Re: [csswg-drafts] [css-text] Show invisible characters (#8874)

To further elaborate on the “text editing” use case:

When editing text for publication it is necessary to be able to insert and inspect invisible characters. Without this capability, such characters may be inadvertently omitted, compromising the quality of the final text.

While tools like Word provide solutions to view invisible characters, the web lacks a standardized method. Users and publications rely on every product implementing a custom solution for text replacements, but support is mixed. This missing support impacts language and typography considerably.

For instance, in Norwegian, a space serves as a thousands separator. To prevent line breaks within numbers, we utilize a no-break space, e.g., “1 000 000”. However, the challenges in inputting and inspecting the `nbsp` have led many web publications to deviate from standard Norwegian typography, often using a full stop instead.

Furthermore, languages like Norwegian frequently use long compound words. Here, soft hyphens are vital to allow soft breaks and prevent unsightly text wrapping. Yet, the inability to visualise these soft hyphens means many publications lack proper text breaks. Sometimes a single word can be left on the preceding line as a whole compound word is pushed to the next.

For editing purposes it is not a problem that the visualised characters impact the formatting. Furthermore, this use case can be solved by other means than full "complex replacement on text".

Without improved support for viewing invisible characters, the web could inadvertently alter local typographical standards, much like the typewriter did in its era. 

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Received on Saturday, 26 August 2023 09:53:17 UTC