Use the following terms and phrases. Also, note the given spellings.
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Use display if you mean the complete physical device, but use screen if you mean the area where programs are shown.
Don’t use monitor because many devices have a built-in display instead of an external monitor.
Yes:
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Adjust the position of your display so that the top of the screen is slightly below eye level.
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Yes:
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A window appears on the screen.
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Use: on the desktop (desktop is one word, lowercase)
Don’t use: workspace
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A new icon appears on the desktop.
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Yes:
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Double-click the DemoSoft icon on the desktop.
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Use: startup screen
Don’t use: splash screen, startup display, opening display
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If you don’t want to see the startup screen when the program starts, ….
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A window appears.
Don’t use: opens, pops up, shows up, displays
However, when possible, avoid stating that an item appears because users can see this anyway. Often, it’s better to include an item’s name in the description of the subsequent step of a procedure. (This doesn’t break the rule of not merging two steps into one sentence because it only specifies the place where to act and is not truly a full action by itself.)
A program may display a message or document.
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4. The Edit window displays.
5. Select the option Layout.
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Yes:
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4. The Edit window appears.
5. Select the option Layout.
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Top:
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4. In the Edit window, select the option Layout.
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Yes:
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If the file already exists, DemoSoft displays a warning message.
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Yes:
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DemoSoft now displays the picture that you’ve selected.
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When you refer to a window by name, use the exact words and capitalization as given in the title bar of the window. Don’t capitalize the words window and dialog.
No:
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The editing window appears.
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Yes:
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The Edit window appears.
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You open and close windows.
You switch between open windows. You switch to a window or document.
Don’t use: activate
No:
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Activate the Edit window.
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Yes:
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Open the Edit window.
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Yes:
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Switch to the Edit window.
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On top of a window is the title bar.
On the right side of the title bar, windows have a close button, a maximize button, a minimize button, and a restore button.
When you click the program icon on the left side of the title bar, the control menu appears.
The window on top that you’re currently using is the active window.
Don’t use: current window, window that has the focus
Something is on the user interface but in a window.
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A dialog is a window that requests information from the user. It must be explicitly dismissed by clicking a button.
In user documentation, also handle property sheets like dialogs and call them dialogs.
In user documentation, use the term message if the primary content of a dialog is a message (see the section on messages below).
Don’t use: dialog box, dialog window, pop-up window, property sheet
When referring to a dialog by its name, use the exact words and capitalization as given in the title bar of the window.
A dialog is a special kind of window. For this reason, similar to windows, dialogs appear.
Don’t use: displays, opens, shows up, pops up
No:
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The Print dialog box displays.
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Yes:
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The Print dialog appears.
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In user documentation, try to refer to all types of messages as just a message. Use the verb to make a distinction between warning messages and error messages. Use to inform for confirmation messages and for error messages, and use to warn for warning messages.
Similar to windows and dialogs, messages appear. However, when possible, use a sentence with either informs or warns.
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A message informs you that ….
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Yes:
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A message warns you that ….
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When you need to refer to a particular message:
▪With a confirmation message, refer to its title.
If the title only consists of a program name, refer to the main instruction in the message. ▪With an error message, refer to the main instruction in the message.
If the main instruction is too long, summarize it. ▪With a warning message, refer to the question in the message.
If the warning message doesn’t ask a question, refer to the main instruction.
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In the Report printed message, click OK.
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Yes:
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If an Insert new disc message appears, remove … and insert ….
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Yes:
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In the Replace existing file? message, click Yes.
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Notifications appear in the notification area on the right side of the Windows taskbar.
Don’t use: alert, pop-up message
Yes:
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When the “New demo device found” notification appears, click the notification to start the configuration.
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Use pane only to refer to distinct areas in a window. Because panes aren’t labeled, use lowercase when referring to a particular pane.
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On the property pane, you can see ….
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The horizontal or vertical double line that separates a window into two panes is a split bar.
If a split bar isn’t visible by default, there’s a split box at the top right of the vertical scroll bar (for horizontal splitting) or at the far right of the horizontal scroll bar (for vertical splitting). Users can point to the split box and then drag the split bar.
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