usability - Is a middle dot (·) the best way to signify a space?

In our web application we try to give explicit instructions of what to do or to type if the user desires so.

One of our tips looks like Click or type /r to respond. If /r followed by a space is typed the entire phrase is replaced by /whisper .

Yet, this replacement does not occur if one drops the terminal space, which might lead to confusion. I typed /r and nothing really happens. What now?.

One approach was to add a middle dot · which shalt signify wor space. Hence, Click or type /r· to respond..

Should there be a middle dot? Will it cause bewilderment? Will users add a space intuitively? Are there completely different approaches?

Answer

I'm assuming that the full usage is /r , but this answer also applies if it's /r , or /r .

You could put the space followed by a placeholder - I'd recommend typing the instructional part in one font, and the actual code to type in a fixed-width font which will make the space more clearly visible:

Click or type /r [message] to respond

This should make it evident to users that a space is required, and what they're then expected to follow /r with. You'll have to be careful that the brackets notation for a placeholder doesn't confuse users (they may think they actually need to type the brackets around their message), but you could consider as alternatives:

Click or type /r message to respond

Removes the brackets, but produces ambiguity over whether message is a placeholder or needs to be typed. You may be able to avoid this by making the message part stand out:

Click or type /ryour_message to respond

You could also potentially highlight the space - for example, /r and message could be highlighted in green, whilst the space between them is highlighted in yellow, to make it stand out without printing a character, but this could cause accessiblity issues with colorblind users.

One last idea: make /r [message] clickable - the physical underline under the phrase (assuming your styling underlines links) will further highlight the space, and clicking it will paste the command into the application ready for the user to add their message. They aren't likely to use it this way more than once, but it would clearly demonstrate the intended usage on their first try.

Finally, if there is room to do so, you can provide an example usage:

Click or type /r [message] to respond, for example:

/r hello!

Makes it clear that /rhello! is not the intended usage.