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I've got to jump in on this one because I've fought this battle so many
times.
Bottom line: As Mike West says, whatever symbolology you use, explain it in
the Preface. In several companies, we've used the ">" symbol (right angle
bracket) to show the flow. I find it helps to use a space before and after
the bracket for legibility. I wouldn't use the pipe symbol, though, since in
standard syntactical descriptions, the pipe (|) means "or."
Other possibilities include showing the actual cascading menu sequence in
pictures and using a decision table presentation. In the latter instance,
you identify each step in the left column and the result in the right
column, with the key items in bold. (Hard to show in an all-text format, but
we're writers, right?) The decision table format preserves the step-by-step
approach of the MSG without losing people in text. Of course, you could also
include the path (>) approach in the decision table (my preference).
So you'd have something like (this may look weird in something other than
monospace font):
Your action Result
------------ -------------
From the Edit menu, select Find. A second menu appears.
Select Files or Folders. A dialog box appears.
Enter the name ....
---------------- OR --------------------
Your action Result
------------------ ---------
Select one of the following: A dialog box appears.
* Edit > Find > File
* Edit > Find > Folder
Enter the name....
You get the idea. This is a great place for a usability test to determine
what works best for your users. It doesn't have to be elaborate. MY point
here, though, is that you DO have alternatives. Good luck!
Marguerite
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike West [mailto:mwest -at- oz -dot- quest -dot- com]
Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2000 12:51 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: The garden PATH
Lisa Wright asked about "From the Edit menu, select Find, then choose Files
or Folders" versus "Select Edit>Find>Files or Folders.
Lisa,
If I understand you correctly, the only difference between your style and
the
MS recommended style is that yours uses a kind of shorthand notation.
I think the shorthand version is fine for experienced users, but I do think
that your notation requires an explanation (in your "Conventions"
declaration, for example).
Some people prefer the 'pipe' symbol for command paths: "Select
Edit|Find|Files or Folders."
The good thing and the important thing (to me) about both styles is that
they
both give the entire command path in the correct chronological sequence. The
MS way is a bit wordier, but requires no supporting explanation; your way is
fine for experienced users.
Mike West
Melbourne, Australia
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