Button labels?

Subject: Button labels?
From: Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 09:02:21 -0400


Suzanne McKinney wondered: <<When I write interface documentation (describing buttons, fields, etc.) and procedural documentation, I have always been careful to match the interface as closely as possible. This includes capitalization and the like.>>

Good choice. Power users may well ignore mismatches and forge blindly ahead, but anyone who is the least bit secure about computer use--possibly the majority of some audiences--will notice the difference and possibly be completely derailed by it. I've seen _many_ otherwise intelligent adults give up in despair at equally simple roadblocks.

<<I am in an environment now where the developers can easily change the text case for labels and have not been very worried about deciding how they will be done for the upcoming release. So the test releases have varied.>>

One solution that works very well is to ask for permission to edit the button labels in a word processor; I used Word so as to take advantage of the revision tracking feature, but you can do the edits on paper printouts or in any other word processor that suits you. The trick is to pick an approach that reassures the developers that you won't be damaging anything; blind edits (without tracking) violate this principle.

Some programming environments (Delphi, for instance) store these text strings in an external resource file that you can edit directly. The only real problem is that the names are provided with no context: you don't always know what dialogs etc. they belong to. But that's why we use comments and questions, no?

Offering to help the developers come up with descriptive names and possibly even type the names for them also helps. If they like your suggestions enough, they may even invite you over to kibbitz over the user interface; many programmers hate developing interfaces, and have little or no formal training in it, and thus eagerly embrace the advice from someone who knows what they're talking about*. That's practical experience speaking, by the way, not just theory and "wouldn't it be nice".

* Of course, some program managers feel threatened when you demonstrate that you know more about UI design than they do. (Again, the voice of experience.) Approach with caution, and use all your strongest political skills.

<<Am I overreacting to expect them to choose a style so that my docs can match it?>>

No, you're not overreacting. And you can make your case easily enough with their manager by pointing out that the programmers surely have better things to do with their time than change a button name 20 times. Do it once (or once, plus a single revision), then spend the rest of their time developing software. You'd think that would be a no-brainer, right?

<<Should I just document them all title case (as a friend suggested) and not worry about how they look in the interface?>>

No. Advocate strongly for a consistent user interface, and push the manager to avoid the wasted time spent constantly jiggering with button names. There's no reason not to do it right the first or second time.

--Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)


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References:
Button Labels: From: McKinney, Suzanne

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