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Subject:Style to use for Hyperlinks From:Karen Casemier <KCasemier -at- xrite -dot- com> To:"'techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 6 Oct 1999 13:46:36 -0400
I know we have had discussions on whether or not to bold buttons, check
boxes, etc. when discussing them in text. I don't want to start that one up
again - let's suffice it to say that I do use bold text for these items.
However, I am now documenting an application which uses links instead of
buttons to open dialog boxes. These appear just like HTML links - blue,
underlined words. I'm wondering how to reference them in the documentation -
should I bold them just like regular buttons, underline them as they appear
in the application, or refer to them as links? I haven't been able to find
any other examples of this. (This is not a web-based application; it just
uses links instead of buttons.)
Two things to consider: One, I do not usually refer to the identifier
"button." I tell the user to click OK or click Close, then bold the button
name. Also, my company makes QC software for the color industry (paint
companies, ink companies, printing companies, etc.). The chances of a color
blind user are very rare (so I would not need to worry about them mistaking
black underlined text for blue underlined hypertext).
I receive the digest, so please respond to me directly. I will summarize any
responses in a future post to the list, in case anyone else is interested.
Karen R. Casemier
Senior Technical Writer
X-Rite, Inc. - World Headquarters
kcasemier -at- xrite -dot- com
616.257.2405
