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Subject:RE: Format of GUI element names From:Sharon Deitch <sharon -at- sintecmedia -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Sun, 19 Nov 2000 14:55:09 +0200
Coming in late to the discussion...I rarely say "the button." I usually
just write "Click Save." where the word Save is bold. For one it's shorter.
For another, it helps it stand out from the rest of the words for tired,
frustrated users who just want to finish their task and go home. When I've
read docs that didn't set off button names, I found that sometimes I had to
read the sentence twice to make sure I had it right.
I use bold for screens, tabs, and buttons. I agree that too many
conventions are tiring, but one convention used to set off all these items
is helpful. It helps the user know I'm talking about the <<Contracts>>
screen, not contracts in general. As far as the wasted effort argument
goes, I have defined a keyboard shortcut for the "Strong" character style,
so it's only a matter of pressing Alt+B to format the words. And I've saved
myself the effort of typing "the" and "button" each time.
On my data screens, there are two different save buttons each used for
different functions (I didn't design it; I just document it), so I typically
include a graphic of the button next to the word Save to eliminate
confusion.
Shalom from Jerusalem,
Sharon
Sharon Deitch
Technical Writer
SintecMedia
sharon -at- sintecmedia -dot- com
"Religion without humanity is poor human stuff." - Sojourner Truth,
abolitionist (1797-1883)
>
> However, my main reason for preferring not to use a special
> convention is that it's largely wasted effort. The reactions of
> readers (and my own reaction) tell me that too many conventions only
> create a distracting anxiety; the reaction seems to be, "Is this
> typeface conveying some information that I should know about?" Since
> what's being conveyed is fairly trivial, the convention becomes a
> kind of static that interfers with the clear transmission of ideas.
>
> Nor do I think that a lack of convention interfers with skimming.
> Since procedures generally have short paragraphs, skimming for
> capitals and "button" isn't too difficult. Anyway, how often do
> people scan for buttons, as opposed to procedures?
>
>
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