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Subject:Re: Online help wording question From:Hilary Phillips <hilary -at- CYGNUSPR -dot- DEMON -dot- CO -dot- UK> Date:Fri, 14 Nov 1997 09:42:55 -0000
I would avoid that kind of sentence by explaining once how the user must touch the radio buttons to make choices. It may be that this information has to be prominent for the reader, in which case, why not repeat it on every page in a marginal box.
Then you can simplify to:
"Select the program characteristics you want from the View selection area." (NB the "you want" could be removed too, if you want!)
Even without doing that you could include all the info in a simpler sentence:
"Select the program characteristics from the View selection area by touching the required button."
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From: Eric J. Ray[SMTP:ejray -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM]
Sent: 12 November 1997 12:43
Subject: FWD: Online help wording question
Forwarded anonymously on request. Please reply on the list.
Eric
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I'm currently developing an online help program using HTML. The kicker is
that it will operate on a small, touchscreen display, and outside the help
environment the user has to use his or her finger to select and deselect
check boxes and radio buttons, to drop down menus, and things like that.
The system that I'm documenting was written in Visual Basic so the system
has a typical GUI look and feel to it, except there's no mouse-clicking.
I'm having trouble finding ways to word sentences like the following:
"To select the program characteristics you want to view, touch the choice
you want to select in the View selection area."
(Note to list: In this instance each program characteristic is preceded by a radio
button that the user needs to touch to activate.)
The sample sentence is wordy to say the least. How do writers typically
word sentences like this? Please post to the list...
**************************************************
Eric J. Ray ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com
TECHWR-L Listowner http://www.raycomm.com/
