RE: Displays versus Appears-Which One?

[salatas <salatas -at- micron -dot- com>]

Mario wrote:

My last tech editor would ding me if I used 'appears'
instead of 'displays' when describing the action a
window or other grahical element "takes" (for lack of
a better word) when you click on it. She said to use
'displays' instead. I got into thaet habit.

Response:

My last supervisor decided the same thing, Mario. I wasn't sure about the
intransitive usage, either, so I looked it up in our official dictionary,
The American Heritage Dictionary, Third Edition (electronic) 1993. It has:

dis·play (d¹-spl³") v. dis·played, dis·play·ing, dis·plays. --tr. 1.a. To
present or hold up to view. <snip> --intr. 1. Computer Science. To provide
information or graphics on a screen: a personal computer that displays and
prints. 

Satisfied that American Heritage recognized an intransitive form of the verb
in computer science, I have been using "displays" in my confirmation
statements. I really like the suggestion to use "opens," however. Maybe it's
time to suggest it to the group.

Salette Latas
salatas -at- micron -dot- com

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