Microsoft® Manual of Style, Fourth Edition

Procedures

In technical writing, a procedure is a series of steps that a user takes to complete a specific task. Procedures are set off from the main text by their formatting. In product documentation, a procedure is usually a discrete topic. In other content, such as Knowledge Base articles and white papers, a procedure is usually only a part of the content.

If you document only one method for performing a procedure, document the preferred method, the method that best reflects the needs of the user. For example, the preferred method might be to use mouse actions, or it might be to use keyboard actions.

For information about documenting multiple or alternative input methods, see Multiple input methods and branching within procedures later in this ...