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Nice! Great solution, thanks. I am making changes now, so I think I will
give this a try. Anything that is simpler, I am for. :-)
PT
On Fri, Oct 17, 2008 at 9:14 PM, Michael West <mbwest -at- bigpond -dot- com> wrote:
> > Unfortunately, our style guide requires "picklist" for a dialog box that
> has items in a
> > column that you "move" to another column in the dialog by clicking a
> button. Of
> > course, we also have to use "check" and "uncheck" for checkboxes. And, we
> can
> > never, never, never, end a sentence with a preposition! Argh. The
> convoluted
> > sentences I must write to avoid that one.
>
> They couldn't pay me enough to work under those silly rules. I'd drink
> myself into an early grave, or go to the gallows for aggravated
> editoricide.
>
> Often the best tactic is to avoid mentioning the whiz-bang gadgets at all.
> Focus the users' attention on the data and the purpose of the action, not
> the container. Who really cares whether it's a picklist or dialog box or
> radio button? Those terms usually have no value to the end-user and serve
> only to obfuscate. It's what the action accomplishes in the real world that
> matters.
>
> Depending on the circumstances, I'd probably try to write something like
> this:
>
> Make sure the items you want to include are in the right-hand column, and
> those you want to exclude are in the left-hand column. You can use the
> right
> and left arrow buttons to move items from one column to another. [If space
> permits, I'd include a small graphic with callouts pointing to the arrow
> buttons and identifying which column was which.]
>
> At no point would I use the term "picklist" except maybe when deciding whom
> to submerge in a vat of vinegar.
>
> --
> Mike West
>
>
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