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Subject:Re: Style and Brevity in steps (long) From:"Hutchings, Christa" <cwhutchings -at- HOMEWIRELESS -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 8 Jun 1998 15:33:51 -0400
Bill -
We just recently went through a discussion of this on the list (you
might could locate it in the archives under the subject heading "grammar
survey").
Basically, most folks felt that you should put the condition first
because many users don't read the entire sentence.
For instance, if you write: "Squeeze the trigger when the sights are
aligned with the target," how many users will see only "squeeze the
trigger" and fire away w/o lining up their shot properly?
On the other hand, "When the sights are aligned with the target, squeeze
the trigger," makes it pretty clear that the user should not shoot until
his gun is pointed at the target!
A somewhat dramatic example, but it does get the point across!
Regards,
Chris Welch-Hutchings
Sr. Technical Writer
Home Wireless Networks, Inc.
cwhutchings -at- homewireless -dot- com
