Re: Menu Options

["Brierley, Sean" <Brierley -at- QUODATA -dot- COM>]

Hallo:

I use the pipe (|) symbol. It's a convention I picked up at a job back in
'91 and I've found no better way since. The pipe has an advantage of being
distinctive and not using special fonts. I also omit articles and use the
word "click" without the word "on" (reason being it is direct and there is
no possibility of anyone trying to click "off" or "up" or "down" . . .).
Neither do I use the words "menu" or "option" unless the possibility of
confusion exists (such as a menu selection and a button sharing the same
name).

Thus:

Select File|Save as.

Where selecting from the menu displays a dialog box and a button in the
dialog needs to be pressed, depressed, hit, whacked, or otherwise activated,
I write:

Click Options|Neat options|Really Neat Options|Button 1.

Where, "Button 1" is a button in a dialog box, the name of which is
irrelevant and probably in programmerese.

If a dialog box is open, I might write:

In the open dialog click Button 1. Of course, sometimes I substitute the
name of the dialog box despite the prolific use of all caps and underscores.

Hope this helps . . . now back to work.

Sean

>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>From: Letty Smith [mailto:lsmith -at- CTILIMITED -dot- COM]
>>>Sent: Monday, June 07, 1999 10:49 AM
>>>To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
>>>Subject: Menu Options
>>>
>>>
>>>Enquiring minds want to know...
>>>
>>>Here's a question that has been raised in our department -
>>>what's the best
>>>way to describe in writing to the user that they should
>>>select a particular
>>>menu and option?  We try to use a graphic when possible, but
>>>sometimes it
>>>isn't possible, or doesn't fit in the documentation.  So ... which is
>>>better:
>>>
>>>     1.  Select the File -> Save As... menu option.
>>>
>>>     2.  Select the File - Save As... menu option. (n-dash)
>>>
>>>     3.  Select the File -- Save As... menu option (m-dash)
>>>
>>>     4.  Select the File > Save As... menu option.
>>>
>>>     5.  Some other way?
>>>
>>>Does it make a difference if it is a three-deep menu option?
>>> (i.e. Select
>>>the File -> Save As ... -> Keenfile Graphic menu option.)
>>>
>>>
>>>Letty Smith
>>>Technical Writer


 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=