EN• Capitalize directions when abbreviated (NNW) or when they are part of a proper noun. Do not capitalize directions when they indicate direction or location (southward, east steered). Illustrations/Stamps: • Type [ILLUSTRATION] or [STAMP] in an appropriate/approximate spot in the entry/page. Formatting: • If you come across a long s, type it as an s, not an f. • Don't worry about denoting superscript characters such as 2nd, McDonald, or “Yr”. • Line Breaks: Hit
Enter to start a new line. Do not replicate line breaks caused by the end the original page. Two returns indicate a new paragraph, whether indicated by a blank line or by indentation in the original.
Illegible text: • If totally unintelligible, type [???] where the word would be in the text. If you are able to make a guess, use all capital letters in single square brackets with a question mark at the end of it. Example: 2 P.M. hauled the ship for [THE?] stream & anchored. Illustrations: • Type [ILLUSTRATION] or [STAMP] in the text approximately where the illustration would be without compromising the flow of the transcription. For example, if a stamp appears over an entry, just note [STAMP] at the end of that entry. Punctuation: • Add periods where appropriate if none are used, but do not add any other punctuation. • If something is hyphenated because it runs onto a second line, type it as one whole word. • Preserve the use of symbols/special characters such as & and +. Spelling: • Preserve original spelling. If you are able to do so, provide the correct/modern/standardized spelling (particularly for things of research value such as names of people, places, relevant terminology, etc.) in all capital letters surrounded by single square brackets right after the original spelling in the text. Example: ...let one reef out the mizen [MIZZEN] top sail...
