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I have a new writer who brought an interesting question to me.
What do you call the items on a menu?
My initial reaction was "Commands", because that's
what the Apple Style Guide and the Microsoft Manual
of Style calls them.
Her reaction is that commands should be verbs, and
most of the items on our menus are not verbs but the
names of windows (List Field Builder, User Setup,
and so on). We even have a few options where you
turn on/off checkmarks on the menu (Show Tooltips,
Open Library on Start, and so on).
Now I find myself doubting the universal label of
"Command". Should we differentiate between commands,
window names, and options? If so, what should we call
them?
Thanks!
--- John Bell
jbell -at- paragren -dot- com
