Re: Naming conventions

[Brett Wetzell <wbwetzel -at- EOS -dot- NCSU -dot- EDU>]

On Aug 6, 10:37am, Meredith Townley wrote:
> Subject: Naming conventions
> There has been a small debate in the office over how "screens" should be =
> referenced in the documentation.  I'm curious as to what others call =
> what I refer to as screens.  The debate includes calling them screens, =
> dialogs, and windows.  What is the norm or proper term and are the three =
> terms above the same?


Ooh, this is a big one with me, just because *so many* software manuals refer
to those things as "dialog boxes".  I have no idea what the origin or logic
behind that phrase is, but most users (yes, including me) seem generally
confused by it. I would be interested to find out more...

I document X Windows applications, and we use "window" for all X Windows
(windows that feature the title bar and close/minimize...options) and "pop-up
window" for windows a program generates that require you to click a button like
OK or Cancel to get rid of them. We use "screen" in place of monitor -- it is
more specific in that a user can't confuse "monitor" for the whole hardware
case. Of course, if users call dialog boxes screens, too, then it's much less
specific than I thought!


Brett Wetzell
wbwetzel -at- unity -dot- ncsu -dot- edu

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