Quickly see how many spaces are in your text using our free Space Counter. Make sure none of your letters, words, and punctuation run together and your writing is as polished as possible. Sorry, this isn't a counter in space, but we're working on getting it aboard the ISS.
Use INK Space Counter Checker to determine the number of spaces in your content.
Main Takeaways:
In writing, we use spaces to separate words, characters, syllables, or sentences. That way, readers can quickly identify specific words in a text and tell when they've reached the end of a sentence.
The convention of spacing in the English language can be complicated, and you never know which rule to follow. For example, should there be two spaces or one after a period? Also, how do we use spaces with a hyphen?
This post intends to sort out that mess.
First, we'll consider the various types of spaces in typography and how to use them in writing. In the end, you'll learn the benefits of using the INK Space Counter Checker.
The word "space" originates from the Latin term "spatium," which means room, area, distance, or stretch of time. However, in writing, spacing refers to the areas of a page that we leave blank, usually between words, letters, or sentences.
Similarly, white space — or negative space — is the part of a page that's free of text and illustrations.
Writers use space for three primary reasons regardless of their position on a text. These are:
With a proper word spacing, readers can momentarily look away from a text without losing their place. Whether you're writing fiction, non-fiction, or articles, space can give your text a refreshing look.
A numeric space refers to a typographic using that's equivalent to the size of a single typographic figure such as a letter or numeral. But, it doesn't include leading - the space between the adjacent line of type.
The size of a numeric space varies based on the font. In typography, this is the preferred space for numbers. And that's because it has the same width as the digits.
Non-breaking space is a unique space character that word processors use to forbid an automatic line breaking or line wrap at its position.
In typography, paren space refers to a blank unit equal to the size of a parenthesis. Like the numeric space, the size of a paren space can fluctuate based on the font.
Other types of spaces in typography include thin space, visible space, a white space character, as well as zero-width space.
Spaces can serve as a word divider in writing. We use spacing to separate written words to make it easier for readers to identify specific words in the text.
Sentence spacing refers to the blank area between sentences in typeset text. Over the years, there has been controversy regarding the proper amount of sentence spacing. While some argued that a single word space is enough for sentence spacing, others point out that double space after a period is ideal.
The International System of Units (SI) recommends inserting a space between a number and a unit of measurement. For example, we write 45 kg, not 45kg or 45 K g.
With that said, there's an exception to this rule. You don't need to add a space when writing the traditional symbolic notation of angles. These include degrees (e.g., 30°), minutes of arc, (e.g., 30′), and second of arc (e.g.. 30″).
With Punctuations
According to the spacing convention, one space should follow a sentence ending in punctuation marks such as period, question mark, or exclamation. Likewise, one space should follow a comma, colon, or semicolon.
However, you don't have to include a space when using specific punctuation marks.
For example, there's no space before or after a em dash or en dash. Similarly, you don't need to add a space between enclosures such as quotation marks, parentheses, and brackets.
Ideally, there's no space after a hyphen. However, the exception to this rule is when you're using a suspended compound in a sentence. For example: "a two- or three-day delay."
The INK Space Counter Checker can help quickly identify the number of spaces in your writing. Start by pasting your text in the editor box. Then, sit back while the INK Space Counter Checker analyzes your document before telling you the number of spaces in your writing.
We also make an optional WordPress Plugin to import INK files more easily. You can get it here.
