Re: appears vs is displayed

Subject: Re: appears vs is displayed
From: Dave Whelan <agi259 -at- FREENET -dot- MB -dot- CA>
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 18:00:04 -0600

robin.m.allen wrote:
>Hi ya'll:
>
>I'm in the middle of a raging debate among several tech writers about
>the use of "appears" vs "is displayed," e.g.:
>
>"Click Add and the Add Patient window is displayed."
>vs
>"Click Add and the Add Patient window appears."
>
>Even though it uses the passive voice, I personally prefer "is
>displayed." To me, "appears" sounds like it happens through magic. Any
>thoughts?
>
Robin,
This seems biased towards what the software can do, what about making it a
little more user-centric, for example:
"Click Add to see the Add Patient window"
"Clicking Add displays the Add Patient window"
Or more task oriented:
"For the Add Patient window, click Add" or
"To add a patient click Add"
Regards, Dave.

*****************************************************
Dave Whelan, Freelance Technical Writer
Whelan Technical Services (204) 334-1339
*****************************************************

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