| Convention | Meaning |
| bold | Characters that you type exactly as shown, including commands and switches. Menus and commands are also bold. |
| italic | Variables for which you supply a specific value. For example, Filename.ext could refer to any valid file name for the case in question. |
| Initial Capitals (Filename.ext) |
Names of files should begin with an initial capital letter, for example, Filename.ext. Paths and folders can be uppercase, lowercase, or mixed, according to how they actually appear in a standard installation of the application or the operating system. |
| ALL CAPITALS | Names of acronyms. |
|
Examples of code. |
| [ ] (square brackets) | In syntax descriptions, square brackets enclose optional items. If you include the item, type only the information between them, not the square brackets themselves. |
| {choice1 | choice2} (braces) | In syntax descriptions, braces enclose items which require a choice, such as {yes | no}. Type only one of the choices, not the braces or the dividing line. |
| Menu | Command (menus) | In referring to menu choices, Edit | Paste, for example, means to select the Edit menu and then choose the Paste command from it. |