RE: 2 style questions -- colons before tables, and "radio buttons"

Subject: RE: 2 style questions -- colons before tables, and "radio buttons"
From: Brian Gordon <elasticsoul2003 -at- yahoo -dot- ca>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 2005 11:40:56 -0400 (EDT)



--- Andrew Wurzer <techwr-l -at- baldingape -dot- net> wrote:

>
> "(1) In user guides, do you use the term "radio
> button," "option button," or
> something else to describe what are traditionally
> known as radio buttons
> among developers?"
> We call it a radio button.
>
For the general public, I generally say "Select the
option that..." or "Click on the option that..."
without referring to buttons. If your developers have
set things up that users can click on the label or
radio button, then this works well. Calling it a radio
or option button seems to confuse folks, who go
looking for what they think of as a 'button.' If the
users must click on the little radio button circle,
you're in trouble.

> "(2) When tables do not have captions, do you allow
> the tables to be
> introduced with a colon, such as in the phrase, "The
> X fields are described
> as follows:" -- and then a table list of fields
> appears?"
> That is acceptable in our style guide, though
> captions are preferred.
>
Yes. In fact, for the general public, I prefer
captionless tables - I use a leading phrase like
yours. It seems more intuitive for people not used
to books containing tables. If my audience was
different, though, I would use a different approach.

All the best,
Brian

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Doc-To-Help 2005 converts RoboHelp files with one click. Author with Word or any HTML editor. Visit our site to see a conversion demo movie and learn more. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.



References:
RE: 2 style questions -- colons before tables, and "radio buttons": From: Andrew Wurzer

Previous by Author: RE: Contract to Perm [WAS: salary for entry level position...]
Next by Author: Blank output in in Word/PDF
Previous by Thread: RE: 2 style questions -- colons before tables, and "radio buttons"
Next by Thread: Re: 2 style questions -- colons before tables, and "radio buttons"


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads