Re: Display

[Pete Kloppenburg <pkloppen -at- CERTICOM -dot- CA>]

Judy Morgon writes:
> We design step-by-step user manuals. Our style is present tense. Can a
> dialog box "display" or just appear? For example:
> 1. Click Next. The Setup dialog box displays.
> (I've been told that "display" is not accurate. The dialog box
> displays what?)

I agree with the nay-sayers.  Display is a transitive verb, and should not
be used as an intransitive. You can avoid this problem by combining the
sentences.  However, this brings up other issues.

I believe we had a thread on this sort of thing a couple of months back.
The best rule I could extract from the ensuing uproar goes something
like this.

If the action is optional, give the results then the action.  In your
example, this would read:

"To display the Setup dialog box, click Next."

If the action is required, reverse the order.

"Click Next to display the Setup dialog box."

Anyway, this solution puts things in a nice active voice, and removes most
ambiguity. More information than you really asked for, but I'm just trying to
prevent an instant replay of a tiresome thread.


Pete Kloppenburg - pkloppen -at- certicom -dot- com
Technical Writer
Certicom
Mississauga, Ontario
Canada

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