"Curly" quotation marks

MJRevell · Sep 22, 2014

I don't suppose anyone knows of a writing app for the iPad that allows you to use "curly" quotation marks when writing text?

It's frustrating to have one set of marks when writing on the iPad and another set when exporting the document to a computer.

Secondly, is there a way to quickly swap "straight" marks to "curly" ones?

ULTRAGOTHA · Sep 22, 2014

I do a search for " and replace with ". That will replace straight marks with curly if curly is the default for the font you are using.

Jamesaritchie · Sep 22, 2014

It's better to have smart quotes turned off, even on the computer.

CrastersBabies · Sep 22, 2014

Have turned off smart quotes for 10 years now. We hates it, precious.

DanLett · Sep 22, 2014

Basic rule of thumb for me is always write with straight quotes, leave curly for the typesetter. Sure, they look nicer, but words (and punctuation) are tools for us, not ornaments, and they should be precise, interchangeable, and dependable.

NRoach · Sep 22, 2014

I have no idea as to the difference, other than the fact that one is presumably curly.

Myrealana · Sep 22, 2014

I would suggest turning off "smart (curly) quotes" as some publishers are going to request "straight quotes" only. Some don't care, but of those that do, I've never seen a preference for smart quotes, so it's easier/safer to get used to going without.

Roxxsmom · Sep 22, 2014

NRoach said:
I have no idea as to the difference, other than the fact that one is presumably curly.

Curly quotes attempt to differentiate between what is actually opening and closing as well as curling prettily. This can lead to some unfortunate formatting snafus if you use something to end your dialog that the word processor doesn't recognize as terminal punctuation. I seem to remember having issues with speech that ended with an "m-dash" (to indicate that the speaker was suddenly cut off) getting a second opening quote that curled to the right for instance, when I had curlies turned on.

Some internet applications also don't recognize them, so if you copy paste to some web forms, or into e-mail (which you may have to do when submitting to agents), they may be converted into strange characters.

http://timourrashed.com/smart-quotes-in-word-why-theyre-a-problem-and-what-to-do-about-them/

Buffysquirrel · Sep 22, 2014

Smart quotes tend to be produced by proprietary code and sometimes render as rubbish that's hard to read past. Straight quotes are unobtrusive and generally supported.

NRoach · Sep 22, 2014

Roxxsmom said:
Curly quotes attempt to differentiate between what is actually opening and closing as well as curling prettily. This can lead to some unfortunate formatting snafus if you use something to end your dialog that the word processor doesn't recognize as terminal punctuation. I seem to remember having issues with speech that ended with an "m-dash" (to indicate that the speaker was suddenly cut off) getting a second opening quote that curled to the right for instance, when I had curlies turned on.

Some internet applications also don't recognize them, so if you copy paste to some web forms, or into e-mail (which you may have to do when submitting to agents), they may be converted into strange characters.

http://timourrashed.com/smart-quotes-in-word-why-theyre-a-problem-and-what-to-do-about-them/

Oh, I know those things.
I solved the whole issue with them getting themselves the wrong way around by simply typing them both, then going back into them and typing the text.

I've very surprised this is an issue which is so prevalent that an explanation wasn't needed in the OP.

"Curly" quotation marks

MJRevell

www.mikerevell.com

ULTRAGOTHA

Merovingian Superhero

Jamesaritchie

CrastersBabies

Burninator!

DanLett

NRoach

Myrealana

I aim to misbehave

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

Buffysquirrel

NRoach