Punctuation

The Home Depot style for punctuation is similar to Associated Press (AP) style; where the two differ, use The Home Depot style. Punctuation should be used sparingly as needed.

AMPERSAND

Use in headlines and callouts that are set in uppercase; do not use in body copy or copy that is set in sentence case.

COLON

Use colons to introduce a series or a list, especially a list preceded by “as follows” or “the following.” Capitalize material after a colon if it constitutes a complete sentence. Use a colon to introduce an explanatory phrase or sentence.

COMMA

Use to separate more than one item in a series. Ex: “For dinner I ate chicken, rice, broccoli and cauliflower.” A comma should not be located before the closing conjunction (and, or) in a simple series. Ex: “The flag was red, white and blue.” Put a comma before the concluding conjunction in a series if an integral element of the series contains a conjunction. Ex: “Brush primer on area of walls that need special attention such as exposed areas of bare wood, spots treated with stain  blocker, and patches in drywall and plaster.”

DASH

EM dash

A dash the width of a capital M in any given type font used to indicate a pause or breaks in thought, parenthetical remarks, dialog, etc.—no space before or after unless at the end of a sentence that ends abruptly. (In MS Office on a PC: Control + Alt + dash)  Do not use in PIP copy (DAX). Use hyphens only.

EN dash

Use to show numerical ranges of dates, ages, pages, etc. It signifies “up to and including.” Example. 4/15–4/25/2018 (In Mac Option and hyphen) Do not use in PIP copy (DAX). Use hyphens only.

Short dash (hyphen)

Use short dash (hyphen) for modifiers when there are no abbreviations. There is no space before or after a hyphen: 15-gallon tank, cast-iron legs.

ELLIPSES

Use only when something is left out. Use three dots. Do not space before, after or between the dots.

EXCLAMATION  POINTS

Are very sparingly used as part of The Home Depot voice. There should be zero to one exclamation point every several messages.

PERIOD

Bullet points, headlines and subheads should have no periods unless multiple sentences. When needed, only one space, not two, should be used after a period. “Valid dates” phrases end in periods.

SEMICOLON

Use a semicolon to indicate a greater separation than a comma gives, but less than that of a period.