TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: What do we call this button? From:Sharon Deitch <sharon -at- sintecmedia -dot- com> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 19 Oct 2000 10:09:21 +0200
Sarah Newman needs a button name: <<The program we're documenting has
numerous fields where you can directly enter a value or you can select one
from a list. To get to the list, you click a button to the right of the
field with an ellipsis (...) on it. This brings up a separate dialog box
with the list and an OK button. We have been referring to this as the
ellipsis (...) button...>>
Hi Sarah,
I'm wondering why you need to document such specific steps each and every
time. You said you have numerous such fields. So perhaps a section
documenting HOW to use the interface, including these fields, is needed.
Then when you are documenting a specific screen, you can just say "fill in
the value." This has the added advantage of being easy to update should the
programmers come to their senses and create a better GUI.
Shalom from Jerusalem,
Sharon
Sharon Deitch
Technical Writer
SintecMedia
sharon -at- sintecmedia -dot- com
