Microsoft Dynamics GP uses the following
conventions for text that will appear in a window, such as prompts,
static text and messages. As a general rule, text in windows
shouldn’t contain references to platform–specific objects, since
the application may be run in different operating environments.
Abbreviations
Words in windows should be spelled out whenever
possible. If abbreviations are required, follow these
guidelines:
Don’t abbreviate words with four or fewer
letters. Abbreviations for words of this length doesn’t save much
space, and might confuse the user.
Don’t use abbreviations of module names in
windows if possible. If you must abbreviate module names, refer to
Standard
abbreviations.
Use standard abbreviations whenever
possible. Refer to Standard abbreviations
for a list of standard abbreviations.
All text in windows should appear in
upper- and lowercase.
Regular text : Customer Account
Maintenance
Hyphenated words: Year-End Closing
Batch names appear in all uppercase, such
as POSTAP.
Abbreviations in windows are usually
upper- and lowercase. Exceptions are OK and ID.
Specific table names should be
capitalized, but the word “tables” should be lowercase. For
example, use “Customer Table” to refer to a specific table or table
group, but “General Ledger tables” to refer to all the tables in
the General Ledger module.
Messages
Microsoft Dynamics GP uses the following
guidelines for writing alert messages:
State the information, error or problem
clearly. Avoid technical jargon, descriptions or explanations, and
use easily-understood language. Messages should give users a
concise summary of the situation, in an encouraging manner, so they
can easily correct the problem, if necessary, and continue.
Make the message as specific as possible.
For example, use “Another user updated this customer record since
you opened it. Re-enter the customer information and save again”
instead of messages like “Can’t save record” or “Another user
updated this table already.”
Don’t use the word “error.” Avoid messages
that imply that the user made an error. For example, use “Not all
required fields have been entered” rather than “Required field
error.”
Write messages in full sentences. Avoid
phrases and sentence fragments.
Use “Cannot” instead of “Can not” or
“Can’t”.
Punctuation
Be sure to use punctuation consistently
throughout the application.
Use closing punctuation (usually a period
or question mark) at the end of warning dialog messages and alert
messages. Do not use exclamation points after messages.
Use an ellipsis (...) after a menu
item that brings up a window or dialog that requires additional
information be entered before an action (such as printing) can take
place. For example, Printer Setup... opens a window in which users
can specify the type of printer being used.
Use apostrophes (’) only to indicate
possession, as in “the table’s header record.” Don’t use
apostrophes to indicate plurals.
Avoid comma splices (two independent
sentences connected by a comma). For example, “This record doesn’t
exist, do you wish to continue?” contains two independent phrases.
Break the phrases into separate sentences. “This record doesn’t
exist. Do you want to add a new one?”
Hyphenate words like the following
examples:
Double-Space
Year-End
Month-End
Quarter-End
Note that the word after the hyphen should
be capitalized.
Spelling
Microsoft Dynamics GP uses American English as
their interface standard, so international spelling variations may
apply. In situations where more than one spelling may be considered
correct, follow these conventions:
Use two l’s in words that may have either
one or two, such as “totalling” and “cancelled.”
Words or phrases may be spelled
differently depending upon their use:
“Set up” is a verb, as in “Set up
posting accounts first.”
“Setup” is an adjective and a noun.
“Use the Receivables Management setup window to do so.”
You should “back up” your data. Always
make a “backup.”