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Re: GUI elements - how do you format them in your docs?
Subject:Re: GUI elements - how do you format them in your docs? From:Martin Bosworth <martinhbosworth -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 3 Nov 2005 09:06:34 -0500
On 11/3/05, Martinek, Carla <CMartinek -at- zebra -dot- com> wrote:
>
> I'm wondering what other people, especially those with usability
> experience, have to say about formatting of window/dialog titles,
> buttons, menu item selections, and such. We're discussing standards
> within our group, but it's always nice to get other people's opinions
> and see how you're doing it.
>
> My personal preference is to simplify as much as possible, which has me
> leaning towards the Sun style of using just initial caps with no special
> formatting. The one problem I see here is with some radio buttons,
> which often do not use initial caps on the entire string. These could
> be difficult to separate from the rest of the surrounding text. Perhaps
> in that case I can see using italics, without any kind of font change.
> My second choice is Microsoft's option of using Bold with no color or
> font change for all GUI elements.
Carla,
I think the second choice "Microsoft option" is the best way to go, personally.
I think formatting conventions really depend on your audience. If you
have even the slightest doubt that simple text will clearly indicate a
function the user has to perform, bold or italicize it. It's better to
be too obvious than not obvious enough. Your mileage may vary. :)
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