Using quotes or not when referring to button names in simulations

[digitalchemist]

Hello!  My co-workers and I have different feelings on how button names should be displayed in text boxes in a simulation.

What is the best practice for this...?  If you have a text box that comes up that says "Click the OK Button".  What is the proper way to display this?

- Click the OK Button  (Just make OK bolded with no quotes)

- Click the "OK" Button (Put "OK" in double quotes)

- Click the 'OK' Button (Put the 'OK' button in single quotes)

One co-worker thinks you should use single quotes.  The other co-worker says that is gratically incorrect and we should use double quotes, or no quotes.

Also, do you always use bold to display the button name?

Is there a standard on this?  Which way is the best way to go?  Any info or insights would be greatly appreciated...

Thank you sooo much and have a great day!

Best Regards,

Francesca

[Captiv8r · Accepted solution]

Hi there

So you have a question that falls within the realm of Technical Communication. I follow many Tech Writing lists and see these all the time.

The answer to this is a quote:

The great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from.

In nearly every discussion I've ever seen along these lines there is typically a single outcome. And that outcome is generally this. It really doesn't matter. Just be consistent in how you apply it!

Personally, my vote goes for one that is unlisted:

Click OK

Unless your user has no clue what a Button is, they clearly see it's a button, no?

Hopefully others will chime in here with better advice.

Cheers... Rick

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[dannyhouk]

@digitalchemist, I by and large agree with Captiv8r about the plethora of standards. In terms of a visual flow/user experience point of view, the "Click the OK button" verbiage flows the best. The single and double quotes seem superfluous since the boldface is already achieving the desired effect of drawing out button text. I would only use the quotes if you weren't boldfacing, and in that case would use double quotes. In writing and in coding single quotes are typically reserved for quotes within quotes (though again, to Captiv8r's point, you can probably find reasons to deviate from this rule of thumb).

As to Captiv8r's suggestion to only say "Click OK," that is also a context-based decision. In our simulations we explicitly say "button" in our text captions as you do because for our users, some are woefully uneducated in the ways of software and user interfaces so it makes sense to distinguish buttons from tabs, menus, text fields, etc. In a way, we're training them on a specific software application AND user interfaces in general. However, if you were writing to a tech-saavy audience then calling something a button that is obiously so could be a tad demeaning.

[niamhsile]

Hi Francesca,

I'm with the others on this "Click OK to continue". The only rule you should always is consistancy. If you always refer to a button name in bold or in quotation marks of any type people will catch on.

A couple of additional pointers: if you're worried that your users aren't very computer savvy (like mine) put an "About this simulation" slide at the start. Use the slide to introduce the idea of on-screen buttons, and interactivity. Personally I use one type of text caption for information and another type to ask them to perform a task. Introducing these caption types as well as the idea of buttons at the start gives them a little more confidence going in, and improves their performance. It also gets around havign the talk about "the xyz button all the time"

Hope this helps

Niamh

[digitalchemist]

Thank you sooo much for all of your responses and feedback...  They have been very

helpful.....  I really appreciate it!

Have a great day!

Best Regards,

Francesca

[RogerAgness]

Rather than "Abort this simulation" could we please say "Cancel this simulation."

NOT being pedantic or taking sides in the debate, but the word DOES carry heavy connotations for many, and for those who have a bad experience there (can't express it right, but you know what I'm trying to say) it would be better to not use the "A" word.

No flames, please.

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

Where are you seeing the "Abort" word? When auto-recording?

I did see someone suggest creating an "About" button (to provide information about the simulation I might assume). But it would seem words are being arbitrarily manufactured here.

Cheers... Rick

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[brightonjon-P8miI4]

I'm with Rick.

Click OK

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