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"When you click the X button the X dialog is displayed" (this is
what I
normally write)
"When you click the X button the X dialog will be displayed" (this
is what
my boss wants me to write)
What tense would you use?
Howdy,
I prefer to avoid future tense. When I have edited documents, I have
suggested re-writes to avoid its use.
My reasoning is similar to yours, the future tense can lead to ambiguity. I
find that simple action-result is clearer in the present tense.
Our company style guide also states that the future tense should be avoided
in tech docs, but I can't find any external verification. Perhaps in the Sun
Style Guide?
I'd also like to point out that "is displayed" is an intransitive verb
construction (I believe. Am I right?) I'm not sure, but I've been admonished
to avoid verb constructions with "to be".
Perhaps the sentence could be rephrased:
"When you click X, the X dialog box appears." ????
