rstCust As ADODB.Recordset
A monospace font indicates code. 
Set olNewItem = _
   ol.CreateItem(olMailItem)
The line-continuation character ( _ ) is used to break long lines of code. 
Sub StockSale()
   .
   .
   .
End Sub
 A column of three periods indicates that part of an example has been omitted intentionally.

See Also

Getting Started with Office Developer | Code Samples and Programming Style | Using the Code Samples