book

Microsoft® Manual of Style, Fourth Edition

by Microsoft Corporation

January 2012

Beginner

464 pages

14h 4m

English

Microsoft Press

Read now

Unlock full access

ConsistencyAttitudeLanguagePrecisionSentence structure and grammatical choicesPunctuationContractionsColloquialisms and idioms
Do not use racial, cultural, sexual, and other stereotypesDo not use stereotypes of people with disabilities
Words to watch out for
Parallelism in listsParallelism in proceduresParallelism in sentences
Make text scannableOrganize your textUse links—lots of them
Wikis
A/B testingTask analysis
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)KeywordsLinksTitlesDescriptionsTagsSocial Media Optimization (SMO)
Testing for jargon
Print resources
Windows desktopDesktop access pointsOpen windowBrowserWebpage
Start screen and TilesOther screen elementsApp listHubMenuDialog boxLock screenKeyboard
User interface terminologyUser interface syntax
RibbonsRibbon terminologyMenusMenu terminologyKinds of menusStyle of menu names and commandsToolbarsToolbar TerminologyKinds of toolbarsStyle of toolbar names and buttons
Webpage controlsDialog boxesProperty sheets
How to refer to Backstage view
ErrorsInternational considerationsWarningsConfirmationsNotifications
Unnamed buttons
GestureSpeech
How to refer to the mouseHow to refer to mouse pointersWhich verbs to use to refer to mouse actionsHow to document mouse procedures
Special character namesNames of keyboard “quick access” keysKeyboard shortcuts
If you only do six thingsHigh-level UI text checklist
CapitalizationBold formatting
How to format proceduresMultiple-step proceduresSingle-step proceduresHow to write procedure stepsFolders and iconsCommandsDialog box optionsRight angle brackets for menu itemsAccessibility considerationsDocument conventions in proceduresMouse proceduresKeyboard proceduresPen-computing proceduresTouch proceduresSensor proceduresJoystick proceduresMultiple input methods and branching within proceduresSupplementary information and text within procedures
Cloud terminology
Standardization and consistencyReference topic titlesWhat to include in a reference topic
General guidelinesCode formatting and naming guidelinesCode commenting guidelinesReferring to code examplesAdditional resources for writing code
Elements vs. tagsCapitalizationElement name formattingAttribute formattingTag and node formattingOther formatting
Elements vs. tagsFormatting guidelines
Capitalization of feature names and technologiesInternational considerationsCapitalization of titles and headingsTitle capitalizationCapitalization and punctuation
Title and heading style and conventionsOrganizational guidelines
How to punctuate listsInternational considerationsBulleted listsNumbered listsUnnumbered single-column and multicolumn listsInternational considerationsTerm lists
Accessibility considerationsCapitalization and punctuationContentColumn headingsInternational considerationsFormattingFootnotes
Blind cross-referencesStructure and style of cross-referencesFormat of cross-referencesAccessibility considerationsCross-references in “See also” sectionsCross-references to artMarginal cross-references
NotesTipsImportant notesCautions
Numerals vs. wordsInternational considerationsFractions as words and decimalsOrdinal numbersCommas in numbersRanges of numbers
International phone numbersFictitious phone numbers
Abbreviations of measurements
Cross-references to artWhen to use captions and calloutsCaptionsCallouts
Citing books and printed articlesBooks, general bibliographic styleBooks, examplesPrinted magazine and journal articles, general bibliographic stylePrinted magazine and journal articles, examplesCiting electronic informationCD-ROMs and computer programs, examplesInternet sites, exampleDiscussion list messages and email, examples
Page breaksLine breaksMarginal notes
Transitive and intransitive verbs
International considerationsInternational considerations
International considerationsInternational considerations
Indicative moodImperative moodInternational considerationsSubjunctive mood
Plural nounsInternational considerationsPossessive nouns
International considerationsInternational considerations
International considerationsInternational considerations
When to use commasWhen not to use commas
