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We first contemplated changing to angle brackets (arrows) after adopting a
content management system that would have required us to write cumbersome
point and click combinations like the following:
1. Click the Corporate Services menu, point to Technology Services, and
click Software.
2. On the left menu, click Account Management.
3. On the submenu that appears, click Quick Reference Guide.
Our navigation structure can have 7 levels of depth, and only two of them
are submenus that drop down on mouse-over. To get to the deepest level, you
have to click and click and click.
We thought, wouldn't it be much simpler to say Go to Corporate Services >
Technology Services > Software > Account Management > Quick Reference Guide.
The arrow pattern will be recognizable because this same breadcrumb
appearance is displayed at the top of each page. The breadcrumb system will
reinforce and teach this method of notation.
Additionally, many content authors will need to direct others to pages on
the new intranet. Adopting an easy instructional style suits them too.
I think it would be inconsistent to adopt this arrow method for navigation
but not for other aspects of instructions. So now instead of writing "On the
File menu, click Open," to be consistent with our arrows, we would write
"Choose File > Open."
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