Re: Need another word for "enterable"?

[Harry Hager <hhager -at- dttus -dot- com>]

     I think I lost the original post for this thread on "enterable," so 
     I'm joining midstream. 
     
     One vital job of a technical writer is to translate the SME techie 
     words into a language that is understandable to the user. I would not 
     use "enterable" in user documentation. I probably wouldn't even use it 
     in systems documentation meant for developers (that's my current 
     project), but my limited vocabulary didn't include the word 
     "enterable" until I read the email I'm replying to. 
     
     Here's what I do:
     
     A field in which a user can enter data is called a "data entry field."
     
     A field in which the program enters (displays) the data and in which 
     the user cannot enter data is called a "display-only field."
     
     In the introduction to the book, or somewhere early in the book, I 
     define these terms.
     
     I typically say something like this:
     
        A display-only field is a field which displays information 
        generated by the XXX program. You cannot enter or change data in a 
        display-only field. The background color of display-only fields is 
        ABC, as shown in the XYZ window. (No "should be," no "will be," 
        just "is," assuming, of course, that the developers followed this 
        standard. If it sometimes color NNN and sometimes color MMM, you 
        have problems.) 
        
        You use data entry fields to enter data into the xxx program 
        database. The background color of data entry fields is MMM, as 
        shown in the ABC window.
        
        (This discussion is followed by a screen print of the ABC window 
        with callouts for Data Entry Fields, Display-Only Fields, and any 
        other window features I'm explaining at the time.) 
     
     This has worked for me and for others I've worked with for a number of 
     years.
     
     
     H. Jim Hager
     hhager -at- dttus -dot- com