Re: Word-a-Day preview round

[Shaun McCance <shaunm gnome org>]

On Thu, 2008-04-24 at 18:41 +0100, Calum Benson wrote:
> On 24 Apr 2008, at 16:59, Shaun McCance wrote:
> 
> > Actually, most style guides agree that you "select" a check box.
> 
> 
> Interesting... personally I'd say that you check the box to select the  
> option that it represents, you don't select the box itself.   
> ('Selecting' a checkbox actually implies 'focusing' it to me, although  
> obviously the correct word for that is, er... 'focusing'.).

Well, to be fair, here's Apple's full recommendation:

  You click a checkbox to select or deselect an option (you
  can use the complete phrase click to select or just select).
  You don’t check or uncheck a checkbox. If the item is already
  selected, instructing the user to click deselects the item.

  Correct: Select the checkbox labeled “Show displays in menu bar.”
  Correct: Deselect the option “Show displays in menu bar.”
  Ambiguous: Click the checkbox labeled “Show displays in menu bar.”

So they agree with you in principle, but allow you to say
"select the checkbox" as a sort of shorthand.

--
Shaun