"check" the box (was RE: "Click on" or "click")

[SIANNON -at- VISUS -dot- JNJ -dot- com]

Drew Adams mentions some alternatives to the verb "check"
> I've used "turn on" or "enable" (and "turn off" or "disable"). 

I agree with your concerns on ambiguity, but I want to toss in a potential 
problem with using enable/disable.  Say you have a GUI in which there is 
"enforced permitted sequencing of steps" (FDA's way of saying you use GUI 
elements to constrain user actions to a specific procedure).  A text box or 
other control on the screen may not be "enabled" for entry/use until some 
other button is clicked, or some other action completed.

Example: "On entry of the sixth character of the order code, the action 
buttons will become enabled, based upon the status of the product. Only 
product that has completed quality testing will have the button 'Shipping 
Checklist' enabled. Click 'Shipping Checklist'. The Shipping Checklist 
dialog box will appear, displaying the list of shipping options available. 
Note: options not supported by a specific facility will be disabled, and 
appear grayed out. Check all options that apply, and click 'Save 
Options'."


I appreciate this discussion...while it may fall under the heading of 
"fussing over details", underneath it addresses some of the how's and why's 
that need to be kept in mind when analyzing the audience of a doc. We 
repeat the mantra "Know thy audience" a lot, but sometimes it's not always 
easy to _get_ to know the audience (cf. previous posts by people never 
allowed contact with their target audience). Sometimes there is too much 
assumption of technical knowledge (e.g., "if your users don't know how to 
<insert standard Windows interface convention here>, you've got bigger 
problems"...never mind the fact that the blue-collar users being targeted 
may not have completed high school and have never worked with computers 
before in their lives...). Sometimes there's localized language conventions 
(especially for folks dealing with their first international audience, and 
different languages or dialects).

...just another two cents...
          Shauna

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