Field Book Project Web Style Guide
3G, 4G Types of cell phone networks.
a.m./p.m. Use lowercased letters with periods. In advertisements and other publications adhering to Associated Press style, “p.m.” can appear with or without periods. Maintain consistency throughout each publication.
Do not use “A.M.,” “P.M.,” “am,” “pm,” “AM,” or “PM.”
For 12 p.m., use “noon.” For 12 a.m., use “midnight.”
blog (n., adj., v.) Preferred to “weblog.”
c.
See circa.
catalog (n., adj., v.) Use instead of “catalogue.”
century Use digits with centuries in both running text and image captions.
16th century (noun)
early 18th century (noun)
early-18th-century image (adjective)
mid-19th century (noun)
mid-19th-century author (adjective)
late 20th century (noun)
late-20th-century photographer (adjective)
circa Spell out “circa” in text, and abbreviate it as “c.” in parentheses and in captions.
commas Use the serial comma, the comma before the final item in a series.
Correct: “Use the visual language of photography in an active, critical, and creative way.”
Incorrect: “Use the visual language of photography in an active, critical and creative way.”
dashes/hyphens In text for typesetting there is a distinction made between hyphens and dashes of different lengths. These are represented as such:
hyphen: -
en dash: –
em dash: —
hyphen Use in compound words, such as “20th-century photographer.” No spaces should be left on either side of a hyphen.
en dash Use in sequences of numbers or dates, such as “1899–1903” or “January 21–March 13, 2006.”
em dash Use to set off information in sentences, such as “The museum's thirty-six collections contain more than 365,000 images—some artifactual and some documentary—that document decorative art objects and the history of design worldwide.”
dates Use figures for dates in captions, and spell them out in running text. In display text, especially in exhibition titles, do not abbreviate dates.
Federal Art Project, Photographic Division Collection, 1935–1942
Between centuries it is necessary to spell out the entire sequence. It is also necessary to do so for dates spanning from the last year of one century into the following century.
1899–1910
1900–1903
D.C., DC For postal addresses with Zip codes, use the postal code “DC”; in all other instances, use “D.C.”
disc, disk Use disk when referring to a computer hard disk or floppy disk. Use disc when referring to optical disks such as compact discs (CDs), digital video/versatile discs (DVDs), and laser discs. Also: disc brake, disc jockey, videodisc.
DVD Abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc. Abbreviation may always be used. Plural: DVDs.
DVR Abbreviations for digital video recorder. Abbreviation may always be used. Plural: DVRs.
email (n., adj., v.) One word, no hyphen. Plural: email messages and emails are both acceptable. Do not use “e-mail” or “E-mail”
ePub Short for electronic publication. An open-standard e-book file format that can be read on various reading applications and hardware devices. Example: The style guide is available in the open-standard ePub format.
like (v.) Enclose like in quotation marks when referring to the action of indicating approval on a social-networking site such as Facebook.
Example: Thousands of people have “liked” us on Facebook, helping to raise funds for Stand Up to Cancer.
Treat the term as you would a user-interface element (a button or link, for example) when the reference is to the UI element itself. We prefer to use boldface to make UI elements stand out in text.
Example: “Visit us on Facebook and click Like, and you could win a prize.”
FAQ Stands for Frequently Asked Question but generally refers to a list of such questions. Can be pronounced two ways: (1) “fak” (in this case the singular form takes the article a: a FAQ) or (2) “eff-ay-cue” (in this case the singular form takes the article an: an FAQ). Either treatment may be used as long as it is used consistently. Plural FAQs (pronounced “faks” or “eff-ay-cues”).
Example: “Many sites include a FAQ to avoid answering the same customer questions repeatedly.”
field book Two words. Not “fieldbook.”
Field Book Project Note that all three words are capitalized. No preceding “the” is needed.
field notes Two words. Not “fieldnotes.”
field work Refers to work conducted by scientists in the field, including collecting specimens. Two words. Not “fieldwork.”
file name Two words. Not “filename.”
FTP Abbreviation for File Transfer Protocol. Abbreviation may always be used.
Verb usage may also be used: “Please FTP that file if it’s larger than 3MB.”
geotagging (n.), geotag (v.) One word. The verb means to add geographic data (such as longitude and latitude coordinates) to a photo or other media file.
