Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Crusoe

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 6, 2014
166
54
Is there any way to enable smart quotes by default in iOS 7?

Some apps (such as Tweetbot 3) use them, but built-in apps such as Messages default to dumb quotes.
 
Let's see if this comes out...

Dumb quotes - "abc"
Smart quotes - “abc”

Make sense now...
...
dumb quotes: ASCII
smart quotes: Unicode.

May be you can request some programmer to over ride and release for JB devices.
 
Let's see if this comes out...

Dumb quotes - "abc"
Smart quotes - “abc”
What makes them smart or dumb given just a simple and minor practically irrelevant difference in the slant essentially?
 
No idea. That's the common name used to differentiate them. I'd guess it's because the computer or device is 'smart' enough to recognise the start and end of the text the quote marks encapsulate.
 
"Smart" quotes term misused

Calling the "curly" quotes "smart" quotes is an example of language decay. When I worked on word processors in the '80s and '90s we called them "typographic" quotes. What makes them smart is that you type " or ' (the standard quote characters on the keyboard) and the software would figure out whether to substitute a left or right curly quote. For example, you type
"This is John's car," he said.​
and the WP would substitute a left double curly quote, right single curly quote, right double curly quote.
 
We’re not using quotes at all, smart or dumb. “Dumb quotes” are properly used to show minutes and seconds in latitude / longitude or feet and inches (among other things I’m sure).

Seconds/Inch Mark "
Minutes/Foot Mark '
Single Quotes ‘ ’
Double Quotes “ ”

That said, the use of smart/curly/typographer’s quotes varies:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_variation_in_quotation_marks

No defaults to specify in Mac or iOS that I know of, but you can send feedback here: https://www.apple.com/feedback/
 
I've always been wary of smart quotes and apostrophes as sometimes they get rendered incorrectly on different systems. But maybe the situation is better these days. Also I think they sometimes take up a little too much typographic space (especially the apostrophes).
 
Enabling smart quotes by default?

No defaults to specify in Mac or iOS that I know of, but you can send feedback here: https://www.apple.com/feedback/


In OS X Mavericks, smart quotes is on by default. Here's how to turn it off:

1. In the top menu bar, Click on the Apple logo and then System Preferences.

2. Now click on Keyboard.

3. Click on the Text tab.

4. Uncheck Use smart quotes and dashes.
 
Last edited:
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.