RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?

Subject: RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?
From: "Cardimon, Craig" <ccardimon -at- M-S-G -dot- com>
To: 'Kat Kuvinka' <katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com>, "'salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com'" <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>, "'techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:05:10 +0000

Agreed.

From: Kat Kuvinka [mailto:katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 3:08 PM
To: Cardimon, Craig; salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?

Well, like you said your users are savvy so just use "drag." That is all there is to it.

My last job was documenting for people that may or may not have used a GUI, a mouse or a computer at all. Figuring this out is part of our job. And I think twenty years ago when I started (okay, 25 years...) we just didn't know unless you were writing, say programming doc (which I did).

Actually, this kind of messed with me, because it took me a long time to realize how my audience would affect my writing style.

________________________________
From: ccardimon -at- M-S-G -dot- com<mailto:ccardimon -at- M-S-G -dot- com>
To: katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com<mailto:katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com>; salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com<mailto:salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Subject: RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:43:35 +0000
At one time I had a mini guide in my docs.

Something that said what field and boxes and all that stuff is.

But if people don't already know, I seriously doubt they'd have any reason to be using our products.

So I deleted it. Haven't heard a peep from anyone.

From: Kat Kuvinka [mailto:katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 2:45 PM
To: Cardimon, Craig; salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com<mailto:salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Subject: RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?


A lot of times it is in the nature of your product. The narrower your customer base, the more you can assume.

I know that our trainers taught our customers not to click-and-drag, but instead to drag-and-drop. So I did go to ponderous lengths in one place to describe what I meant by drag-and-drop, then used it throughout. I know that users are not gonna read that section where I tell them what a window is, what a text field is, what a pop-up is, etc. but I still add my mini style-guide to my user docs for everybody's reference.

>
> I find it interesting that some of us believe we can't assume anything, and others believe we must assume some things.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Chris Morton
> Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 1:50 PM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
> Subject: Re: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?
>
> In my world I can assume nothing, so pedantic it is.
>
> I don't think I'd instruct them to release the mouse button, however.
> They're going to have difficulty going on break (or home) if this gesture isn't inherent.
>
> > Chris
>
> On Tue, Oct 23, 2012 at 10:46 AM, Kathleen MacDowell < kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com<mailto:kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com>> wrote:
>
> > How ponderous would it be to say
> >
> > You can move Tool One by clicking on it and dragging it into the
> > desired position.
> >
> > I wouldn't add anything about releasing it; people will find out soon
> > enough, unless there's something tricky about how that should happen
> > or the function doesn't work correctly...
> >
> > I start wondering about how pedantic I need to be after I've written
> > lots of descriptions like this. But the thing is, if you keep them
> > short, you make sure your audience at least knows the minimal
> > capabilities of the product.
> >
> > At least that's how I approach it. YMMV :-)
> >
> > On Tue, Oct 23, 2012 at 9:20 AM, Cardimon, Craig <ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com
<mailto:ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com%0b>> > >wrote:
> >
> > > I was wondering how pedantic I need to be, and how brief I could be.
> > >
> > > Why wouldn't "drag" suffice?
> > >
> > > The audience should be computer literate.
> > >
> > > I am pondering just how "ponderous" I need to be.
> > >
> > > From: Kat Kuvinka [mailto:katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com]
> > > Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 10:06 AM
> > > To: Cardimon, Craig; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
> > > Subject: RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?
> > >
> > > Depends on your audience and if you have attempted somewhere to
> > > teach
> > them
> > > what it means to drag. And drop. They should drop after dragging, yes?
> > >
> > > >
> > > > Maybe I've been staring at this too long, but if some items need
> > > > to be
> > > dragged around, would you say:
> > > >
> > > > "Click-and-drag Tool One where you want it."
> > > >
> > > > Or Just:
> > > >
> > > > "Drag Tool One where you want it."
> > > >
> > > > --Craig
> > > >
> > >
> > > Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and
> > > confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email,
> > > do not read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including
> > > any attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please
> > immediately
> > > notify the sender by telephone or email reply.
> > > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > > Writer Tip: You have more time to author content with Doc-To-Help,
> > because
> > > your project can be up and running in 3 steps.
> > >
> > > See the &#8220;Getting Started with Doc-To-Help&#8221; blog post.
> > > http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-3-steps
> > > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > >
> > > You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com<mailto:kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com>.
> > >
> > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> > > techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
> > >
> > >
> > > Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com>. Visit
> > > http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources
> > > and info.
> > >
> > > Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our
> > online
> > > magazine at http://techwhirl.com<http://techwhirl.com/>
> > >
> > > Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our
> > > public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Kathleen MacDowell
> > kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com<mailto:kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com>
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > Writer Tip: You have more time to author content with Doc-To-Help,
> > because your project can be up and running in 3 steps.
> >
> > See the &#8220;Getting Started with Doc-To-Help&#8221; blog post.
> > http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-3-steps
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >
> > You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com<mailto:salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>.
> >
> > To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> > techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
> >
> >
> > Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com>. Visit
> > http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources
> > and info.
> >
> > Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our
> > online magazine at http://techwhirl.com<http://techwhirl.com/>
> >
> > Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our
> > public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
> >
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Writer Tip: You have more time to author content with Doc-To-Help, because your project can be up and running in 3 steps.
>
> See the &#8220;Getting Started with Doc-To-Help&#8221; blog post. http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-3-steps ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com<mailto:ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com>.
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com>. Visit http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com<http://techwhirl.com/>
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
> Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, do not read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including any attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone or email reply.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Writer Tip: You have more time to author content with Doc-To-Help, because your project can be up and running in 3 steps.
>
> See the &#8220;Getting Started with Doc-To-Help&#8221; blog post. http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-3-steps
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com<mailto:katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com>.
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com>. Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com<http://techwhirl.com/>
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
________________________________
Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, do not read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including any attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone or email reply.

Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, do not read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including any attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone or email reply.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Writer Tip: You have more time to author content with Doc-To-Help, because your project can be up and running in 3 steps.

See the &#8220;Getting Started with Doc-To-Help&#8221; blog post. http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-3-steps
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com


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

Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives


References:
"Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?: From: Cardimon, Craig
RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?: From: Kat Kuvinka
RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?: From: Cardimon, Craig
Re: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?: From: Kathleen MacDowell
Re: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?: From: Chris Morton
RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?: From: Cardimon, Craig
RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?: From: Kat Kuvinka
RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?: From: Cardimon, Craig
RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?: From: Kat Kuvinka

Previous by Author: RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?
Next by Author: RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?
Previous by Thread: RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?
Next by Thread: RE: "Click-and-drag" or just "drag" -- ?


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


Sponsored Ads