Formatting semicolons
Placement of quotation marks
Em dashEn dash
Index entriesIndex subentriesPage referencesStyle and formattingCapitalizationPlural vs. singularPrepositions and articlesVerbsVersus vs. vs.Cross-references in indexesSort orderOrder of entriesSpecial charactersNumeric entriesAlphabetical entries
Order of entriesStyle of indexed keywordsStandardize keywords across productsMerge keywords from multiple filesCross-references
First mentionArticles and pluralsInternational considerations
International considerations
35mm8.5-by-11-inch paper
A.M., P.M.-able, -ibleabortaboveaccelerator keyaccessaccess keyaccess privilegesaccess rightsaccessibleaccessoryaccounts receivableachievementacknowledgmentaction baraction buttonactionableactivateactive player, active useractive vs. currentad hocadapteraddadd-in, add-onadjacent selectionadministeradministratorAdministrator programaffect vs. effectafterwardagainstalarmalbumalertalign, aligned onallowalphaalphabeticalalphanumericalt textamong vs. betweenampersand (&)and so onand/orantialiasingantimalwareantispywareantivirusappappears, displaysappendix, appendicesappletapplicationapplication developerapplication fileapplication iconapplication windowarabic numeralsargument vs. parameterarrowarrow keysarrow pointerarticleasas well asassembly languageassistiveasterisk (*)at sign (@)attributeaudiobookaudit trailauthorauto-
back endback up, backupbackbonebacklightbackspacebacktabbackwardbadgebase line vs. baselinebaudbecause vs. sincebeepbelowbetabi-big-endian, little-endianbiobitmapbitmaskbitplanebits per secondbitwiseblack boxblack holeblacklistblankblog, weblogblue screen, bluescreenboardboldbookmarkBooleanbootbootable diskbotbottom left, bottom rightbounding outlineboxbpsbreakpointBriefcasebroadcastbrowsebrowse vs. findbrowserbugbug fixbuildbulletedburnbutton
C, C++, C#cablecablingcache vs. disk cachecalendarcall back, callbackcall out, calloutcaller IDcan vs. mayCancel buttoncancel the selectioncanceled, cancelingcardcarriage return/line feedcarry out vs. runcascading menucascading style sheetscatalogcategory axiscautionCBTCDCD caseCD keycellularcenter aroundchaptercharacter setchartchatcheckcheck boxcheck incheck markchecked commandchild folderchooseclearclickclickstreamclickthroughclientclient sideclient/serverclip artClipboardcloseClose buttoncloudco-code pagecode pointcodeccollaborate, collaboration, collaboratorcolor mapcolumn formatCOMcombo boxcommandcommand buttoncommand linecommand promptcommunications portcompact discCompactFlashcompare to vs. compare withcompilecomprisecomputerComputer iconconnectconsolecontext menucontext-sensitivecontiguous selectioncontrolcontrol-menu boxcopycorruptedcountry/regioncrashcriteriacritical process monitorcritical section objectcritical updatecurrent drivecurrent foldercurrent windowcursorcutcut-and-paste
datadata bindingdata center vs. datacenterdata modemdata recorddatabasedatagramdatumdeaf or hard of hearingdebugdeceptive softwaredecrementdefaultdefinition updatedefragmentdeinstalldeletedemilitarized zonedeprecateddepressdeselectDesignerdesiredesktopdestinationdestination disk, destination drive, destination filedevicedevice driverdezoomdialogdialog boxdial-updifferentdimmeddirection keysdirectorydirectory icondisabledisableddiscdiscreet vs. discretedisjoint selectiondiskdisk resourcedisk spacediskettedisplaydisplay adapter, display driverDNSdocumentdomaindoneDOSdot-comdotted rectangledouble bufferingdouble worddouble-click, double-clickingdowngradedownleveldownloaddragdrag-and-dropdrivedrive namedrop-downDVDdynamic-link librarydynamic service capacity
e.g.earliere-booke-commerceeditEditoredutainmente-formeither/orelastic service capacitye-learningellipsis buttonemailembedenable, enabledendend user, end-userEnd-User License Agreementendlineendpointensureenterenterpriseentryentry fieldenvironment variableeraseet al.etc.EULAeuroe-wordsexecutable fileexecuteexitexpand, collapseexposeextendextension, file name extensione-zine, webzine
facsimilefailFALSEfamilyFar Eastfar-left, far-rightfast keyfavoritefaxfeature packfieldFigurefilefile attributesfile extensionfile namefile name extension, extensionfinalizefind and replacefinishedfirewallfixed diskflickflushflush tofolderfolder iconfollowingfont and font stylefoobar, fubarfooterforeground programformat, formatted, formattingFortranfourth-generation languageframesetfriendly namefromfrom vs. thanfront end, front-endfull file replacementfunction
