TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: One Action Per Step From:George Hayhoe <GFHayhoe -at- AOL -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 7 Jun 1995 09:32:20 -0400
Jan Boomsliter asked why anyone would type anything without entering it.
Typically, you would not. But "entering" is not alike on all systems. In some
cases, you need only type a predetermined number of letters or digits (a
password field, for example, on some platforms) without pressing the ENTER
key. Since today's users are increasingly likely to be multi-platformal (DOS,
Windows, and/or Mac, as well as mainframe), this can be troublesome.
For the sake of clarity and to isolate steps for newbies, I like to restrict
steps to a single action, and do not use "Enter your password" as Bev Parks
suggests.
1. Type your six-character password.
2. Press ENTER.
You will be logged on if your password is correct.
Or:
1. Type your six-character password.
You need not press ENTER. You will be logged on if you password is correct.