Google (adj. only) According to Google guidelines, this trademark should never be used as a noun, verb, and never in the plural or possessive form. Use search, search for, or search on instead.
handheld (n.), hand-held (adj.) The noun refers to a personal digital assistant, or PDA.
how-to (n., adj.) Note hyphen when used as a noun or an adjective. Plural noun: how-tos.
Examples: “Your How-to Guide to Home Buying” (headline set in title case), “Home-Buying How-To” (another headline in title case), “How-tos include insider tips as well as basics you’ll need to understand the process” (sentence).
inbox
Institution When “Institution” is used as a noun, shortening “Smithsonian Institution,” the “I” should be capitalized, such as “the Institution was established in 1846.”
After first reference to “the Smithsonian Institution,” it is acceptable to use “the Institution” for subsequent reference.
Internet Note capitalization. OK to abbreviate as Net.
intranet Note lowercase. A private internal network typically accessible only to a select group of individuals.
login (n., adj.); log in, log in to (v.) One word when used as a noun or an adjective. Two words when used as a verb, which may be followed by the preposition to. Note that sign in is preferred because it sounds less technical.
logout (n., adj.), log out (v.) One word when used as a noun or adjective. Two words when used as a verb. Note that sign out is preferred because it sounds less technical. Example: If you forget to log out, you’ll get a logout reminder.
Mac Abbreviation for Macintosh, an Apple trademark. Abbreviation may always be used.
mashup (n., adj.), mash up (v.) One word when used as a noun or an adjective. Two words when used as a verb.
Examples: “Anyone can create a mashup with the right technology.” Or, “Use our technology to mash up RSS feeds into a single stream.”
measurements These are normally provided for works of art in captions. It is customary to list dimensions in the following sequence: height, width, and (if applicable) depth and diameter. Use inches instead of centimeters for dimensions.
In running text, dimensions should be featured in numerals, spaces in between, followed by type of measurement spelled out. Such as: 8 x 10 inches (not 8x10 in. or 8”x10”) All following references to the same measurement (inches, feet) do not need to be listed
until it changes; featured as: 8 x 10
In caption information, use straight double quotation marks to indicate inches. Convert all metric measurements to inches. For extremely large objects, do not break down into feet and inches; instead, use only inches.
All measurements should correspond to a degree of accuracy.
megabyte You may abbreviate as MB. Don’t use “Mbyte.”
microblog (v.), microblogging (n., adj.) No hyphen. To microblog is to post short status updates about yourself or about an event using a microblogging service such as Twitter.
MP3 Abbreviation for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3. All capitals, no spaces, no periods. Abbreviation may always be used. Plural: MP3s.
NE For Washington, D.C., addresses, do not use periods in abbreviations of the city’s quadrants. A comma should precede the quadrant abbreviation.
2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
numbers Use Associated Press style in advertisements and other public affairs materials.
Use numerals for centuries and measurements.
in the late 19th century
until the mid-20th century
5.6" x 16.3"
107.0" diameter
For all other situations (except street names, dates, life dates, percentages, and mathematical figures), spell out numbers one through one hundred and any two-word numbers. Use numerals for 101 and greater (except those numbers that can be expressed in two words). Use commas for numerals greater than 999.
ninety-nine
102
two hundred
five thousand
5,001
one million
For street names, use numerals.
Independence Avenue at 10th Street
935 Pennsylvania Avenue
Always use numerals for life dates.
Grace Bradfield (1920–1995)
Always use numerals for dates.
August 25, 2003
Use numerals for percentages (but spell out the word “percent”).
74 percent
NW For Washington, D.C., addresses, do not use periods in abbreviations of the city’s quadrants. A comma should precede the quadrant abbreviation.
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
offline
online
onscreen
onsite
open source (n.), open-source (adj.) Two words when used as a noun, hyphenated when used as an adjective.
Example: “With open-source software, individuals can study the software’s source code and try to improve the product.”
outbox
password
password-protect (v.) Note hyphen.
Example: “Be sure to password-protect sensitive files on the intranet.”
PDA Abbreviation for Personal Digital Assistant. Abbreviation may always be used as long as context is clear (abbreviation can also mean public display of affection). Plural: PDAs.
