Procedures and instructions checklist

In the best-case scenario, the UI is so clear and task driven that you don’t need additional instructions. When the task is more complex or involves more than one UI, look for the simplest way to present it. That might be:

• A picture, an illustration, a poster, or an infographic.
• A video.
• A single sentence.
• A numbered procedure, supplemented if necessary with pictures, videos, and links or buttons that take the customer where they need to go.

Follow this checklist when procedures are the best way to help your customer complete a task. Use consistent text formatting—see Formatting text in instructions. And always think accessibility—see Accessibility guidelines and requirements to learn more.

Learn more about procedures and instructions

Step-by-step instructions

Use numbered steps—no more than seven, and preferably fewer.

• Write a complete sentence for each step: capitalize the first word and end the sentence with a period.
• Use imperative verb forms.
• Consider using a heading that tells customers what the procedure will help them do.
• Keep it short—ideally, fit the whole procedure on one screen. Omit unnecessary details. Combine simple actions that occur in the same place in the UI in a single step. Include actions that finalize a step, such as selecting the OK or Apply button, in related steps.
• Make sure the customer knows where the action in the step takes place. Provide a brief phrase if you need to, such as on the Design tab, …. Or provide an introductory step to avoid any confusion: On the ribbon, go to the Design tab.
• If there’s only one step, use the format you use for procedures with multiple steps, but replace the number with a bullet.
• If your editorial style guide allows it, abbreviate simple sequences of menu interactions with right angle brackets. Don’t use bold formatting for the brackets. Include a space before and after each one.
  Example
  Select Accounts > Other accounts > Add an account.

Learn more about step-by-step instructions.

Interactions with UI

Use the following verbs, which describe any input method—touch, mouse, keyboard, voice, and so on.

• Open, for apps, shortcut menus, files, and folders.
• Close, for apps, blades, dialog boxes, windows, files, and folders.
• Leave, for websites and webpages.
• Go to, for a menu or a particular place in the UI, like search, a ribbon, or a tab.
• Select, for UI options, values, links, and menu items.
• Select and hold, for pressing and holding an element in the UI for about a second.
• Clear, for removing the selection from a checkbox.
• Choose, for an exclusive option in a control where only one value can be chosen.
• Enter, for instructing the reader to type or otherwise enter a value.
• Specify, for instructing a reader to type or select a value, such as in a combo box (in content for technical audiences only).
• Move, for moving something from one place to another by dragging, pasting, or another method.
• Zoom, zoom in, zoom out, for changing the magnification of a screen or window.
• Avoid press, press and hold, and right-click if you can. Try to use an input-neutral verb instead.

Learn more about describing interactions with UI.

Alternative input methods

• Most of the time, use input-neutral verbs to describe interactions with UI. See Describing interactions with UI to learn how.
• For accessibility, always document keyboard procedures, even if they're indicated in the UI by underlined letters.
• If you need to document mouse procedures, be consistent. For example, list the mouse method before the keyboard method consistently if you document both. Don’t combine keyboard and mouse actions using a plus sign. For example, say hold down Shift while clicking instead of Shift+click.
• If you describe joystick interactions, assume that a mouse is a primary input device. Include joystick information in a table along with other alternative input methods.
• Use these verbs for pen and touch input:
  Tap: Use to describe selecting something on the screen by tapping it once with a finger or pen. Don’t use tap on. Don’t use click.
  Double-tap: Use to describe selecting something on the screen by tapping twice in quick succession. Don’t use double-tap on. Don’t use double-click.
  Tap and hold: Use only if required by a program or app. Don’t use touch and hold.
  Pan: Use to describe moving the screen in multiple directions, as you would pan a camera to see different views of the environment. For contact gestures, use to refer to moving a finger, hand, or pen on the device surface to move through screens or menus. Don’t use drag or scroll for these actions.
  Flick: Use to describe moving one or more fingers to scroll through items on the screen. Don’t use scroll.
• Use swipe to describe a short, quick movement in the direction opposite to how the page scrolls.

Learn more about alternative input methods.

Multiple input methods

If you need to document multiple ways to perform a task, use one of these methods.

• List the steps in a table. Put the step numbers in the left column, and provide a separate column for each input method.
• Document the primary input method, and provide alternative instructions in parentheses or separate sentences.
• If there are alternative ways to perform an entire procedure, such as saving a file and continuing to work or saving a file and closing a program, use a table. List each alternative in the left column and instructions on the right.
• If a step has more than one option, list the options as bullets under the numbered step.

Learn more about multiple input methods.