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  • Rackspace Style Guide
  • Quickstart
  • Writing guidelines
    • Use active voice
    • Use present tense
    • Write to the user by using second person and imperative mood
    • Write clear and concise sentences and paragraphs
      • Use a consistent sentence structure
      • Restrict sentence length
      • Use only, but all of, the necessary words
      • Create short paragraphs
    • Use effective verbs
      • Use action-oriented verbs
      • Avoid nouns built from verbs
      • Use the simplest tense
      • Use helping verbs accurately
      • Use single-word verbs
      • Don't use verbs as nouns or adjectives
      • Don't use nonverbs as verbs
      • Use transitive verbs transitively, not intransitively
      • Don't humanize inanimate objects
    • Clarify gerunds and participles
    • Use that, which, and such as correctly
    • Use pronouns carefully
      • It
      • This
      • There
      • That
    • Use gender-neutral pronouns
    • Use positive statements
    • Use correct punctuation
    • Use interjections with care
  • Style guidelines
    • Abbreviations
      • Abbreviations of byte and bit
      • Common abbreviations
    • Capitalization
      • Capitalize proper nouns and adjectives
      • Capitalize most abbreviations
      • Capitalization in job titles
      • Capitalize team names
      • Capitalize UI labels as shown on the UI
      • Capitalize the names of product components as appropriate
      • Don't capitalize common nouns
      • Don't use all capitals for emphasis
      • Reference to other capitalization guidelines
    • Citations
    • Cloud account information
    • Code examples
      • Create a VM running a Docker host
      • Run the application
      • Remove the containers already using the port
      • Troubleshooting
    • Contractions
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    • Glossaries
      • Glossary terms
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      • Guidelines for a comprehensive glossary
    • IP addresses
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    • Lists
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    • Messages
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    • Notes and other notation types
    • Numbers
      • Numbers versus words
      • Commas in numbers
      • Ranges of numbers
      • Unspecified, generic, and unknown numbers
    • Parameters
    • Placeholder (variable) text
    • Plurals
    • Prepositions
    • Product names and version numbers
    • Punctuation
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      • Colons
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      • Introductory text for tables
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    • Telephone numbers
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      • 12-hour clock
    • Titles and headings
      • Capitalization
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      • Tables of contents
    • Trademarks
      • Examples of Rackspace trademarks
      • Examples of third-party trademarks
      • Links to company trademark pages
      • Trademark usage guidelines
    • URLs and domain names
    • Voice and tone
      • Voice and tone attributes
      • Best practices
  • Markup guidelines
    • ReStructured Text (RST)
    • MarkDown (MD)
  • Terminology guidelines
    • General terminology guidelines
      • Use consistent terminology
      • Use short, familiar words and phrases
      • Use consistent references to time, space, and versions
      • Avoid obscure non-English words and abbreviations
    • Terminology for a global audience
      • Don't use idioms or colloquialisms
      • Avoid metaphorical terms
      • Don't use humor
      • Use jargon carefully
      • Use culture-neutral language and examples
      • Use culture-neutral graphics
    • Alphabetical list of terms
    • Concise terms
    • Third-party names and trademarks
  • Screenshot and diagram guidelines
    • Screenshot guidelines and process
      • When to use screenshots
      • Screenshot alternatives
      • Before you create a screenshot
      • Screenshots in procedures
      • Screenshot checklist
    • Diagram guidelines
      • When to use diagrams
      • Before you create a diagram
      • Diagram checklist
  • Control panel and portal standards
  • How-To article guidelines
    • Use sentence-style capitalization for titles and headings
    • Use active voice
    • Use present tense
    • Write to the user by using second person and imperative mood
    • Write clear and consistent step text
    • Use consistent text formatting
    • Clarify pronouns such as it, this, there, and that
    • Clarify gerunds and participles
    • Write clear and consistent code examples
    • Use consistent terminology
    • When and when not to suggest contacting Support
  • Blog guidelines
    • Things to consider before writing a blog
    • Blog writing suggestions
    • Voice and tone
    • Write to the user by using second person and imperative mood
  • Error message guidelines
    • General guidelines
    • Message guidelines and examples
    • Message types
  • Release notes guidelines
    • Structure
    • Formatting
    • Wording
    • Editing existing release notes
  • User interface guidelines
  • Style guide revision history
    • July 18, 2019
    • March 12, 2019
    • March 6, 2019
    • March 1, 2019
    • February 22, 2019
    • February 6, 2019
    • January 21, 2019
    • January 4, 2019
    • November 5, 2018
    • November 2, 2018
    • September 25, 2018 (End of Q3 release)
    • June 29, 2018 (End of Q2 release)
    • May 8, 2018
    • April 16, 2018
    • June 19, 2017
    • April 28, 2017
    • November 10, 2016
    • July 27, 2016

Numbers#

Use the following guidelines for showing numbers in documentation.

  • Numbers versus words
  • Commas in numbers
  • Ranges of numbers
  • Unspecified, generic, and unknown numbers

Numbers versus words#

Spell out numbers from zero through nine, except in the cases shown in the following table. In these cases, or if the number is 10 or larger, use numerals.

Exception Example
Numbers as they're displayed The returned value is 0.
Numbers to use as input Type 1 and press Enter.
Series of the same type of items where at least one of the numbers is greater than nine Unit A requires 5 nodes, Unit B requires 17 nodes, and Unit C requires 9 nodes.
Numbers with symbols 7%
Numbers with units of measure or abbreviations 5 mm, 3-inch disk
Numbers that indicate dimensions 8x8 feet
Time 5:45 p.m.

Avoid beginning a sentence with a number. If you must begin a sentence with a number, spell out the number unless the number is part of a product, service, or company name.

Use

Ten vendors, including Rackspace, were assessed based on the following attributes:

451 Research applied a weighting system to highlight the attributes that are most valued by end users.

Don't use the spelled-out form of a number followed by a numeral in parentheses. However, if you think that a user might misread the numeral 0 as the letter O, you can clarify by spelling out zero parenthetically after the numeral.

Use Don't use

two panels

zero probability

Enter 0 (zero). (acceptable)

two (2) panels

zero (0) probability

Commas in numbers#

Use commas in numbers with five or more digits. However, don't use commas in the following types of numbers:

  • Addresses
  • Fractional part of a decimal number
  • Page numbers
  • Literal representations of user-entered values or displayed values
Use Don't use

9001 N IH 35

1452.7532

page 1055

1024 bytes

9,001 N IH 35

1,452.753,2

page 1,055

1,024 bytes

Note

Don't use European-style numbering, which uses commas in the place of periods. For example, use 3.14159, not 3,14159.

Ranges of numbers#

When describing number ranges, use the following guidelines:

  • To describe an inclusive range, use through. When space is limited, use an en dash instead. Don't use the word inclusive in your description.
  • Use prepositions as follows:
    • If you use between to introduce a range, use and to conclude the range. Using between and and implies a noninclusive range.
    • If you use from to introduce a range, use through or to to conclude the range.
    • Don't mix between or from with an en dash.
Use Don't use
step 12 through step 16 options 11–15 (limited space) any value from 1 through 258 step 12 through step 16, inclusive
from 10 to 20 diagrams from 10–20 diagrams
between 2010 and 2012 between 2000–2002

Unspecified, generic, and unknown numbers#

To represent an unspecified or generic number, use n as the variable and apply italics.

To represent an unspecified or unknown version number, use x for each digit and apply italics.

Use

Move the insertion point n spaces to the right.

Select the Use n I/O Sessions check box.

Your BlackBerry software must be version 4.x.

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