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Use the following terms and phrases. Also, note the given spellings.

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Switching on the computer

In general, switch on / switch off is more common in Britain English, and turn on / turn off is more common in American English.
Don’t use: power on, power off, power up, power down

Starting the system

You start or restart the system.
Don’t use: start up, boot, reboot

Starting a program, opening files

You start a program, but you open an application (for different uses of the terms program and application, see Software).

You open a file.

You access data (if you need to obtain access to it), or you just read data.

Don’t use: call, call up, launch, invoke

Running programs

You run a program or application.
Don’t use: execute

Don’t use run to describe what users do with a program.

No:

Before installing the program, run the DemoConversion Utility to convert your existing data.

Yes:

Before installing the program, use the DemoConversion Utility to convert your existing data.

Don’t use running to refer to an open application.

No:

If any application is running, ….

Yes:

If any application is open, ….

When something happens while a program is running, it happens at runtime (runtime is one word).

If something is performed without any delay, it’s done in real time (real time is two words).

Command line

You can also run many programs from the command line. These programs have a command-line interface.

At the command prompt, enter the program name along with the required command-line parameters.

Don’t use: on the command line, command-line prompt, system prompt

Logging in and out

You log in to a program or web site. When you’re finished, you log out.

You log on to a computer or network. When you’re finished, you log off from it.

Don’t use: log into, log out of, log out from, quit, sign in, sign out

The corresponding processes are the login and the logout (both one word, no hyphen).

There may be a login window and a logout button.

To log in, you need a user name and a password.

User rights

In Windows, there are standard users and administrators.
Don’t use: normal user, admin

Different users may have different user rights, depending on their user accounts.
Don’t use: access rights, access privileges, user privileges, privileges

Don’t confuse user rights with permissions.

User rights apply to system operations (for example, the right of an administrator to add new users).

Permissions apply to specific shared system resources (for example, the permission to write to a file while it isn’t locked by another user).

Quitting applications

Normally, you exit a program. You quit an application (for different uses of the terms program and application, see Software).

If the program doesn’t respond, you need to close it.

You close a document.

You close a window.

You close a file.

You stop hardware operations.

You end communications and network connections.

Don’t use: abort, leave, terminate

Shutting down the system

You shut down the system before you switch off the computer. The process of doing so is the shutdown.