Grammer in software dialog

Question

I have a difference of opinion with our communications team on the wording of a sentence of a software dialog. What are you thoughts?

Thiers:

1) If you take no action, the installation will be postponed in:

2) Please save your work, close all programs, and install now. Note that your computer may be restarted.

Mine:

1) The installation will automatically postpone in:

I feel this is shorter and to the point.

2) Please save your work, close all programs, and install now. Your computer may be restarted.

I think 'Note that' is clunky and is less crisp.

MountainHiker · Accepted Answer

1) But your sentence has a different meaning. What happens if action is taken?

2) "note that" is more clunky, but it is also more polite. One of the largest problems with computers is that they are impersonal and unfriendly. Thus, I would error on the side of making the computer program more friendly so that more people like it and more people will buy it.

Your best guide is to look at how leading manufacturers of software write their dialog screens. Whether or not you like Microsoft, they have put a strong emphasis on making their software more friendly for the consumer. How do they do it?

If you are a programmer, you know that you can write some very crisp code. The only problem is that no one else will understand your code but you. So you make your code a little less efficient so that others can understand and modify your code if need be. Much the same with interactive dialogs. You can make them extremely efficient--so efficient that other don't understand them or, even worse, don't like them

Hope that helps.

Rahul_mcsd · Answer

For your first question, I would use a term that is more 'industry specific' like 'time out'.

1) The installation will automatically time out in:

This would also take care of action being taken in the time being.

2) Please close all windows and restart installation. You may need to restart your computer.

All applications will prompt you to save your work before you close the windows. The second sentence, though longer, has a better feel to it.

rahul_mcsd is a techwriter for a software firm you say ???? BINGO....

Rahul_mcsd · Answer

Continuing MountainHiker's concern about software messages not being helpful to users, I would like to add my 2 paise (I am from India...I have to be politically correct).

Suppose the print command triggered by your software fails. The error messages that are typically displayed (in 5 out of 10 softwares) are something as blunt as 'Unable to print.'

I wish the developers would involve us techwriters closely during the product development phase itself. We are better trained to look at situations from a user's perspective. I really like the messages displayed by applications like MS-Word when printing fails. They list the possible causes and the corrective actions that can be taken. The messages typically end off with something like 'and try again.'.

Grammer in software dialog

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