What's new?
This table shows a history of recent updates to the Microsoft Writing Style Guide.
Date | Article | Change |
---|---|---|
October 16, 2024 | drive resource | Renamed topic and altered guidance to drive resource. |
October 16, 2024 | quotation marks | Clarified guidance regarding default use of straight quotation marks and the Segoe font. |
October 16, 2024 | storage, storage space | Changed topic title (previously storage, storage device). Updated guidance to use storage space. |
October 16, 2024 | disk space | Updated guidance to recommend using storage or storage space; updated guidance to recommend use of drive in most cases that are not physical disks. |
August 26, 2024 | [Announcement] | The Microsoft Writing Style Guide has now aligned with Merriam-Webster as its dictionary of references. Links and mentions have been fixed globally. |
June 25, 2024 | prompt, prompting | Updated guidance to address new concerns about AI prompts and provide resources for prompt writing. |
May 9, 2024 | Accessibility terms | Added guidance to avoid the use of "special needs." |
April 19, 2024 | Copilot, copilot | Created new topic with information on how to use Microsoft Copilot versus third-party copilots in naming and descriptions. |
April 18, 2024 | Militaristic language | Created new topic with guidelines on avoiding overly violent and militaristic language. |
February 26, 2024 | see, see also, and similar phrases | Created new topic regarding visual-based phrases and accessibility. |
February 22, 2024 | Formatting titles | Streamlined guidance to generally recommend sentence-casing; updated to recommend bold instead of italics for titles for enhanced readability and accessibility. |
February 22, 2024 | multi- | Updated to only include examples where the MWSG deviates from the American Heritage Dictionary. |
December 22, 2023 | notification area | Updated guidance to reflect that this now only applies to OS versions prior to Windows 11. |
December 22, 2023 | system tray | Updated guidance to reflect change with Windows 11. |
November 15, 2023 | enable, enables | Updated guidance to avoid use of enable, provided links to related topics. |
November 15, 2023 | percent, percent sign (%), percentage | Streamlined guidance, removed examples to focus on exception to the percent rules. |
November 15, 2023 | Windows 10, Windows 11 | Updated guidance and title to reflect the deprecation of Windows 7 and 8. |
June 20, 2023 | Accessibility terms | Updated guidance concerning neurodiversity. |
June 6, 2023 | Bluetooth | Updated guidance to use registered trademark symbol on first mention. |
May 22, 2023 | disable, disables (functionality) | Changed topic title to separate out functionality from accessibility meaning. Updated guidance to suggest alternatives for functionality. Provided an exception for admin use cases. |
May 22, 2023 | disabled (person) | Changed topic title to separate out functionality from accessibility meaning. Updated guidance to reflect people-first language is preferred, but not always required if context is provided. |
May 22, 2023 | turn on, turn off | Updated guidance to suggest as a replacement for enable, disable. |
February 22, 2023 | Accessibility terms | Updated guidance to align with Accessibility (nuanced discussion of identity-first language); created new table of examples; adopted new table formatting for screen-reader compatibility. |
February 22, 2023 | objectives and key results (OKR) | Created new topic. |
February 22, 2023 | key result (KR) | Created new topic. |
February 22, 2023 | key performance indicator (KPI) | Created new topic. |
October 18, 2022 | Formatting text in instructions | Clarified the guidance on using dialog. |
June 24, 2022 | Date and time terms | Reverted guidance (removed mention of ratio symbol in clock time). |
June 24, 2022 | Colons | Reverted guidance (removed mention of ratio symbol in clock time). |
June 24, 2022 | Nouns and pronouns | Added guidance regarding capitalization of proper nouns; added link to Person section for discussion of using pronouns in product UI. |
June 24, 2022 | Person | Revised guidance to move away from first-person singular pronouns (with one notable exception when distinguishing ownership of content in shared visual space); updated examples for use of first- and second-person pronouns to reflect more use cases in UI; added guidance about pronouns in AI-generated content. |
May 13, 2022 | Lists | Added another example of a bulleted list. Expanded the Exception and added examples to address gaps in guidance regarding lists that do not complete an introductory phrase, but whose items are all short, complete sentences. |
May 13, 2022 | Periods | Added link to Lists topic in guidance. |
May 13, 2022 | Numbers | Added new section on phone numbers. |
May 13, 2022 | phone, phone number | Changed title of topic to include "phone number." Revised guidance to include mobile phones and to address phone number formatting. |
