Style question about quotes

[Beth Agnew]

It's a style issue. It depends on the look and feel of your document, your
house style or preferences, and your audience. I personally prefer a
downstyle where I would say "Click New App to create a new UAI record." No
quotation marks. If the user is looking at the screen or the manual page
where there is a screenshot the New App button is pretty clear. The context
around New App also makes it clear that New App is a title or name of
something. To me, the days are gone when we used to have to differentiate
between user input, a label, a computer command, etc. with a difference in
font or emphasis. The downstyle increases readability, and is less
intrusive, to my mind.

But to each his/her own. Pick a style and use it consistently.
--Beth

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+beth.agnew=senecac.on.ca at lists.techwr-l.com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+beth.agnew=senecac.on.ca at lists.techwr-l.com]On
Behalf Of hbacheler
Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 10:14 AM
To: Brasel, Russell; techwr-l at lists.techwr-l.com
Subject: Re: Style question about quotes


Russell,

I have made it a HABIT/REQUIREMENT for my documents to have ALL  'buttons,
keys, etc.' to be "ALL CAPS, BOLD" without quotation marks.  That way there
is no misinterpretation, and they STAND OUT in the document.

this was specified.In a document style guide that I helped develop for a US
Government agency.

Having been involved with various industry styles (i.e., IBM, NCR) since the
early 1980's the styles that I have encountered. reinforce this approach.

Consistency works, regardless of the way keyboard key caps are made, or how
the displays on the screen appear,

I welcome comments on this approach.

HTH,

Harry Bacheler
hbacheler at aol.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Brasel, Russell" <russell.brasel at hccredit.com>
To: <techwr-l at lists.techwr-l.com>
Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 12:29 PM
Subject: Style question about quotes


I'm revising a document that predates my employment.  It's only a
procedure manual, and a small one at that, but when referring to a field
that appears in the program (and the accompanying screenshot), the text
is:

    Clicking the 'New App' button creates a new UAI record.

Don't worry about UAI-that's our internal acronym-but we have a New App
button.  How do the rest of you include field labels and button names in
your documents?  I've looked at MS Manual of Style, and don't consider
it gospel.

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