PDF Abbreviation for Portable Document Format. Generally used to refer to files created by using Adobe Acrobat. Abbreviation may always be used. Plural: PDFs.
plug-in (n., adj.), plug in (v.) Note hyphen when used as a noun or adjective. Not “plugin.” Two words when used as a verb.
pop-up (n., adj.), pop up (v.) Note hyphen when used as a noun or adjective. Not “popup.” Two words when used as a verb.
Examples: “Get rid of pop-ups before they pop up. Stop pop-up ads from ever annoying you again.”
real time (n.), real-time (adj.) Two words when used as a noun, hyphenated when used as an adjective.
Examples: “Watch the file stream in real time. Get real-time updates delivered to your phone.”
right-click (n., v.) Note hyphen.
RSS Acronym for Really Simple Syndication. All capitals. Abbreviation may always be used—but avoid using RSS on its own, since few people know what it means. Use news feed, RSS news feed, or RSS newsreader as appropriate.
screen capture
screen name
screen reader An assistive technology (typically software) that vision-impaired people can use to hear the words on a webpage.
screensaver
screenshot
SE For Washington, D.C., addresses, do not use periods in abbreviations of the city’s quadrants. A comma should precede the quadrant abbreviation.
12th Street and Independence Avenue, SE
SIA When using this abbreviation for “Smithsonian Institution Archives,” do not use “the” to precede it.
sign-in (n., adj.); sign in, sign in to (v.) As a noun or an adjective, it’s hyphenated. As a verb, it has two words, which may be followed by the preposition to. Because it sounds less technical, Yahoo! prefers sign in to log in or log on.
slideshow (n., adj.)
smartphone
Smithsonian Museums and Galleries Official names.
If “Smithsonian” is not in the official name, it should be listed as Smithsonian’s, such as “Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.”
Anacostia Community Museum
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Arts and Industries Building
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Freer Gallery of Art
George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
National Air and Space Museum
National Museum of African American History and Culture
National Museum of African Art
National Museum of American History, Behring Center
National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of Natural History
Department of Anthropology
Department of Botany
Department of Entomology
Department of Invertebrate Zoology
Department of Mineral Sciences
Department of Paleobiology
Department of Vertebrate Zoology
Division of Amphibians and Reptiles
Division of Birds
Division of Fishes
Division of Mammals
National Portrait Gallery
National Postal Museum
National Zoological Park
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian Institution Building
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian Research Centers Official names.
Archives of American Art
Museum Conservation Institute (Suitland, MD)
National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center (Front Royal, VA)
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (Cambridge, MA)
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (Edgewater, MD)
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Smithsonian Marine Station (Fort Pierce, FL)
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama)
SMS Abbreviation for Short Message Service, used for text messaging. Abbreviation may be used after initial explanation.
social networking (n.), social-networking (adj.) Note hyphen when used as an adjective. Two words when used as a noun.
Examples: “The social-networking phenomenon has really taken off.” Or, “To attract users, the site added social networking.”
Specimen Plural of this is “specimens.”
SW For Washington, D.C., addresses, do not use periods in abbreviations of the city’s quadrants. A comma should precede the quadrant abbreviation.
600 Maryland Avenue, SW
text message (n.), text-message (adj., v.) Two words when used as a noun. Note hyphen when used as an adjective or a verb.
Examples: “She had a heated text-message argument with her boyfriend.” “Did you get my text message?” Or, “I’ll text-message you with the details.”
The Commons on Flickr
THE BIGGER PICTURE The Bigger Picture blog name should be spelled out in all caps, “THE BIGGER PICTURE.”
thumb drive Two words, lowercase. Another name for flash drive.
titles of works and exhibitions Italicize titles of artworks, exhibitions, books, and longer publications in running text. In display text, such as invitations or advertisements, these titles may be set in roman type for design purposes. Although, their treatment should be consistent throughout the publication.
touchpad (n., adj.)
touchscreen (n., adj.)
tweet (n., v.) Lowercase when referring to a message sent via Twitter or to the action of sending such a message. Past tense: tweeted.
TWiki An open-source platform for online collaboration. Note capital W. As a trademark, TWiki should be used as an adjective, not a noun.
Twitter (n., adj.) Capitalize when referring to the microblogging site. Do not use as a verb to refer to communicating on Twitter—use “tweet” instead.