C H A P T E R 1 3

Language

Terminology

Developer Terms and User Terms

Don’t use technical jargon or programming terms in interface elements or user documentation. Table 13-1 shows a few examples; for a more complete list, see the Apple Publications Style Guide (available at the Mac OS X developer documentation website).

Table 13-1 Translating developer terms into user terms

Labels for Interface Elements

Make labels for interface elements easy to understand and in the user’s language. Try to be as specific as possible in any element that requires the user to make a choice, such as radio buttons, checkboxes, and push buttons. It’s important to be concise, but don’t sacrifice clarity for space.

Menu items and buttons that produce a dialog should include an ellipses character

(…). The menu command and the dialog title should match.

230Terminology

Apple Computer, Inc. June 2002

C H A P T E R 1 3

Language

Capitalization of Interface Elements

Title style means that you capitalize every word except

■articles (a, an, the)

■coordinating conjunctions (and, or)

■prepositions of three or fewer letters, except when the preposition is part of a verb phrase, as in Starting Up the Computer.

In title style, always capitalize the first and last word, even if it is an article, a conjunction, or a preposition of three or fewer letters.

Sentence style means that the first word is capitalized, and the rest of the words are lowercase, unless they are proper nouns or proper adjectives. Use periods in dialogs only after complete sentences.

Apple Computer, Inc. June 2002