December 15, 2021 | Cloud-computing terms | Revised guidance to terms in the cloud-computing collection. |
December 9, 2021 | SQL, SQL server | Revised guidance to use the article "a" with SQL and updated examples. |
August 26, 2021 | multi- | Added multicloud exception to guideline. |
August 26, 2021 | touch-sensitive | Added new topic. |
August 25, 2021 | Bias-free communication | Added inclusive language section. |
August 12, 2021 | colons | Updated guidance on use of colons in clock time. |
August 11, 2021 | numbers | Replaced colons with ratio symbols. |
August 10, 2021 | date and time terms | New section on clock time. |
May 31, 2021 | workstream | New guidance on spelling and use. |
May 31, 2021 | wellbeing | New guidance on spelling and use. |
April 30, 2021 | invite | New topic. |
April 30, 2021 | dark mode | New topic. |
April 30, 2021 | SMB | New topic. |
March 31, 2021 | bits and bytes | Updated guidance on when to abbreviate certain terms. |
March 31, 2021 | dialog box, dialog, dialogue | Updated guidance on use. |
March 29, 2021 | check, checkbox, check mark | Updated guidance on use. |
March 26, 2021 | dropdown | Updated guidance on spelling and use. |
March 16, 2021 | Welcome page | Updated Welcome page. |
January 15, 2021 | blacklist | Updated guidance on spacing for alternative term, blocklist. |
January 15, 2021 | environment variable | Updated topic guidance. |
January 15, 2021 | whitelist | Updated guidance on spacing for alternative term, allowlist. |
November 24, 2020 | Accessibility terms | Updated topic to include guidance on using words such as "see", "read", and "look". |
November 24, 2020 | global | Updated guidance wording to be more clear. |
November 24, 2020 | URLs and web addresses | Updated example in References to specific sites and domains section. |
November 24, 2020 | worldwide vs. international | Updated topic's wording and added example. |
August 4, 2020 | Bias-free communication | Updated guidance regarding unconscious racial bias and associated examples. |
August 4, 2020 | blacklist | Updated guidance regarding usage and examples. |
August 4, 2020 | master/slave, master/subordinate | Updated topic name, guidance, and examples. |
August 4, 2020 | whitelist | Updated guidance regarding usage and examples. |
June 30, 2020 | above | Updated guidance by replacing hyperlink with link. |
June 30, 2020 | below | Updated guidance by replacing hyperlink with link. |
June 30, 2020 | destination | Updated guidance by replacing hyperlink with link. |
June 30, 2020 | earlier | Updated guidance by replacing hyperlink with link. |
June 30, 2020 | Formatting punctuation | Updated guidance by replacing hyperlink with link. |
June 30, 2020 | hot link | Updated guidance by replacing hyperlink with link. |
June 30, 2020 | hot spot, hotspot | Updated guidance by replacing hyperlink with link. |
June 30, 2020 | jump | Updated guidance by replacing hyperlink with link. |
June 30, 2020 | later | Updated guidance by replacing hyperlink with link. |
June 30, 2020 | navigate | Updated guidance by replacing hyperlink with link. |
June 30, 2020 | shortcut, shortcut menu | Updated guidance by replacing hyperlink with link. |
April 29, 2020 | Describing alternative input methods | Updated example. |
April 29, 2020 | either/or | Updated example. |
April 29, 2020 | Formatting text instructions | Revised table. Clarified wording for Dialogue boxes entry. |
April 29, 2020 | mixed reality, mixed-reality | Updated topic; removed acronym guidelines. |
April 29, 2020 | pane | Added guidelines regarding preposition use; "Use the preposition on when referring to the contents of a pane." |
March 31, 2020 | Capitalization | Added guidance for hyphenated compound words |
March 31, 2020 | Hyphens | Updated list of examples. |
March 31, 2020 | later | Updated list of examples. |
March 31, 2020 | multifactor authentication | Added guidance for multifactor authentication. |
March 31, 2020 | Nouns and pronouns | Added guidance for they. |
March 31, 2020 | Numbers | Updated guidance on comma usage. |
March 31, 2020 | runs vs. runs on | Updated list of examples. |
March 31, 2020 | Units of measure terms | Updated examples on Speed frequency. Also updated comma exceptions and examples. |
September 21, 2019 | Mouse and mouse interaction term collection | Added guidance for scroll. |
September 21, 2019 | Start button, Start menu | Updated the guideline for when to use bold formatting for Start. |
September 21, 2019 | Describing interactions with UI | Deleted press and hold. Clarified that select and hold is the correct term to use to describe pressing and holding a UI element. Added examples. |
September 18, 2019 | Numbers | Added guidelines for using K, M, and B as abbreviations for thousand, million, and billion. |
September 17, 2019 | Microsoft | Added a guideline about when to include Microsoft in references to product names. |
September 13, 2019 | Bias-free communication | Clarified and expanded the guidelines for gender-neutral writing. |
