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Subject:RE: Click X, or click the X button? From:"Bruce Megan (ST-CO/ENG2.2)" <Megan -dot- Bruce -at- us -dot- bosch -dot- com> To:<jennysubs -at- mac -dot- com>, "techwr-l List" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:41:47 -0500
In the style guide my coworker and I developed, we do the following:
In software, we Click X.
In hardware, we Push the X button.
My .02
Megan
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From: techwr-l-bounces+megan -dot- bruce=us -dot- bosch -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+megan -dot- bruce=us -dot- bosch -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of jennysubs -at- mac -dot- com
Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 2:38 PM
To: techwr-l List
Subject: Click X, or click the X button?
How do you describe button actions? Does it make a difference if
you're writing online help vs. print/PDF?
I was trained to use the full "click the XYZ button," but recent style
seems to be "Click XYZ."
The 2004 Microsoft Style Guide says to use Click the X button, except
for OK and Save. The 2008 Apple style guide shows both types, but
mostly seems to use Click the X button in its examples.
That was the style guides. I also did a quick look through some help
and PDF files on both Windows and the Mac. Here are my data points:
The Mac help style is definitely Click X.
Frame help is Click X.
Word Help is Click X.
Microsoft XP Pro system help is mostly Click X.
PDF manuals for Apple iLife apps typically use Click the X button.
PDF for Frame 9 uses both, although it's usually consistent within the
section.
Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
2009 tips, tricks, and best practices. http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
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You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as megan -dot- bruce -at- us -dot- bosch -dot- com -dot-
Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
2009 tips, tricks, and best practices. http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
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You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
