atw: What do dialog boxes do?

Someone asked me recently whether I thought we should say 'a dialog box 
displays', 'a dialog box is displayed', or something else. I told her what 
I thought, but I'd be interested to see what terminology others on this 
list use.

I said I objected to 'a dialog box displays', because if you look in a 
dictionary you'll see that 'display' is shown as 'verb (t)' [Macquarie 
Online], meaning that it's a *transitive* verb. (If you're not familiar 
with this terminology, a transitive verb is one that must have a direct 
object. An example is the verb 'hit': you can't just say 'I hit', because 
you have to hit SOMETHING. ) So a dialog box can only display SOMETHING. I 
suppose you could say 'a dialog box displays itself', but that sounds too 
weird to me. 

Therefore, if you want to use 'display', it'd have to be 'a dialog box is 
displayed' or maybe 'Windows [or <application name>] displays a dialog 
box'. However, I tend to favour 'a dialog box appears'. Another option 
might be 'you see a dialog box'.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

Howard



Howard Silcock
Technical Writer
Electronic Systems
ADI Limited
PO Box 14, Deakin, ACT 2600, Australia
Ph: +61 2 6234 6000
Fx: +61 2 6234 6011
Email: howard.silcock @adi-limited.com
Web: www.adi-limited.com


DISCLAIMER:---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Email may contain confidential and/or privileged information and is 
intended 
solely for the addressee(s) named. If you have received this information in 
error, or
are advised that you have been posted this Email by accident, please notify the 
sender by return Email, do not redistribute it, delete the Email and keep no 
copies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**************************************************
To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to 
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to 
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field.

To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field.

To search the austechwriter archives, go to 
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter

To contact the list administrator, send a message to 
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************

Other related posts: