Contemporary Keyboarders Dump the Double Space

Starting at the upper left of your computer keyboard, read the first six letters. They are in the same order — Q W E R T Y — that you find on a typewriter in that row of keys.

Keys on original typewriters were set alphabetically, but those most frequently struck by users were so close together and used in combination so often that the metal bars would clash and jam. That changed in 1875 when Christopher Sholes and Amos Densmore rearranged the keyboard to its present QWERTY status.*

Proportional vs. Monospacing
Today’s Courier font is commonly recognized as a typewriter or monospaced font; in other words, each letter — whether a lower-case i or a lower-case m — has a fixed width and takes up the same amount of space when it makes an impression on paper or on a screen.

If you learned keystrokes on a typewriter, you might be among those who create two spaces after a period, which was necessary to clearly indicate the end of a sentence written with monospaced fonts.

But if you still press the spacebar twice at the end of a sentence on your computer keyboard (or your iPad, smartphone or other such device), you’re risking appearing out-of-date, resistant to change — or maybe even a bit unprofessional. Today’s proportional font spacing makes a double space unnecessary.

Compare Courier and Monaco with Times and Arial
Consider this illustration of four fonts. Courier and Monaco are monotype fonts, and Times and Arial are proportional fonts. Your modern electronic device automatically creates appropriate between-letter spacing with proportional fonts for ease of reading and to conserve space.

Pick up any magazine or book. Is there a significant space after each period? Or is there minimal white space — just enough to let you know that one sentence is ending and the next is beginning.

And, yes, this rule also applies to spacing after colons, semicolons, question marks and other forms of punctuation.

Don’t be an old dog who can’t learn new tricks; be a contemporary keyboarder.

*For you history buffs, this link will provide details about the development of the typewriter and the QWERTY keyboard we use today: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/qwerty.htm

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Ruthless Editor follows The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law guidelines for word and punctuation usage. Webster's New World College Dictionary serves as a secondary reference.