Symbols

& (ampersand)

Don’t use & instead of and in most cases. It is acceptable to use & when referencing UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface – the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. elements that use &, in places with space constraints, such as tables and UI element labels.

The use of & in code is completely fine.

<> (angle brackets)

Use angle brackets to describe the < and > symbols. Don’t use angle brackets when you mean brackets ([]).

Use opening bracket and closing bracket to distinguish between the left and right brackets.

See also [] (brackets).

* (asterisk)

OK to use in developer documentation and for a technical audience.

Don’t use an asterisk instead of the multiplication sign, or while expressing dimensions. Instead use the multiplication sign.

For more information, see Dimensions and Placeholders.

See also × (multiplication sign), x

@ (at sign)

Pronounced as at sign.

In most cases don’t spell out as at sign.

{} (braces)

Use braces to describe the {} symbols. Don’t use braces.

Use opening braces and closing braces to distinguish between the left and right braces.

[] (brackets)

Use brackets to describe the [ and ] symbols. Don’t use brackets when you mean angle brackets (<>).

Use opening bracket and closing brackets to distinguish between the left and right brackets.

See also <> (angle brackets).

º (degree symbol)

Use degree symbol to describe the º symbol.

It’s OK to use degree or degrees instead of the degree symbol.

Don’t insert a space between the numerical value, the degree symbol and the unit of measurement.

Examples

÷ (division sign)

Not division symbol.

For more information about fractions and division, see Numbers.

= (equal sign)

Not equal’s sign, equals sign, or equal symbol.

Insert a space before and after the equal sign.

.htaccess

Use code font.

For more information, see Filenames.

– (minus sign)

Not minus symbol.

Use an en dash to indicate the minus sign. While writing an equation with a minus sign, insert a space before and after the minus sign (en dash).

For more information, see En dashes.

× (multiplication sign)

Not multiplication symbol.

It is OK to use x instead of the multiplication sign (×).

For more information, see Dimensions and Placeholders.

See also x

# (number sign)

Not number symbol.

Always spell out number in number sign. Don’t use pound sign or number symbol.

Examples

Don’t use the number sign preceding a numeral. Instead, spell out number. It’s acceptable to abbreviate number as no., but consider a global audience; as many languages don’t abbreviate number as no. which may cause confusion.

It’s OK to use the # symbol to indicate a hashtag. Don’t use number sign to refer to the hashtag.

See also number.

+ (plus sign)

Not plus symbol.

Don’t use the plus sign as a synonym for terms such as and, plus, and over.

It’s OK to use the plus sign in UI, tables, or headings where space is limited.