Typographic tools to emphasize the subject matter

Bujdosó Gyöngyi Dr. <>
Debreceni Egyetem, Informatikai Kar

Csernoch Mária Dr. <>
Debreceni Egyetem Kossuth Lajos Gyakorló Gimnázium

It is common knowledge that using word processors to create documents ? either printed or electronic ? which have positive effects on the reader requires the combined application of several skills. To create clear, easily readable and understandable, aesthetic documents which are able to highlight the subject matter several areas of science have to be applied in synergy. The users, first of all, have to be familiar with the syntactic and semantic rules of the language, and at least with basic word processing techniques and typographic rules. We should not let the nowadays common, but false view to spread further that only the content is important in a document, and not the appearance. A document in which the layout is inappropriate, the applied word processing techniques are incorrect, and whose color combination is disgusting will never reach its original goals. Sadly these documents have been sprouting in this information-technology era, since everyone has access to computers and word processors. In earlier times only skilled professionals had had the privilege to create and publish printed documents and most of these documents were free of the now common mistakes. For those who are amateurs, but still feel adventurous to create word processed documents, to be familiar with all these skills is quite challenging. To give some guidelines to these users several printed materials appeared on the market in the last fifteen years dealing with typography. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to these books. Even they can use, however, those freeware but top-class pieces of software which appeared recently on the web. In our presentation we are introducing some of these useful web pages. We do this because we have experienced that most of the documents lack even the basic requirements of a well-processed text. Most of the users think, but are usually mistaken, that they are well prepared to use word processors just because they are able to keyboard ? not type ? the text. In several cases they are not familiar with even the basic rules. We selected some from the most commonly encountered mistakes and plan to prove that using the available printed and electronic materials the documents could be improved a lot. Users would be able to create documents the subject matter of which would be highlighted with the help of these visual tools. Beyond giving the appropriate stress to the content, the documents would become more legible, easier to understand, and, last but not least, more aesthetic.