Style guide

Making your posts accessible, clear, and appealing is essential. Learn the techniques that will help your posts stand out and make a difference for the Community.

Use clear and descriptive titles:

• Keep it simple and be specific: the most important thing is to make sure that people know exactly what your post is about.
  • "How I created character rigs in Maya" is more compelling than "Rig time".
• Include the product, feature, topic, industry, or trend you're focusing on in the title.
• Avoid using exclamation points, ellipses, or periods at the end of your title.
• Write your title in sentence case:
  • "How I created character rigs in Maya" not "How I Created Character Rigs in Maya".
• If you're making a series of posts, help people recognize your posts with a recurring title, like "Hints and Hacks".

Make the most of the teaser:

• Write 1-2 sentences that summarize what your post is about.
• This is where you can catch people's attention with more details beyond your title. Use it to tell readers more about what they'll get out of reading your post.

Use the right labels and tags:

• Help readers find your work by adding the appropriate labels only and adding relevant and descriptive tags.

Check spelling and grammar:

• Use a tool like Grammarly or even Word before posting. Reading aloud also helps to spot mistakes. Having a friend or colleague review your post and give feedback is helpful too.

Dos and don'ts:

• Keep it simple: shorter sentences are easier to read than long ones.
• Use everyday words and be inclusive: avoid jargon and buzzwords.
• Avoid using culturally specific idioms, references, or metaphors: they can lose meaning across cultures or time and could even take on offensive meaning in another culture.
• Use inclusive terminology: Avoid blacklist, grandfathered, master and slave, redline, whitelist. If you are unsure about a term, it's best to use something else.
• Spell out acronyms the first time they are used and give the acronym in parentheses:
  • such as Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC).
• Avoid abbreviations:
  • Such as etc., e.g., i.e.
• Avoid using ampersands "&" instead of the word "and":
  • It is acceptable to use an ampersand if it is part of an Autodesk brand name/term (such as Architecture, Engineering & Construction).
• Avoid using exclamation points.
• Avoid using ellipses at the end of sentences, including titles (?).
• Capitalize names only and use capitalization consistently.
• Use the Oxford or serial comma for lists:
  • "Connect, share, and learn" instead of "Connect, share and learn".
• Be consistent if you use contractions:
  • Such as "you are" and "you're" and do not mix them.