Re: Carrying out

Subject: Re: Carrying out
From: "Kathleen MacDowell" <kathleen -at- writefortheuser -dot- com>
To: "Chris Borokowski" <athloi -at- yahoo -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 21:27:49 -0500

As an aside, I always avoid using a formulation like "Click Run," which I
think is why I usually say click on Run or (xxx verb). I might even say
"click on the Run button" or whatever is suitable. I realize that this
appears to be verbose, but I suspect that these types of constructions are
processed pretty quickly (mentally), whether the "the" and other niceties
are included or not. But, the advantage to including the extra information
is that there's no doubt about what to do, whereas with more terse
constructions, there can sometimes be doubt.

I'd be interested in hearing if anyone else agrees with me (maybe for some
situations?). From what I've seen, people appear to accept the terse mode,
especially in documenting software.

Regards,

Kathleen


On 5/22/07, Chris Borokowski <athloi -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
>
> You might carry out your laundry, but is this the best
> usage we can find for what is done when a command is
> executed?
>
> Ex: To carry out the command, click Run. The lights on
> your hard drive will flash as it is formatted.
>
> Ex: Click Run to carry out the command, and then back
> up your data.
>
> I don't like "run" either, an "execute" might be too
> formal, but "carry out" continues to bother the heck
> out of me. What do you use when you have to describe
> what happens when a command executes?
>
>
> User Interface design blog
> http://user-advocacy.blogspot.com/
> Code::Design::UI::Consulting
> http://www.dionysius.com/
>
>
>
> --
> Kathleen MacDowell
> www.writefortheuser.com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

Now shipping: Help &amp; Manual 4 with RoboHelp(r) import! New editor,
full Unicode support. Create help files, web-based help and PDF in up
to 106 languages with Help &amp; Manual: http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.


Follow-Ups:

References:
Carrying out: From: Chris Borokowski

Previous by Author: Re: Is it polite to point web browsers?
Next by Author: Re: Getting more than nits from reviews
Previous by Thread: Re: Carrying out
Next by Thread: Re: Carrying out


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads