On 1/10/2011 9:09 PM, David Nelson wrote:
Hi, :-)
The term I have always used in my own work is "context-sensitive menu".
Similarly, I prefer "dialog box" rather than just "dialog"
But Hal mentioned an idea that we could compile a terminology glossary
for the team, so that we all stay on the same track
terminology-wise... Interested in "getting involved", Tom? ;-)
David Nelson
I probably should claim the main responsibility/blame or whatever for
employing "dialog box" over "dialog" over at OOoAuthors since 2006. My
basic rationale was that dialog box was more widely used by most of the
major software/firmware/hardware developers over the past two decades,
including Microsoft, Sun Microsystems--the previous sponsor of OOo,
Motorola, Red Hat, IBM, among numerous others.
When working as a technical editor of user guides for
(embedded-microcontroller) compilers, assemblers, IDEs, etc. over at the
newly branded spinoff of Motorola--Freescale Semiconductor--during 2005,
I was directed to follow its corporate style guide, which strictly
mandated its use over dialog (no exceptions were allowed, as with many
other corporate style guides, such as guides for those firms listed above).
Also, the Wilkipedia has dialog box in lieu of dialog
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialog_box). The Wiki tends to employ the
more accurate nomenclature for most GUI components. If one follows the
Wiki forms, then agreement can be more universal. [Hint: If one does not
like whatever form the Wiki employs--change (edit) it...] Some editors
prefer dialog for one reason or another; others consider the use of
dialog to be flawed, lazy, or sloppy usage. Oracle tends to employ both
forms...
Another area of disagreement is in the use of "tabbed page" or "tabbed
window" versus a "tab." A tab is the part of the GUI component on a
tabbed window/page that a user selects for accessing the desired
page/window, much like a small tab on an index card in an older
paper-based filing system. The page/window itself contains the bulk of
that document's information, but not the small projection (tab).
There are others.
Gary
--
Gary Schnabl
Southwest Detroit, two miles NORTH! of Canada--Windsor, that is...
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