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Subject:Re: Toggle on/off or Turns on and off From:"Ned Bedinger" <doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Sat, 22 May 2004 14:26:28 -0700
Two points here: John's question vis interface design duties for
tech writers, and an explication of my thought about Toggle
On/Off:
John --
Used to be that software that was created with the intention of
being eventually localized in multiple languages would often have
a tech writer serving as interface *text* designer. All text of
a screen was kept in a 'resource' file, which was either handled
as a module and loaded by the binary program, or compiled into
the program as one of the files at build time. This is a good
arrangement and is common enough in all software development, at
least where the development process is advanced enough to
recognize the benefits; as has been noted already, this is the
way to get enough attention spent on consistency of labels,
coherence of text tracts, and all textual aspects of the design.
Proof that the inmates aren;t running _everything_! But Color and
GUI element design per se are not typical tech writer tasks, in
my 13 years experience. But then, I have never positioned myself
as an interface consultant. Did you somehow invite this work?
Also in line with the other side of this thread, I have a comment
on the use of 'toggle', which is an appropriate word for any
audience, and my choice if the interface element is a physical
toggle switch or something in a GUI that bears any resemblance to
a physical toggle switch. I came to a conclusion about the right
use of the verb 'toggle', after reading many "...toggles it back
and forth..." expressions. I think it should be used with a
caution about redundancy--the verb toggle implies two (maybe
more) states, selectable using a toggle switch, and a typical
instruction to toggle a feature already implies "set it to the
opposite state." In my view, 'toggling on/off" is redundant. I
think it works best to include the available states of a toggle
parenthetically, for example:
Button z toggles feature a (on/off).
Just my $.02, obliquely.
Ned Bedinger
Ed Wordsmith Technical Communications Co.
doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com http://www.edwordsmith.com
tel: 360-434-7197
fax: 360-769-7059
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