Hmmmmmmmmmmmm......contractions: can't, won't, don't

[Greythorne]

Obviously, in formal writing, contractions are not used. But in business day to day use?

I use them in emails, memos, powerpoints and in internal documents. Recently, I got some feedback from a colleague on a long manual for employees' use and he had gone through and "corrected" every single contraction.

Is he right? The manual will not be published, but it will be available online. I love a bit of pedantry but this seems a bit old school.

[MumnGran]

Sorry, but I would agree with the corrections ..... a manual is a formal document.

[Greythorne]

Ah, I stand corrected!

[somebloke123]

Strictly speaking yes - contractions shouldn't be used in a formal document.

But if it was, for example, a brief introductory users' guide I would quite happily use contractions.

It would depend on the type of document.