BookbndrIn plain terms: smart punctuation is the polished, "typeset" version of everyday punctuation — curly quotes, proper dashes and real ellipses — instead of the plain marks a keyboard produces.
The difference
| You typed | Smart version |
|---|---|
"straight quotes" |
"curly quotes" |
'apostrophes' |
'apostrophes' |
-- (double hyphen) |
— (em dash) |
... (three dots) |
… (ellipsis) |
The smart versions are what professional books use. They look more finished and are easier to read.
How Bookbndr handles it
Smart punctuation is applied automatically when you export, so your book comes out properly typeset without you changing anything. It's careful not to alter things that should stay literal, like code or measurements written with straight marks.
The Document health check on the Setup step will also point out straight quotes and typed-out ellipses in your manuscript if you'd like to tidy the source itself — see Fix the formatting problems Bookbndr flags.