Radio button is a problem term for the worldwide audience. Do not use radio button except in content for software developers in which the application programming interface includes the term. In that case, use wording such as <name> option button (also known as a radio button). If your content has an index, include radio button in the index with a cross-reference to option button.
In other content, refer to a radio button by its label. If you must provide a descriptor, use option. Use the exact label text, including its capitalization, but do not capitalize the word option itself. You should generally refer only to the option that the radio button controls. If you must refer to the button to avoid ambiguity, use option button. See also option; option button; Webpage controls, dialog boxes, and property sheets (Chapter 5).
Do not use unless you have no other choice. In content for a general audience, use a phrase such as a range of cells or a range of dates to refer to a selection of adjoining cells, dates, and so on.
Use the same type of phrasing in content for a technical audience, but if you are describing the feature, use adjacent selection.
The selection of more than one nonadjacent item is called a multiple selection. See also adjacent selection, multiple selection, nonadjacent selection.
In general, do not hyphenate words beginning with re- unless it is necessary to avoid confusion or re- is followed by a proper noun. When in doubt, check the American Heritage Dictionary, or consult your project style sheet.
Microsoft style
recover (to get back or regain)
recreate (to take part in a recreational activity)
Use instead of read/write access. Files and devices have read/write properties, but users have the permission to access those files and devices.
Two words. Hyphenate as an adjective.
Microsoft style
Real-time operations happen at the same rate as human perceptions of time.
In chat rooms, users communicate in real time.
Do not use. Use restart instead, and make clear that restart in this context refers to the computer and not to a program.
Microsoft style
After Setup is complete, restart your computer.
Not Microsoft style
After Setup is complete, reboot your computer.
Restart after Setup is complete.
If the user interface or application programming interface uses reboot in a label or element name, it is all right to reproduce the label or element name, but use restart to refer to the action or event described.
Microsoft style
The Reboot method shuts down the computer and then restarts it.
It is all right, but not required, to make recommendations directly by using a phrase such as we recommend. Alternate phrasings are also all right to use. Do not use recommend when something is required.
Do not use Microsoft recommends. It injects an inappropriately corporate tone that some users might interpret as arrogant. Do not use it is recommended. It sounds both corporate and evasive. See also should vs. must.
Microsoft style
We recommend at least 256 MB of RAM to run this program.
This program performs best with at least 256 MB of RAM.
You must have at least 128 MB of RAM to run this program, but for best performance you should have at least 256 MB.
Not Microsoft style
Microsoft recommends at least 256 MB of RAM to run this program.
It is recommended that you have at least 256 MB of RAM to run this program.
Precede with the definite article the, as in “the Recycle Bin.” In Windows, the Recycle Bin is a temporary storage place for deleted files until they are permanently deleted.
Use refresh to refer to updating a webpage. Do not use to describe the action of an image being restored on the screen or data being updated. Use redraw or update instead. To refer to the Refresh command, use wording such as “To update the screen, click Refresh.”
The registry is a database that stores configuration data about the user, the installed programs and applications, and the specific hardware. The registry has a hierarchical structure, with the first level in the path called a subtree. The next level is called a key, and all levels below keys are subkeys.
Use lowercase for the word registry except when it is part of a named system component, such as the Registry Editor. The first-level subtrees are system-defined and are in all uppercase letters, with words separated by underscores. Registry subtrees are usually bold.
Microsoft style
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Keys are developer-defined and are usually all uppercase or mixed caps, with no underscores. Subkeys are usually mixed case.
Microsoft style
SOFTWAREApplicationIdentifierApplication Identifier Name
stockfile
the new program subkey
An entire subkey path is referred to as a subkey, not a path. The following is a typical subkey:
Microsoft style
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftJet3.5EnginesXbase subkey
For a subkey, the items in the Name column are entries. The items in the Data column are values.
Provides information about test and beta versions of a product. See Readme files and release notes (Chapter 6).
Short for “remark statement,” which is the term for a comment in Visual Basic and some other programs. Do not use generically to refer to a comment. Use comment instead.
All right to use to as an adjective to describe a person or computer at another site. In programming, a remote computer is usually a computer connected, directly or indirectly, to the computer that a program is running on.
Do not use remote drive to describe a disk drive on a remote computer. Use network drive instead.
Do not use remote as a noun except to refer to a remote control device, such as that used to operate a TV set.
Do not use remote as a verb.
Do not use remove to mean delete. Remove is correct in technical contexts such as the following:
To refer to taking an item off a list in a dialog box that has Add and Remove buttons.
To refer to taking a toolbar button off a toolbar, or hiding displayed data without deleting the data, such as columns in Windows Explorer.
As a synonym for unload.
As a synonym for uninstall in a context that talks about adding instead of installing software or hardware.
See also delete, load, uninstall.
Use replace only as an adjective or as a verb, not as a noun. See also find and replace.
Microsoft style
You can replace all instances of an incorrect term at one time.
The Replace method replaces text found in a regular expression search.