G, G byte, Gbytegallerygame padGantt chartgarbage collectiongatewayGBGbitgeneral protection faultGHzgigabitgigabytegigahertzgivenglobalglyphGP faultgraphic, graphical, graphicsgraphics adaptergray, grayedgraylistgrayscalegreater, bettergridlinegroup, newsgroupgroup boxgroupwaregrow
hack, hackerhalf inchhandheld computerhandlehandshakehanghard copyhard diskhard-codedhard-of-hearinghardwarehardwiredhe/sheheaderheadinghearing-impairedHelphexadecimalhierarchical menuhigherhigh-level-language compilerhigh-qualityhigh-resolutionhighlighthinthi-reshithome directoryhome pagehoneypothost namehosted servicehosting providerhot keyhot linkhot spot, hotspothotfixhover overhow-to vs. how toHTMLHTTPHubhybrid cloudhyperlink
i.e.IA-32-basedIA-64-basedI-beamiconiconizeif vs. when vs. whetherillegalimage mapimbedimpactin, intoin order toinactive, inactive stateinboundincentincoming, outgoingincrementindent, indentationindenting, outdentingindependent content providerindex, indexesinfrastructure as a service (IaaS)initializeinitiateinlineinputinput deviceinput/outputinput/output controlinsecureinsertion pointinsideinstallinstant message, IMinstantiateinsureIntel-basedinterfaceInternet, intranet, extranetInternet Connection SharingInternet ExplorerInternet service providerInterruptinvalid, not validinverse videoinvokeIP addressissueIT as a service (ITaaS)IT proitalicItanium-basedits vs. it’s
Java, JScript, JavaScriptjewel casejoinjoystickjumpjustify, justified
K, K byte, KbyteKBKbitKBps, KbpsKerberos protocolkey combinationkey sequencekeyboard shortcutkeypadkeypresskeystrokekHzkilobitkilobits per secondkilobytekilobytes per secondkilohertzkludge, kludgyknowledge base, Knowledge Base
label, labeled, labelinglandscape orientationlaptoplaterlaunchlay out, laid out, layoutleaveleftleft align, left-alignedleft mouse buttonleft-handleft-justifiedleftmostlegacylegalless vs. fewer vs. underlet, letsleveragelicense termslife cyclelike-likelineline feedlinklinking and embeddinglist boxloadlocalhostlocklock uplog on, log off, logon, logofflook atlook uplo-reslowerlower left, lower rightlowercaselow-resolution
M, M byte, MbyteMac, Macintoshmachinemachine languageMacro Assemblermain documentmakefilemalicious codemalicious usermalware, malicious softwaremanagement information systemsmanipulatemanualmarqueemaster/slavemaster/subordinatemathematicalmatrix, matricesmaximizeMaximize buttonMBmeasured servicemedium, mediamegmegabitmegabits per secondmegabytemegahertzmember functionmemorymemory modelsmemory-residentmenu itemmessage (email)message boxmetadatametafileMHzmicemicro-microprocessorMicrosoftMicrosoft Software License TermsMicrosoft Windows AntiSpywaremidnightminimizeMinimize buttonminus sign (–)MIP mappingmission critical, mission-criticalmobile devicemobile phonemonitormonospacemore than vs. overmouse overmovablemovement keysMPEGMS-DOSMS-DOS promptMS-DOS-based programmulti-multiple selectionmultiplication sign (x)multitaskingmultithreaded
nnamespacenanosecondnative languagenatural user interface, NUInavigateneedNet.NETnetbooknetworknetwork adapternetwork administratornetwork connectionnetwork drivenew line, newlinenon-nonadjacent selectionnoncontiguous selectionnonprintable, nonprintingnon-Windows application, non-Windows-basednormal, normallynotebooknotification areaNTNUL, null, NULL, Nullnull-terminated, null-terminatingnumber sign (#)numeric
objectObject Linking and Embeddingobsoleteofofflineoff-premises, on-premisesokay, OKonon the flyon/off switchonceonlineonline Helpon-screenon-screen keyboardonto, on toopcodeopenoperating environment, operating systemoption, option buttonoutdentoutputoutsideoverovertypeoverwrite
