Re: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?

[Kathleen MacDowell <kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com>]

How ponderous would it be to say

You can move Tool One by clicking on it and dragging it into the desired
position.

I wouldn't add anything about releasing it; people will find out soon
enough, unless there's something tricky about how that should happen or the
function doesn't work correctly...

I start wondering about how pedantic I need to be after I've written lots
of descriptions like this. But the thing is, if you keep them short, you
make sure your audience at least knows the minimal capabilities of the
product.

At least that's how I approach it. YMMV :-)

On Tue, Oct 23, 2012 at 9:20 AM, Cardimon, Craig <ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com>wrote:

> I was wondering how pedantic I need to be, and how brief I could be.
>
> Why wouldn't "drag" suffice?
>
> The audience should be computer literate.
>
> I am pondering just how "ponderous" I need to be.
>
> From: Kat Kuvinka [mailto:katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 10:06 AM
> To: Cardimon, Craig; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?
>
> Depends on your audience and if you have attempted somewhere to teach them
> what it means to drag. And drop. They should drop after dragging, yes?
>
> >
> > Maybe I've been staring at this too long, but if some items need to be
> dragged around, would you say:
> >
> > "Click-and-drag Tool One where you want it."
> >
> > Or Just:
> >
> > "Drag Tool One where you want it."
> >
> > --Craig
> >
>
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-- 
Kathleen MacDowell
kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Writer Tip: You have more time to author content with Doc-To-Help, because your project can be up and running in 3 steps.

See the &#8220;Getting Started with Doc-To-Help&#8221; blog post. http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-3-steps
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