RE: Seeking an end-user term for a browser-side save (nothing sav ed on server)

[Jim Hager <jhager -at- techrx -dot- com>]

Steve,

I've written docs and online help for at least three different apps and even
though this situation is not uncommon in the Web-based software arena, why
do you want to torture your readers with this techie info?

If I understand what you are saying, why not just tell the users that
nothing is saved from the screen (window) and the database is not updated
until they select the Save button. Tell them that if they leave the main
screen without first selecting the Save button all the changes they made in
any dialog box they used are lost. That's what I do. 

Also, I do not think the OK button really saves anything, doesn't it
typically just apply the values selected in the dialog box?

Jim Hager
jhager -at- techrx -dot- com
tech writer





----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Seeking an end-user term for a browser-side save (nothing saved on
server)
From: "Stephen Reynolds" <steve_nothome -at- hotmail -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 16:47:56 +0000
X-Message-Number: 31

Hi all,

We are running into a terminology problem with a web application we are 
developing. Perhaps someone out there has suffered the same pains and been 
more successful coming up with the right words.

Some of our screens incorporate what appears to be the HTML equivalent of 
the dialog boxes we see in conventional desktop applications. For example, 
if you want to add someone's contact details to a table of contact details, 
you click Add and a "dialog box" layer appears. If you type contact 
information into this dialog box and click OK, the layer disappears and a 
new contact line appears in the contacts list.

The problem is that our dialog do not act the "desktop" way because our 
application a web application. When you click OK, you are not really saving 
any information. Instead, you are just adding data to an XML object held in 
the web page. To send information to the web server (so doing a real save), 
you must click a save button elsewhere on the screen.

There are a number of good reasons (including some usability ones) why we 
would like to stick with this current way of manipulating the screen and the

data. However, we recognise that we risk confusing users who might expect 
"OK" to effect a save. The simplest solution for us would therefore be to 
replace OK with a suitable alternative. We use the "dialog box" approach in 
a number of situations, not just adding lines to tables, and our application

is both large and configurable. So we are looking for a generic term. "To be

saved", "Confirm", and the few other ideas we have come up with seem weak 
cop outs. Also we need to avoid any ideas that will won't survive 
translation into several languages. Can anyone come up with any 
possibilities?

My thanks in advance to anyone who rises to the challenge.

Steve Reynolds

steve_nothome -at- hotmail -dot- com




----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Seeking an end-user term for a browser-side save (nothing saved on
server)
From: "Stephen Reynolds" <steve_nothome -at- hotmail -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 16:47:56 +0000
X-Message-Number: 31

Hi all,

We are running into a terminology problem with a web application we are 
developing. Perhaps someone out there has suffered the same pains and been 
more successful coming up with the right words.

Some of our screens incorporate what appears to be the HTML equivalent of 
the dialog boxes we see in conventional desktop applications. For example, 
if you want to add someone's contact details to a table of contact details, 
you click Add and a "dialog box" layer appears. If you type contact 
information into this dialog box and click OK, the layer disappears and a 
new contact line appears in the contacts list.

The problem is that our dialog do not act the "desktop" way because our 
application a web application. When you click OK, you are not really saving 
any information. Instead, you are just adding data to an XML object held in 
the web page. To send information to the web server (so doing a real save), 
you must click a save button elsewhere on the screen.

There are a number of good reasons (including some usability ones) why we 
would like to stick with this current way of manipulating the screen and the

data. However, we recognise that we risk confusing users who might expect 
"OK" to effect a save. The simplest solution for us would therefore be to 
replace OK with a suitable alternative. We use the "dialog box" approach in 
a number of situations, not just adding lines to tables, and our application

is both large and configurable. So we are looking for a generic term. "To be

saved", "Confirm", and the few other ideas we have come up with seem weak 
cop outs. Also we need to avoid any ideas that will won't survive 
translation into several languages. Can anyone come up with any 
possibilities?

My thanks in advance to anyone who rises to the challenge.

Steve Reynolds

steve_nothome -at- hotmail -dot- com

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