Re: press or click.....

[Tom Murrell <trmurrell -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

--- mike w <techmail_mike -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
> MOS says "do not use press as a synonym for click."  
> 
> So, if I am documenting an ordering process where you
> have to choose either a "yes" or "no" button before
> you can go to the next screen, would it be "press" or
> "click"?
> 
> Also, am I correct in assuming that "button" is the
> term I use to describe an action-oriented item?

FWIW, I would use neither 'press' nor 'click' as you may have users who
cannot or do not use a mouse. For that reason, I tend to use the term
'select', as in "Select the OK button to start the download." On
keyboards or other mechanical devices, I generally suggest they 'type'
a key, key sequence, word, phrase or sentence, but on screens, I go
with 'select.

And yes, I call anything that looks like a button a button.

=====
Tom Murrell
Lead Technical Writer
Alliance Data Systems
Columbus, Ohio
mailto:trmurrell -at- yahoo -dot- com
Personal Web Page - http://home.columbus.rr.com/murrell/

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