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Terms That Are Often Misused
This section contains specific terms that are often misused in user documentation for the Macintosh.
Click
Click is the action of positioning the pointer over an object and briefly pressing the mouse button. The user clicks objects, not clicks on objects. Thus your documentation should say
- Click the disk icon.
- Click the Open button.
- Click Auto Page Numbering.
It is OK to say click in a window, but the user clicks all other onscreen elements. Also, it's not appropriate to say click and drag. The user clicks or the user drags.
Checkbox
A checkbox is a standard Macintosh control that displays a setting, either checked (on) or unchecked (off); it appears as a square with label text next to it. The user clicks a checkbox, not checks a checkbox, to select or deselect the corresponding option. When the option is on, an x appears in the box. When the option is off, the box is empty.
Document
Document refers to a file the user creates and can open, edit, and print. HyperCard documents are called stacks. Use the term document in user-level documentation and avoid the use of the term file, because it is more technical and less well-defined.
File
File refers to any entity stored on a disk, regardless of whether the user can open, edit, or print it. This use of the term has its origins in computer science and is best avoided when possible. In developer documentation, it's permissible to use this term as long as it's well defined.
Utility Window
Utility window refers to a window appearing in some applications that has some but not all of the features of a regular window. This window is sometimes called a palette or miniwindow. Don't use the term windoid or floating window to describe these windows.
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