Re: Word-a-Day: capplet, preference tool




On 11 Apr 2008, at 20:41, Shaun McCance wrote:

Revised proposal
======================================================
capplet
Do not use.  Use either "preferences window" or
"settings window" instead.
======================================================
preferences window
A small application that allows users to change their
personal preference settings.  Use "preferences window"
only to refer to them generically.  To refer to a
specific preferences window, simply use the window
title.

Correct:
To change the handedness of your mouse, open the
 *Mouse Preferences*.

Personally, I think "open the Mouse Preferences window" reads better, but maybe that's just because it's what I'd normally write myself. In general, I'd always write "the <window title> window", because it nearly always reads well regardless of what the window title actually is: the Inbox window, the Bookmarks window, the Mouse Preferences window...

Incorrect:
To change the handedness of your mouse, open the
 *Mouse Preferences* preferences window.
To change the handedness of your mouse, open the
 *Mouse Preferences* capplet.

I agree these are both incorrect.

When naming a preferences window, end the title with
the word "Preferences", unless it does not fit with
the rest of the title.  If the title ends with the
word "Preferences", use this form for any buttons or
launchers, but use the title without the word
"Preferences" for the menu item in a Preferences menu.

Isn't this more of a HIG concern than a GDSG concern?

Cheeri,
Calum.

--
CALUM BENSON, Usability Engineer       Sun Microsystems Ireland
mailto:calum benson sun com            GNOME Desktop Team
http://blogs.sun.com/calum             +353 1 819 9771

Any opinions are personal and not necessarily those of Sun Microsystems




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