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For me, "wish" has a much stronger magical connotation than "appear" does.
And it just feels wrong in a technical document. "Want" doesn't feel right
either, but to a lesser degree.
The problem with either word, I think, is that those words imply a certain
level of emotion that the user almost certainly isn't feeling. I mean, do I
really wish, desire, or even want to edit that Destination? Nah. If Da Boss
comes by and tells me I can skip it, I won't be disappointed.
So many of these questions come down to saying what you mean.
Besides, I'd rather turn the whole sentence around:
Step 1: To edit a Destination, click its entry in the Destination list.
---
Office:
mike -dot- huber -at- software -dot- rockwell -dot- com
Home:
nax -at- execpc -dot- com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gina Hertel [SMTP:Ghertel -at- ALPHA88 -dot- COM]
> Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 1998 1:41 PM
> To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject: "Wish" in tech docs
>
> In my response to my previous example, some list members said they would
> not
> use the word "wish" in technical documentation. How would you rephrase
> this, for example?
>
> Step 1: From the Destination List, click on the Destination you "wish" to
> edit.
>
