Underline

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Underlining is one of the types of font used in typography . This is usually understood to mean the underlay of text with a line . This distinction is used in all forms of representation, but in word processing it is increasingly giving way to other distinctions such as bold print or italics . In a figurative sense, one also speaks of underlining a statement (e.g. "In his speech he underlined the meaning of ..."). Accordingly, underlined words are usually emphasized when reading aloud.

use

Underlining is usually done in handwritten manuscripts , although no typography rules need to be observed in documents for personal use. On the typewriter , underlining is one of the few marking options that can be implemented with reasonable effort on devices with a fixed character set (including non- matrix printers ).

The typeface is technically implemented by the underscore (for use as a single character, see there). With the simplest models, the writing carriage has to be moved back by hand and the text to be underlined has to be overprinted with the underline. Most models, however, know underlining as a markup mode, whereby the underscore is preprinted as a "conditional dead key " in front of each regular character . However, since a slight (visible) offset can always occur on the ribbon due to the impact pressure, the ribbon must be moved further for both characters in any case.

Underlining is also one of the correction characters . Words or text passages are underlined in the concept print, the marking of which should be presented differently in the final print. The change (e.g. bold, font, spacing) is noted on the edge of the sheet.

In the Chinese scripts, proper name underlining is used to denote personal names , place names / geographical names, dynasty names , organization names, etc. in the text.

Use in word processing

Virtually all authors who deal with modern typography agree that underlining should generally be avoided in word processing.

The disadvantages of underlined fonts lie in the type of implementation:

  • Characters with descenders cross or touch the underline;
  • When underlining entire text parts, the line takes on the undesirable character of line paper , so that a. the focus is no longer on the fonts, but on the grid of the text lines;
  • the underlined text could be mistaken for a web link .

Today's forms of representation with graphics-capable systems offer sufficient alternative forms of markup. Common are u. a. Italic font , bold font (also with restrictions), CAPITAL LETTER , small caps or highlighting with color or a second font . Underline "really only makes sense and is acceptable if other options for the award are not given."

If, contrary to today's typography conventions, underlining should be used, there is agreement that these should be exceptions, but not about how correct underlining should be implemented. In particular, whether all letters with descenders should be left out or whether the line should generally be set so deep that it lies below the letters with descenders is the subject of discussions in Internet forums.

implementation

There are the following options for underlining:

  • Handwritten texts are traditionally best underlined with a ruler, with both the omission of descenders and their shortening is common.
  • On the typewriter, too, underlining by means of underlining (manually by means of return and overprinting by means of underline or by an automatic function) is still one of the accepted markup styles.
  • In general in word processing, underlining is available as a formatting option, but with alternative fonts and font sizes (especially for headings), italics and other formatting options, there are enough other stylistic devices available for text markup. Underlining falls here “maximally negative.” Alternatively, there is v. a. the ability to use line styles for headings, e.g. B. a solid line between the left and right edges of the text between the two text edges with a greater distance to the text than with the underline. However, this is not a font, but a frame line similar in appearance as paragraph formatting and thus a stylistic device in the layout design, as it is e.g. B. is also used for formatting the headings in Wikipedia.
  • There are several options on the Internet:
    • The attribute "u" ( <u>unterstrichener Text</u>becomes: underlined text ) is the classic attribute in HTML .
    • The CSS attribute text-decoration:underline;suggests that underlining is more of a decorative value. In both HTML and CSS, descenders are cut.
    • If you do not want to cross descenders, a frame line can be defined as an alternative. With <span style="border-bottom: 1px solid; padding-bottom: 1px">Beispieltext</span>, for example, ensure that the line appears just below the "p" -Unterlänge: sample text .
  • The Soul package is available in LaTeX . Outputs the text in curly brackets underlined, whereby it depends on the rendering whether the line is set deep enough not to cut through the descenders. The specialist forum komascript.de notes that kerning can become a problem here, and the question arises, "why you should do something typographically correct , what should be left without typographically."\ul{unterstreichen}

Line styles for special uses

For some purposes, special line styles are sometimes preferred. So z. B. Calculation results (especially with handwritten calculations) or invoice sums underlined with a double line. Underlining with a dotted line is an official correction symbol, by means of which an incorrectly crossed out text is subsequently declared valid again.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Werner Lenz: Small hand dictionary. A smart paperback for everyone. Publishing house book and knowledge
  2. ↑ Thomas Soyter: Typography: 12 important basics for the correct use of fonts - part 2. webmasterpro.de
  3. ↑ One of numerous examples in Internet forums: Correctly underline (underlined words). hilfdirselbst.ch; or to include punctuation marks: Correctly underline in the text on typografie.info
  4. ^ Gerhard Kahofer: Golden rules of typography. informatik.tu-cottbus.de
  5. ↑ markup u in SELFHTML -Wiki
  6. ↑ text-decoration in the SELFHTML -Wiki
  7. ↑ Fonts. Typography on the internet. Homepage matthias-kammerer.de
  8. ↑ Soul package.
  9. ↑ Typographically "correct" underlining. komascript.de, July 12, 2011