pagepalettepanpanepanoramaparameterparent/childparenthesis, parenthesespatchpatch managementpatchingpathPCPC Card vs. PCMCIAp-codepenperpercent, percentageperimeter networkperipheralpermissionsphonephotopinpinchping, PINGpipepixelplaceholderplaintext vs. plain textplatformplatform as a service (PaaS)playlistPlug and Playplug-inpoint topointerpointing devicepop-upportportable computerportrait orientationpost office vs. postofficepound key, pound sign (#)power cordpower down, power up, power off, power onpower userpre-precedingPrefacepressPress (Microsoft Press)print, printoutprint queueprivate cloud, hosted private cloudprivilegesproduct IDproduct keyprogram fileprogram vs. applicationprogress indicatorprohibition signpromptproppropertiesproperty sheet, property pageprotected modepublic cloudpull quotepull-downpurgepush button, push-buttonpush-to-talk
qualityquarter inchquick keyquit
radio buttonragged rightRAMrange selectionre-read/writeread/write permissionread-onlyreal-time, real timerebootrecommendRecycle Binrefreshregistry, registry settingsreinitializerelease notesREM statementremoteremovereplacerestoreRestore buttonrestore (SQL Server)rightright align, right-alignedright mouse buttonright-clickright-handrightmostrightsripROMroot directoryRTFMrunning foot, running headrun time, runtime, run-timerun vs. executeruns vs. runs on
(s), (es)sample vs. previewsavescale upscan linescreenscreen resolutionscreened subnetScreenTipscript, scripting languagescriptletscrollscroll arrow, scroll bar, scroll boxsearch, search and replacesecondary menusecurity patchsecurity updateselectselection cursorservice-oriented architectureservice packset up, setup, Setupset vs. specifysettingset-top boxshadedshellshipshortcutshortcut keyshortcut menushould vs. mustshut down, shutdown, Shut Downsign in, sign out, sign on, sign upsimplysitesite mapsizeslateslidersmall capssmart card, Smart Cardsmartphonesnap-insoft copysoftware as a service (SaaS)software-plus-servicessoftware updatesound cardspamspecificationspeed keyspelling checkerspiderspin boxsplit barsplit boxspoofingspreadsheetspywareSQLSQL Serverstand-alonestart, Start (the menu)start pagestartup, start upstatus barstopstorage, storage devicestream, streamingstretchstrikestrikethroughstructstyle sheetsub-subaddresssubclasssubmenuSuper VGA, SVGAsurfswipeswitchsymbolsyncsysopsystemsystem administratorsystem promptsystem softwaresystem tray
tabtable of contentstablet, tablet PCTaiwantaptarget disk, target drive, target filetaskbarTBtelnet, Telnetterabyteterminalterminatetext boxthat vs. whichthenthreadthree-dimensional, 3-DTile, Live Tiletime bomb, timebombtime stamptime-out, time outtitle bartitled vs. entitledtoggletonetooltoolboxtoolkittooltiptop left, top righttopictowardtrailingtrojan horse, trojanTRUEturnturn on, turn offturnkeytutorialtwo-dimensional, 2-Dtype vs. enter
U.K.U.S.un-unavailableUNCuncheck, unmark, unselectundeleteunderline, underscoreundouninstallunprintableunregisterunwanted softwareupdateupdate rollupupgradeUPnPupper left, upper rightuppercaseuppercase and lowercaseupsizeupwardusableuse termsUsenetuser nameuser rightsusing vs. by usingusing vs. withutilityutilize
value axisVCRversus, vs.VGAvibrationvideo adaptervideo boardvideo cardvideo displayvideo drivervideo game, video-gameviewportvirtualvirtual rootvirtual servervirtualizevisitvoice mailvulnerability
W3CwantwewebWeb AppsHow to refer to the Web AppsVersion numbersUse of an articlewebpagewebsiteweblicationwherewhilewhitelistwhite paperwhite space, white-spacewho vs. thatWi-Fiwildcard characterwindowMicrosoft Windows AntiSpywareWindows 7Windows EventsWindows ExplorerWindows InstallerWindows NT Server, Windows NT WorkstationWindows VistaWindows, Windows-basedWinsockwireframewantwizardword processingwordwrap, wordwrappingwork areaworkgroupworking memoryworksheetworkspaceworkstationWorld Wide Webwrite-onlywrite-protect, write-protectedWWW
xx86x-axisXbasex-coordinateXON/XOF
y-axisy-coordinate
z-z-axiszero, zeroszero characterZIP Codezoom in, zoom out

Content preview from Microsoft® Manual of Style, Fourth Edition

Reference documentation

Reference documentation provides comprehensive information about the programming elements that are associated with technologies such as ASP.NET or Windows Presentation Foundation, or programming languages such as C++, C#, or Visual Basic. Reference topics are typically used to document class libraries, object models, and programming language constructs.

Note

Information such as configuration schemas, compiler options, and error messages might also be documented in reference topics, and will not necessarily follow the guidelines described in this section.