Re: icon text name

["Bonnie Granat" <bgranat -at- lynx -dot- dac -dot- neu -dot- edu>]

>"Can someone please tell me the name of the text which appears when a mouse
>> pointer is moved over an icon?"
>>
>>
>> I've seen it called:
>>
>> Pop-up text
>> Also, within the Microsoft programming world, it's called a "Tooltip"  -
>> the
>> text in the tool tip being "Tooltip Text"
>>




The Microsoft Manual of Style says the name "ToolTip" is not trademarked, by
the way, although it does refer to the particular Microsoft feature.
Microsoft also says that screen tip is a generic term and can mean the same
thing. I realize that everyone does not use Microsoft style, but since
Microsoft style is being described, I wanted to post what the Microsoft
Manual of Style for Technical Publications, Second Edition, states about the
matter.

We use Microsoft as a guide only, determining our style by what works best
for us. We have adopted the Microsoft style for some things and kept our own
divergent style for other things.

It is also true, as some have observed to me privately, that the Microsoft
manual is internally contradictory on certain issues. I corresponded with
the authors a couple of years ago when the second edition was published and
she acknowledged that there were portions that were not as closely read as
they should have been.

I do want to apologize for trying to foist my preference on all you
wonderful people recently. To make matters worse, I think my position may,
in fact, be wrong about the correct usage of "then".

An interesting problem emerges for me at this point: Technical writing
contains an abundance of imperative sentences. Could it possibly be the case
that some things just "sound wrong" because of a sentence rhythm that is not
encountered in most spoken or written English?  I think that is what I got
mired in with the "then" issue. In my research on the question, I noted that
the dictionaries say the following sentence is correct:

    I went up the stairs, then stopped and looked into the room.

I recognize that sentence as being correct, but I didn't recognize "Click
Apply, then OK." as being correct.
"Click Apply, then OK." is apparently correct. I'm wondering if is the
rhythm (due to the absence of an explicit subject) that caused my error.

Even "Click Apply, and then OK." looked wrong to me, but now I don't know.
It should be, "Click Apply, and then click OK."

Okay! I'll desist and depart. <gdr>

Bonnie Granat