August 16, 2019 | registry, registry settings | Updated the examples. |
August 8, 2019 | author | Expanded this topic to say don't use author as a verb when you mean in general "to make something." Use a more precise verb. |
August 8, 2019 | Code examples | Clarified the approach to creating code examples, including planning for and writing. (No change to the guidelines themselves.) |
August 8, 2019 | Formatting developer text elements | Added updated examples and fixed some errors. |
August 8, 2019 | Reference documentation | Updated contents. Updated and added more examples. |
July 25, 2019 | Describing interactions with UI | Clarified the use of select and enter in describing user actions in instructions. Added examples. |
June 27, 2019 | and so on | Clarified that these terms shouldn't be used. Added examples of alternative wording. |
June 27, 2019 | sign in, sign out | Added sign into and log into to the list of terms that shouldn't be used. Updated the examples. |
May 28, 2019 | "appears, displays" and "displays, appears" | Deleted these topics from the A–Z word list. Microsoft style no longer makes a recommendation for these terms. |
May 28, 2019 | hard-code, hard-coded, hard-coding | Renamed the "hard-coded" topic so that the guideline applies to the additional word forms. |
May 28, 2019 | passwordless | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
May 6, 2019 | Names and contact information | Added global considerations for content that addresses the customer by name, such as in email or the product UI. |
April 4, 2019 | Date and time term collection | Added guidelines for abbreviating days of the week. Changed the guideline for month abbreviations to say don't use a period. |
April 1, 2019 | mixed reality, mixed-reality | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
April 1, 2019 | fail over, fail back, failover, failback | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
April 1, 2019 | single sign-on (SSO) | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
March 11, 2019 | Commas | Added guidelines for when to use a comma in a series of two or more adjectives that precede a noun. |
February 28, 2019 | Computer and device term collection | Added guidelines for using desktop as a hardware term. Updated the guidelines for computer, PC, machine, and other device terms. |
February 27, 2019 | blade | Clarified what the UI element called a blade is. Deleted the guideline to define blade on first mention. |
February 22, 2019 | AI and bot term collection | Changed the name from "Bot term collection." Updated the guidelines for bot, chatbot, virtual agent, and AI. Added new guidelines for the terms intelligent/intelligence and Microsoft AI. |
February 1, 2019 | Formatting developer text elements | Clarified the guideline for how to format UI text and updated the examples. |
February 1, 2019 | Formatting common text elements | Clarified the guidelines for how to format error messages and UI text and how to refer to error messages in text. Updated the examples. |
February 1, 2019 | Formatting text in instructions | Added guidelines for how to refer to palettes and toggles when they're referenced in instructions. |
February 1, 2019 | toggle | Clarified the guideline for how to refer to toggle keys and switches. |
February 1, 2019 | palette | Clarified the guideline for how to refer to palettes and updated the examples. |
January 18, 2019 | Internet of Things (IoT) | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
December 12, 2018 | toggle | Updated the guidance for using switch, turn on, and turn off when describing actions involving toggle switches and toggle keys. Added examples. |
November 27, 2018 | Mouse and mouse interaction term collection | Updated the guideline to say that hover over is an acceptable alternative to point to and that hover is OK as an adjective. Added examples. |
November 26, 2018 | drill down, drill up, drill through | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
November 26, 2018 | avg | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
November 8, 2018 | e.g. | Updated to say that for example, such as, and like are all OK to use instead of e.g. |
November 7, 2018 | Formatting text in instructions | Changed the guideline for key names, combinations, and sequences to say don't put a space around the plus sign (+) in keyboard shortcuts. Also, use bold formatting for key names and keyboard shortcuts when they appear in instructions. |
October 6, 2018 | Tables | Clarified that a table must have two or more rows and two or more columns. Otherwise, use a list. |
October 4, 2018 | Mouse and mouse interaction term collection | Changed the guideline to say that mice is the preferred plural of mouse, not mouse devices. |
September 11, 2018 | org, organization | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
September 11, 2018 | company vs. organization | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
September 10, 2018 | e-sports | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |