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I am currently writing an advanced user manual for a software application
that generates reports. During the review process I have been asked to
change the word PRINT to something more appropriate. Suggestions given
include DISPLAY, and SHOW. The thinking behind this is that PRINT is rather
old fashioned and usually means to produce a hard copy. With the advent of
spreadsheets, the web, email etc not all reports that are generated are
actually printed. I agree with this up to a point but it does produce
problems as the substitutes, SHOW and DISPLAY, do not always fit.
Here are some examples of the usage of PRINT in the chapter I am working on
currently:
"When using comparative percentages the second item must be explicitly
specified as a print item in the body of the SUM report."
"This chapter describes how to create summary reports that show numeric
information, such as the total values of orders, without needing to print
detailed information from each record."
The problem is more pronounced for section headings, e.g. "Displaying Occurs
Fields" just does not sound right to my ears whereas "Printing Occurs
Fields" does.
Does anyone have any views and/or suggestions on this subject?
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