RE: Quotation marks around user interface labels

["Robart, Kay" <Kay -dot- Robart -at- tea -dot- state -dot- tx -dot- us>]

I never use quotation marks for things like this. 

It depends upon what elements of the interface are being described. The
Microsoft Style Guide calls for menu commands, buttons, and dialog box
elements to be bolded but for window names to not be, and that's what
I've been following for years. In fact, I was doing that for years
before then, because I started on UNIX computers and we followed the Sun
style guide, which had the same rule. However, you should follow
whatever style your organization has determined, and if it doesn't have
a style guide, it might be a good time to start making decisions like
this with the other writers in your organization, if there are any, and
writing those decisions down.

Kay R.

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+kay -dot- robart=tea -dot- state -dot- tx -dot- us -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kay -dot- robart=tea -dot- state -dot- tx -dot- us -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com]
On Behalf Of Nancy Allison
Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 4:05 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Quotation marks around user interface labels

Hi, all. 
 
I seem to have lost my bearings about when to use quotation marks. I'm
working on release notes that describe fixes to individual check boxes
and fields in the user interface. 
 
What would you for a sentence like this:
 
---Added a check on Out of Office reply in the Scheduling Conditions
section before the Print routine.
 
I wouldn't use quotation marks or a special font for any of that, would
you? Aren't the capitals enough to make it clear that proper names are
being used?
 
But what about this:
 
---Fixed the bug that prevents Diagnostic: Outboard from being deleted.
 
That looks more like a heading that might be generated and displayed for
a while under certain circumstances. I might be tempted to put quotation
marks around "Diagnostic: Outboard."
 
The problem is made more difficult by the fact that I don't have time to
check all these things out in the user interface. Even if I did, I don't
know how to set up the conditions that generate some, or even a lot, of
the errors that have been corrected. 

 
I'm really working in the dark and on a tight deadline, too.
 
Do you have a rule of thumb about using quotation marks for field names,
dialog box titles, message text, and the like?

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