Not Microsoft style
You can do a replace of all instances of an incorrect term at one time.
Replace replaces text found in a regular expression search.
In general, use replace instead of overwrite to mean replacing a file.
Microsoft style
Replace the selected text with the new text.
Replace the file with the changed file.
Use as a verb instead of undelete to refer to restoring an item that was deleted.
Use as a verb to describe the action of restoring an item or condition to its previous state, such as a window that was previously maximized or minimized.
Do not use as an adjective or as a noun in content for a general audience except to follow the user interface. See also restore (SQL Server), undelete.
Microsoft style
Restore the file.
Restore the window to its minimized state.
For more information about System Restore, see “What is System Restore?”
Not Microsoft style
Perform a system restore.
Keep the restore disk in a safe place.
Refers to the button containing the image of two windows that is located in the upper-right corner of a window near the Close button.
Do not use Restore box or Restore icon. Restore as part of the Restore button is always bold. The Restore button can replace either the Minimize or, more often, the Maximize button. Clicking it restores a document to its previous size.
Use to refer to restoring a series of one or more database backups.
Do not use as a noun unless you have no other choice. It is all right to use restore as an adjective if necessary. For example, it is all right to say “restore operation” or “RESTORE statement.” However, it is preferable to use restore only as a verb. See also restore.
Microsoft style
Under the full recovery model, first restore one or more data backups, and then restore the subsequent log backups to roll the database forward in time.
Restore the database.
You can restart an interrupted restore operation. (If necessary)
Use the RESTORE statement to specify the restore operation. (If necessary)
Not Microsoft style
Perform a database restore.
Do not use as a directional term by itself. Use a term such as upper right, lower right, rightmost, or the right side of instead. Include a hyphen when modifying a noun, as in “upper-right corner.” Do not use right hand.
Accessibility considerations
Avoid using directional terms (left, right, up, down) as the only clue to location. Individuals with cognitive impairments may have difficulty interpreting them, as do blind users relying on screen-reading software. A directional term is all right to use if another indication of location, such as in the Save As dialog box, on the Standard toolbar, or in the title bar, is also included. Directional terms are also all right to use when a sighted user with dyslexia can clearly see a change in the interface as the result of an action, such as a change in the right pane when an option in the left pane is clicked.
Use to refer to text that is aligned at the right margin. Hyphenate right-aligned in all positions in the sentence. Do not use right-justified. See also justify, justified, left align, left-aligned.
In most content, use this term instead of secondary mouse button, mouse button 2, or other terms. Even though a user can program a mouse to switch buttons, usability studies show that most users understand this commonly used term. See also Mouse terminology (Chapter 5).
Use to describe clicking the secondary (usually the right) mouse button. In content for novice computer users, define the term if necessary.
Microsoft style
Using the right mouse button (right-click)…
Right-click to select the file.
Use rightmost to refer to something at the farthest right side instead of farthest right, far-right, or similar terms.
For accessibility considerations, see right.
Use rights only in a nonspecific way to refer to system actions that are authorized by the system administrator. For specific references, use user rights.
Do not confuse rights, which apply to system operations, with permissions, which apply to specific system resources such as files or printers.
Do not use privileges as a synonym for rights. See also permissions, user rights.
Microsoft style
Domain administrators should use a primary user account, which has basic user rights in the domain.
Avoid in the sense of transferring music or video from a CD or DVD to a hard disk. If you must use rip, define on first mention, and provide a glossary entry.
In content for software developers, use this term, not home directory, to refer to the directory or folder (indicated in MS-DOS with a backslash: ) from which all other directories or folders branch. Do not shorten to root when you mean the directory.
Microsoft style
Change to the root directory and type the following command: edit autoexec.bat
Do not use. Use footer and header instead. Running foot and running head are all right to use if needed for clarification or as keywords or glossary entries.
Run time is the time during which an application is running.
Microsoft style
You can enter and modify data at run time. During design time, you create objects and modify their design.
A runtime is an environment that is required to run programs that are not compiled to machine language. Do not use runtime as a synonym for reader programs such as Microsoft Office file viewers.
The adjective run-time describes a thing that is occurring or relevant at run time.
Microsoft style
Microsoft Access file viewer
The common language runtime is a key element of the .NET Framework.
run-time error
run-time state
Not Microsoft style
Microsoft Access runtime
In contexts that require title capitalization, capitalize as Run Time, Runtime, and Run-Time.
Do not use execute in content for a general audience except to follow the user interface. Use run instead. If the user interface includes execute, the user or program action is still run. Always use run in the context of macros and queries.
Microsoft style
While Windows defragments your disk, you can use your computer to carry out other tasks.
You can temporarily stop Disk Defragmenter so that you can run other programs at full speed.
Execute is all right to use in content for a technical audience, especially in the passive voice, because it has become ingrained. However, run is preferable when it does not cause any loss of meaning.
Microsoft style
Commands are run in the order in which they are listed in the file. (Preferred.)
Commands are executed in the order in which they are listed in the file.