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Subject:Re: "one action per step" From:Beverly Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL> Date:Mon, 5 Jun 1995 07:03:59 MST
Chris Willis <ChrisOp -at- AOL -dot- COM> commented on the following:
>>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.
========================
I've seen manuals that combine the steps simply by using
specific terminology. They inform the reader up front that
"type" means to type the required information. Period. "Enter"
means to type the information followed by pressing the Enter
key. Compare:
4. Type your username.
(These are separate examples, not meant
to be part of the same instruction set!)
7. Enter your password.
As a user of these manuals, the alternating terminology didn't
bother me; they had distinct meanings and I understood that.
=*= Beverly Parks =*= bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil =*=
=*= "Unless otherwise stated, all comments are my own. =*=
=*= I am not representing my employer in any way." =*=
