Chapter 7: Menu Selection, Form Fillin, and Dialog Boxes
7.6 Menu Layout
Titles
For single menus, use a simple descriptive title.
For tree-structured menus, use the exact same words in the higher-level
menu items as in the titles for the next lower-level menu. E.g. if a menu
item is called Business and Financial Services, the next screen should
have that phrase as its title.
Phrasing of menu items
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Use familiar and consistent terminology
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Ensure that items are distinct from one another
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Use consistent and concise phrasing
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Bring the keyword to the left
Graphic layout and design
Constraints
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screen width and length
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display rate
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character set
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highlighting techniques
Establish guidelines for consistency of at least these menu components:
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Titles
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Item placement
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Instructions
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Error messages
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Status reports
Techniques
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Indentation
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Upper/lower case characters
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Symbols such as * or - to create separators or outlines
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Position markers
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Cascading or walking menus
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Magic lens
