Re: Warning about a slow response

[Beverly Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL>]

Arthur Comings <atc -at- CORTE-MADERA -dot- GEOQUEST -dot- SLB -dot- COM> asked about--
  What phrases do you use to gently warn the user that some element of a
  program is going to take way too long?

  If this were an irreverent enough venue, I'd say, "Now would be a good
  time to go out for coffee," or "Push Execute, then go out to lunch
  while the program is working." I'd like something more low-key,
  though.

  And it's only going to be a minute or so.  Any ideas?
===========
Personally, I *like* the "go out for coffee" notices. That type
of message always make me smile and takes the edge off of the
fact that I may be waiting longer than I expect.

  "Now would be a good time to go out for coffee.
   (Actually, this should take only a minute or two.)"

The first line in the above example makes me smile plus let's me
know that there will be a longer than normal wait.
The second line is an added bonus because it not only gives me
an actual duration, but "a minute or two" is really *less* time
than I would have expected to wait had only the first line been
present. (After the first line, the second line is *good news*!)

Or, you could simply say "This will take a minute or two."

    =*=  Beverly Parks =*= bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil  =*=
   =*=  "Unless otherwise stated, all comments are my own. =*=
    =*=   I am not representing my employer in any way."  =*=