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Subject:Re: Summary: "The dialog box appears" From:Mike Starr <writstar -at- WI -dot- NET> Date:Wed, 2 Apr 1997 11:06:07 -0600
I sent this reply direct to Geoff H and he suggested I post it to the list.
I access the newsgroup because it conserves my email bandwidth but forget
that if I post to the newsgroup, it doesn't automatically get mirrored to
the list. (duhhh).
From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=
The usage I've used for quite some time is:
Click the Add... button.
Windows displays the Create Shortcut dialog box.
Mike
--
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geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca wrote in article
<9702308597 -dot- AA859754975 -at- feric -dot- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca>...
> A week or so ago, I asked for opinions on whether it is
> better to use wording such as "the dialog box appears"
> (present tense) or "the dialog box will appear" (future
> tense). Nobody cited any usability (or other) studies that
> demonstrated any difference between the two wordings, but
> the consensus was nonetheless that present tense is
> preferable: it's more common, it reflects the user's
> immediate experience, it avoids the problem of "_when_ does
> it appear?", and it's shorter. In the absence of any
> usability studies, I'd class these supposed benefits as
> "hypotheses to be proven"; however, because the approach is
> what users have come to expect, the greater familiarity
> would certainly compensate for any hypothetical lack of
> difference in usability between the two approaches. Thanks
> to all who responded.
>
> --Geoff Hart @8^{)} geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
> Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.
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