Apple 2 manual Naming Text Buttons, Naming Take-Action Buttons

C H A P T E R 3

Controls

If your application has buttons whose names change during the operation of the application, the application must resize the button when its name changes so that the spacing always conforms to the guidelines.

Naming Text Buttons

Keep button names short. Never use more than three words for a button name, and try to limit button names to one word. Capitalize button names like book titles. That is, always capitalize the first and last words of the name, and capitalize all other words except articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (for example, and, or), and prepositions of three or fewer letters. Since button names should seldom be more than two words, almost all words in button names should be capitalized.

Avoid punctuation and symbols in button names. Except for very common symbols such as an ampersand (&), users find symbols ambiguous. Do not use ellipses (…) in the button name even if tapping the button displays another slip. However, a button name should begin with a diamond symbol (◆) if the button pops up a picker. (For complete information on pickers, see Chapter 4, “Pickers”).

Naming Take-Action Buttons

A user typically reads the text in a slip until it becomes familiar, and then relies on visual cues, such as button names or positions, to respond. To assist users in quickly spotting which button in the slip initiates an action, name the take-action button with a specific verb such as Print, Fax, or File. These words are self-sufficient, whereas vaguely affirmative names such as OK and Yes require the user to scan other parts of the slip to verify what action the button initiates. Figure 3-4 compares a specific button name to a generic button name in the same context.

3-4Buttons