UI elements and interaction Edit

Emphasize the task #Emphasize the task

When writing about interactions involving the user interface (UI), emphasize on the task to be accomplished, rather than how the user should interact with the UI element. By avoiding reference to UI elements, you help the reader understand the purpose of an instruction and avoid confusion due to additional external elements.

However, be watchful of the context and the reader demographic and how that influences your documentation; sometimes the objective of a procedure is to guide readers through elements on a page.

Examples

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Formatting UI element names #Formatting UI element names

When referring to a UI element by name, format the name in bold using the <b> element in HTML or ** in Markdown. UI element names include those of buttons, windows, menus, dialogs, or any other element in the page or console that has a visible name. Don’t use code font for UI element names, unless it is an element that requires code font; in which case use both code font and bold text formatting. Capitalize UI element names as per document context, but if the element names are inconsistent, use sentence-case capitalization.

Don’t apply bold formatting to an official feature name or product name, except when it directly refers to an element in the page that uses the name (such as a window title or button name).

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Pressing and typing keyboard keys #Pressing and typing keyboard keys

To express a key or a combination of keys on a keyboard to be pressed by the user, use the <kbd> element. To refer to a keyboard shortcut, use either keyboard shortcut or key combination. To refer to the action of pressing a key or combination, use the verb press. To refer to the action of inputting a key or combination, use the verbs type, enter, or input.

Examples

The text renders as follows:

If you’re using non-HTML markup, use monospace text formatting, which is how <kbd> renders. In Markdown, enclose the key name in backticks (`).

To express a key that the user has to type to enter that key’s value as text input, use the <code> element instead of the <kbd> element. For more information, see Code font.

To refer to a keyboard key, use the key’s name. If the key’s name is ambiguous, use the form the KEY_NAME key.

Examples

Don’t abbreviate the names of modifier keys such as Control, Shift, Command, and Option. Spell out the complete key names and don’t use their symbols. To refer to a key combination that uses a modifier key, use the form MODIFIER_KEY+KEY_NAME.

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In most cases, to accommodate both Windows and Mac users, insert the Mac shortcut in parentheses after the Windows shortcut.

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To refer to a key or combination that uses the Shift key, use the form MODIFIER_KEY+Shift+KEY_NAME.

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In general, use uppercase capitalization for character keys.

Spell out the names of characters that could be ambiguous or confusing in a keyboard shortcut, such as comma, hyphen, period, and plus.

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Terminology and usage #Terminology and usage

There can be multiple elements in a user interface. Emphasize the task and focus on the feature and functionality of the UI element, rather than focusing on the UI element itself.

Examples

Following are the terminology and word usage when referring to UI elements:

Window, page, dialog, and view #Window, page, dialog, and view

A window is the complete application window in a desktop environment. A window can also refer to adaptive application elements that can be opened and closed. To refer to a window, use the form the LABEL_NAME window.

Examples