[no subject]

["Wing, Michael J" <mjwing -at- INGR -dot- COM>]

>----------
>From:  John Bell[SMTP:johnbell -at- MNSINC -dot- COM]
>Sent:  Thursday, August 08, 1996 10:02 PM
>To:    Multiple recipients of list TECHWR-L

>>The situation is this.  The manual is describing a reset of a piece of
>>hardware.  The process is to press one button labelled "Reset" and then to
>>press a second button labelled "Init."  Should the sentence go:
>>
>>Press the "Reset" and then the "Init" buttons.
>>  or
>>Press the "Reset" and then the "Init" button.
>>  or
>>Press the "Reset" button, and then the "Init" button.

>If this is a software product, the answer is none of the above.
>In proper GUI terms you do not "press" buttons, you click them.
>Also, you do not need to use the word "button" because the term
>"click" already implies a GUI button.

>The proper phrasing would be:
>Click Reset then click Init.


I thought "click" had fallen into disfavor because it assumes that the
user is operating a mouse.  Thus "click" is an anomalous term when using
the Tab key followed by the Enter key, a mnemonic, a light pen, or a
touch screen.  Technically, clicking is a mechanical action (as is
pressing the Tab key) that performs a selection operation.  "Select"
often seems to be the safest term; however, because a user can select
more than buttons, the selected device still needs to be named.

Mike Wing

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
_/
_/   Michael Wing
_/   Principal Technical Writer
_/   Jupiter Customization and Educational Services
_/   Intergraph Corporation
_/   Huntsville, Alabama
_/   (205) 730-7250
_/   mjwing -at- ingr -dot- com
_/

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