Button or icon

Hi all
To have a consistent instruction across the documents, do we, for example, say 'Click the Save button' or 'Click the Save icon'?
Is button reserved for such items as 'OK', 'Cancel', 'Apply' for example?

JohnS

OOps. Should have made it clear that the first Question referred to items on the toolbars.
JohnS

1. Or do we refer to the elements of a toolbar as tools? What we see on the toolbar are icons, but they represent tools.
      2. I think I would prefer to use the term icon; and when it is clicked, it opens the corresponding tool.
      3. Personal opinion: buttons should be reserved for items in the shape of a button such as those already mentioned. One of the icons in the Forms Control toolbar opens a tool to create a button. Anything looking like it possibly ought to be called a button. (my 2 cents worth)

--Dan

Hello

I agree with Dan.

Those nice pictograms on toolbars should be called icons. Buttons when pressed normally give the impression that you have just pressed a button. When you click an icon, a tool or dialog opens and there is no impression of a button being pressed.

Regards

PeterS

Hello JohnS

I think it should be "Click Save", which is the way it is written in the user guides I have upgraded and Jean suggested.

Regards

PeterS

Hi :slight_smile:
+1
I agree with Dan too.  My knee-jerk reaction was a different way but when i thought about how i teach it to colleagues or students i realised i do what Dan suggested.

The caveat is that as people have been saying a shorter sentence, just "Click Save" is enough and less confusing imo.  I think if you are running through what the different icons do or why to use the toolbar icon rather than another method then that is when it might be worth being more verbose imo.  That is just my opinion and i lack context and don't work on the guides themselves so you probably have a better idea of what's appropriate.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

That's great. Icon it is then.
JohnS

Hi Peter
I didn't use a good example in the question, though I tried to clarify it with a reply.
I ought to have used something like Navigator in the question as Save can be a large button used with Cancel or others in dialogues. I do use "Click Save" when referring to buttons in dialogues. Sorry about confusing things.