Terminology
Use regular language in your applications as well as your documentation. Do
not use technical jargon or computer science terminology. The majority of
users are not programmers. It's especially important not to use programming
terms in menus, dialog boxes, or user books.
In particular, do not use file type names to refer to Finder documents that
users see. Call documents by the terms that appear in the Kind column in
Finder windows. Use the terms in the Table below in place of the four-letter
type names.
Table Translation chart for user documentation
Previously Suggested
used term terminology Examples
cdev control panel Mouse control panel
extension,
extension
INIT system extension File Sharing Extension
(not startup document)
adev network extension EtherTalk network
extension
ddev database extension Data Access Language
(DAL)database extension
DA desk accessory Calculator desk accessory
FKEY function key -Shift-3
screen-dump utility
standard file dialog box directory dialog box SFGetFile dialog box MultiFinder icon active-application icon TeachText application
In system 7.0 a cooperative multitasking operating environment is always
available to users. Therefore it's no longer appropriate to use the term
MultiFinder to distinguish this environment from the Finder environment. When you update or revise written material that relates to system 7.0 , replace