Tidy quotes and dashes with Smart punctuation in Vectornation
Type > Smart punctuation in Vectornation by Zaweba converts quotes, apostrophes, dashes, ellipses, symbols, fractions and double spaces, now or as you type.
Straight quotation marks, double hyphens and three full stops in a row are the small signs of text that has been typed rather than typeset. On a poster or a packaging panel they stand out more than you might expect. Vectornation by Zaweba fixes them with Smart punctuation, which can tidy existing text in one go or work quietly while you type.
What it converts
Type > Smart punctuation converts several kinds of mark. Straight quotes and apostrophes become proper curly ones. Dashes typed as hyphens become the correct typographic marks. Three full stops become a single ellipsis character. Common symbols and fractions are turned into their proper characters, and double spaces are reduced to single ones.
Each of these is a small change, but together they make text look professionally set rather than pasted from an email.
Converting text you already have
Text often arrives from elsewhere: an email from a client, a document, a spreadsheet of product names. It is likely to contain straight quotes and double spaces. Select the text, or work across the document, and run Type > Smart punctuation to convert it. Then read through the result, as there are always a few places where you want a mark left as it was, such as feet and inches in measurements.
Smart punctuation as you type
You can also have it happen while typing. The option is under Edit > Preferences > Type. With it on, quotes curl the right way and dashes are converted as you write, so text typed directly on the artboard is right from the start.
Typing straight into a design is common for headings and short copy, so having this on by default saves a later clean up. If you are typing code, measurements or anything where straight marks matter, you can turn it off for that job.
Apostrophes that point the right way
One thing to check is the apostrophe at the start of a word, as in abbreviated years or words that drop their first letters. Automatic conversion tends to treat a mark at the start of a word as an opening quote, which points the wrong way. Read headings and short copy closely, and fix any that need it from the Glyphs panel.
Fitting it into a routine
Smart punctuation works best as part of a short proofing routine. Place or paste the copy, run Smart punctuation, run the spelling check, then read the text through. Find and replace can help with anything the tool leaves that you want changed everywhere, such as a particular way of writing a brand name.
For long documents, apply paragraph and character styles after the text is clean, so the formatting goes on to text that is already final.
Why the details matter
Readers rarely know what makes text look professional, but they notice when it does not. Curly quotes, proper dashes and single spaces after full stops are part of that. In print especially, where text is often large and read closely, a stray straight quote can make an otherwise careful design look rushed.
Having Smart punctuation in Vectornation means you do not need to fix these by hand, character by character. A single command, or a preference set once, takes care of most of it, and leaves you free to concentrate on the design.
