[austechwriter] Sec Unclassified: RE: Re: Enter vs. Type
- From: "Muzrimas, Diana MS" <Diana.Muzrimas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 16:18:59 +1000
As I've oft said ... "it depends on the situation" !!
The distinct impression, though, is many Technical Communicators prefer
'type' and present reasons to support their case. (Others prefer 'enter'.)
After all ... if you write it right then most of those clients who bother to
read instructions or help, will get it. Those that make a mistake, will
learn from their mistake. And those who don't get it, and don't learn from
their mistakes... well, they will always have difficulty no matter how
clearly you believe you've described the process, and no matter how often
you explain it to them. (And mostly ... you just can't get it 100% right for
100% of the readers !!)
We all know - attributes and wording help clarify the action (where its
required) ...
press the ENTER key (or press ENTER)
Click OK
Open the Type tab-panel
Select the Address type from the Type field
Enter your address details in the appropriate boxes (fields), and then press
the ENTER key
... it all depends on the situation (and you have choices in how you present
the information).
If your sponsor requires you to use specific terms, then you are quite
capable of using 'type' or 'enter' and making it work for your audience. If
you are in a position to decide on the terminology, you'll use what you
believe is appropriate for your audience (seasoned with a good portion of
your preferences :-)
>Mel> Data entry using a keyboard is still called typing.
But, I expect you'd probably find that if you happened to use the term
'enter' for someone doing 'Data Entry' they'd kinda figure out what you
meant, without too much difficulty since they are, after all, entering data
:-)
>bja>In a few years, saying 'type' could become as useful as saying
>"hit the carriage return" (my apologies to any under-resourced old timers
>out there still using <CR> keyboards:)), "go to your terminal" or "remember
to make a
>carbon copy".
I can already hear my 20 yr old nephew saying "What the hell is a
carriage-return? Is it a train going back to the terminal?"
In 50-years someone is going to be asking the question:
How come "type" is used for the action of pressing keys on a keyboard?
(That's if keyboards haven't by then become like typewriters / typesetters
now). The English language is inconsistent and evolving... words and usage
change, and documentation gradually changes to fit the new, educate the old
(or decipher a poorly designed application).
>Steve>
>Type: To type into a field
>Enter: To type into a field and press Enter at the end.
So, this customer's not real good with English, so looks up their Macquarie
Dictionary, which says
"Enter 1. to come or go in..."
"Type .... ... ... ... 11. to write (a letter, etc) by means of a
typewriter (and I have to go through quite a few lines before I finally get
to this).
(But I expect that your definitions are very appropriate for the situation
they are used for!)
We'll all use what works for the situation we're in!
>Wendy's original said...
>I am getting pressure from US colleagues to use 'Enter' instead of 'Type'
>when referring to typing something into a field. They claim this is "more
>American". This is against the recommendation of the MS style guide, and my
>own inclination and experience. Is this in fact the more common usage in
the US?
If you were mainly looking to get support for your 'own inclination' then
you can safely say you've now got that.
And you also now know that it is not just American's that use 'enter'.
No matter what the MS style manual may say, even in MS Word Help you find
both 'enter' and 'type' used for typing/entering data (and don't forget Mac,
Lotus Notes, Oracle, and lots of other well known corporation have their own
style guides too - if you happen to be working in a non-MS or mixed
application environment)
Diana
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