"one action per step"

Subject: "one action per step"
From: Chris Frederick Willis <ChrisOp -at- AOL -dot- COM>
Date: Sun, 4 Jun 1995 21:57:33 -0400

>o Sometimes defining what constitutes "one action" can be
>difficult: Do I write
> "6. Type your username.
> "7. Press <ENTER>."
> or do I write "6. Type your username and press <ENTER>." ?

I ran into the same problem in an online help system. I, too, prefer to have
one action per step. However, I "bit the bullet" when it came to actions that
required the user to "Press ENTER," and keep them on the same line, similar
to your second step 6, above.

It was a personal preference choice based on the fact that most users would
consider the act of entering the proper information and pressing enter as one
action. Also, when I listed the action in a bullet list, I wanted to be able
to keep it as one line of text.

Chris Willis
Media 1
Nunica, Michigan, USA
Chrisop -at- aol -dot- com


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