CHAPTER 3
Controls
Buttons 3-5
Figure 3-4 Name buttons distinctively wherever possible
There are cases where a button named OK or Yes serves best. You may want to
name a button with a vague affirmative to encourage the user to look elsewhere
in the slip for a complete description of a pending action with far-reaching
consequences. Another place to use OK or Yes is in a slip where you simply
can’t name the action to be taken with one or two words. If you name buttons
with generic words, be sure other text in the slip makes clear what action the
button initiates.
Naming Cancel- and Stop-Action Buttons 3
A slip with a button that initiates an action also needs a means of canceling
the pending action. On a Newton device you ordinarily use a large Close box
(described under “Close Boxes” on page 3-14), not a button named Cancel,
to dismiss a slip and take no action. However, you can use a button named
Cancel to complement an OK or Yes button. Figure 3-5 shows where to use
a Cancel button and where not to use one.
Avoid a
vague
affirmative
Use a
specific
verb