Re: "Wish" in tech docs

Subject: Re: "Wish" in tech docs
From: Janet Valade <janetv -at- MAIL -dot- SYSTECH -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 12:57:21 -0700

> Step 1: To edit a Destination, click its entry in the Destination list.
>
I like this one. The trouble I have with the whole "wish" or "want"
construction is that it suggests that the user might think they are supposed
to click the destination that they DON'T want to edit. I find it difficult
to visualize a situation in which a user might think that.

Also, I think we are assuming that "edit the Destination" has been explained
elsewhere. Perhaps that wouldn't be necessary if we said something like:

To change the properties (or description or whatever) of a destination,
click
its entry in the Destination list.

Although, if "editing the destination" is an important concept, it might
need a sentence or two of explanation.

Janet

----
Janet Valade,
Technical Writer, Systech Corporation, San Diego, CA
mailto:janetv -at- systech -dot- com
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For every complex situation, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and
wrong.

Henry Louis Mencken




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