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Subject:Re: Style Guidelines for pull-down menus From:DHICKEY -at- ALIS -dot- COM Date:Fri, 6 Aug 1999 10:22:53 -0400
Greetings!
>We are trying to get some clarity about how
> to document a pull-down menu correctly.
This is the way I usually write the instruction:
1. Select Open from the File menu.
or
2. Select Spelling from the Tools sub-menu in the Options menu.
The way I see it, put the command the user needs at the beginning of the
sentence, giving it more emphasis, then tell the user where to find it. I
also find it more natural: "Get my keys from the glove compartment" instead
of "From the glove compartment, get my keys".
As for Select over Choose, I would choose "select". <g> It's a personal
choice, but if I were to defend it, I would say that "select" implies that
you are select something from a list of items that are always available and
"choose" implies a more direct decision rising from a need for something
that's just happened.
Either way, I think "select" is more appropriate for documentation purposes.
--
Be seeing you,
Dave
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John David Hickey
Montreal, Quebec, Canada eh?
They say that the pen is mightier than the sword.
But if you miss a deadline, you'd better bring the sword.
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Don't confuse my opinion with my employer's.
Each exists in blissful ignorance of the other.
