Font Styles

When documenting software applications, it is important to provide the reader with visual cues to help bring clarity to your instructions.

As far as possible colour should be avoided as it can cause problems for some readers such as those with a visual impairment.

To overcome this, we use different font styles to make key points stand out from regular text.

To ensure that we can apply these styles in a uniform manner and change them globally should we need to, we use the HTML class attribute.

The different class attributes currently available are listed in this section together with an example of when to use them.

Component Titles

Software applications frequently have a variety of windows, forms, wizards, and pages. These are identified with the "wintitle" class.

In the following example the "wintitle" class has been applied to the words 'File Explorer'.

  1. To find a file on your laptop:

    1. Click .

      The File Explorer window appears.

      You can now search for the file you are looking for.

User Interface Control

User interface controls are elements in the software application that a user can interact with such as tabs, icons, menu items, and fields. These are identified with the "uicontrol" class.

In the following example the "uicontrol" class has been applied to the words 'Password' and 'OK'.

To change your password:

  1. Click the Password tab.

    A pop-up box appears.

  2. Enter your new password in the Password field.

  3. Click OK.

    Your password has been changed.

Links

Some user interface controls are hyperlinks which, when clicked take the user directly to a specific location such as a web page. These are identified with the "uilink" class.

In the following example the "uilink" class has been applied to 'NEC'.

Buttons

Often users are required to click a button to continue the processes that they are following. While it is not necessary it can bring clarity if the button text is rendered to look like the button they need to click. Buttons are identified using the "uibutton" class.

This span can be used instead of the "uicontrol" class provided it is used consistently throughout the online help or document.

  • uiCharacterButton

    In the following example the "uiCharacterButton" class has been applied to the word 'OK'.

    Click the OK button.

  • uiWinButton

    In the following example the "uiwinbutton" class has been applied to the word 'OK'.

    Click the OK button.

    Note

    This is displayed as a button in the online help.

  • uibutton

    In the following example the "uibutton" class has been applied to the word 'OK'.

    Click the OK button.

    Note

    This mimics a button in online help but renders as bold text in MS Word documents.

File Paths

A file path is the route the user needs to take to access a specific location within the software, on a server, or to a website. File paths are identified using the "filepath" class.

In the following example the "filepath" class has been applied to navigation path that the user needs to follow to locate the folder that documents are downloaded to on their laptop.

System Output

Software applications sometimes respond to actions a user takes by displaying a message or key information on the screen. The user's attention is drawn to these responses using the "systemoutput" class.

In the following example the "systemoutput" class has been applied to the error message that the user will see.

User Specific Data Entry

Software applications sometimes require users to enter specific information, such as a licence key. Under these circumstances it is important that the user can identify the text that they are expected to enter. This is done using the "userinput" class.

In the following example the "userinput" class has been applied to the licence key text.

Options

Software applications often present the user with a choice of options to select from. These are identified using the "option" class.

In the following example the "option" class has been applied to the words, 'Coffee', 'Coffee-M', and 'Coffee-MS'.

  1. Select one of the following:

    • Coffee - to dispense coffee without milk or sugar.

    • Coffee-M - to dispense coffee with milk.

    • Coffee-MS - to dispense coffee with milk and sugar.

Parameter Names

System parameters are often used in software applications to switch on or off particular features. To ensure that users know which one they need to use, parameters are given a unique name. When documenting parameters their names are highlighted using the "paramname" class.

In the following example the "paramname" class has been applied to the name of the parameter.

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NEC welcomes your feedback on our documentation.

If you have any comments about the current Reality Help, or want something to be added in a future revision, please contact your NEC Helpdesk.

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Help topic:

Font Styles

File name:

span_styles.htm

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