Writing & StyleStyle guide

Formatting Handles in Technical Documentation

Formatting Handles in Technical Documentation records a distinct Microsoft Style Guide authoring convention and keeps it explicitly scoped to technical documentation rather than presenting it as a universal grammar rule.

Quick answer

Use code style for handles and follow Microsoft’s documented uppercase convention where the term is a literal handle.

Key details

Core IssueMicrosoft developer-content guidance specifies code style and uppercase treatment for handles.
RegisterMicrosoft technical and professional documentation

Important caveats

Scope Boundary

This is a Microsoft developer-documentation convention; do not uppercase an ordinary prose use of “handle” that is not a programmatic handle.

Further guidance

Content

Use code style for handles and follow Microsoft’s documented uppercase convention where the term is a literal handle.

Purpose

Make literal handle names visually distinct and preserve their technical form.

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

  1. Formatting developer text elements — Microsoft Style Guide (opens in a new tab)Microsoft · Microsoft Style Guide conventions for formatting programmatic and code-related elements in developer content.

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