This resource overviews common UI terms and their usage.
For Red Hat product terminology and documentation standards, see Red Hat's supplementary style guide for product documentation.
Note: Do not precede UI terms with "please." It is extraneous and overly formal.
Term | Usage | Opposite term | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Add (v.) | Use to describe adding an existing item to an existing list, group, view, or other container element. | Remove | If the object being added is not readily apparent from the context, consider adding a noun (like “Add user”). If you’re creating a new object, do not use Add. See Create. |
Cancel (v.) | Use to describe ending an action in progress or ending an action where changes could be lost (like in a form). | Use Canceling instead of Cancelling. Use Canceled instead of Cancelled. | |
Change | Do not use. See Edit. | ||
Click (v.) | Use to prompt the user to click a button, radio button, link, or any other item that isn't part of a list, group, view, or other container element. | Do not use interchangeably with Select. | |
Close (v.) | Use to describe shutting an open window (like a message dialog). | Open | Do not use interchangeably with Cancel or Quit. |
Collapse (v.) | Use to describe minimizing a container element (like a list or message) so that it’s partially visible. | Expand | |
Continue (v.) | Use to describe proceeding with an action or process that is in progress. | ||
Copy (v.) | Use to describe the action of creating a reproduction of an object (like a file or text). This may be used in reference to the keyboard action (Ctrl/cmd + c). | Do not use interchangeably with Duplicate. | |
Create (v.) | Use to describe creating something new. | Delete | If the object being created is not readily apparent from the context, consider adding a noun (like “Create user”). New or Add are not recommended for this use case. See Add for usage guidelines. |
Delete (v.) | Use to describe completely removing an object. Delete is a destructive action. | Create | Erase and Remove are not recommended for this use case. See Remove for usage guidelines. |
Deselect (v.) | Use to prompt the user to deselect an item from a list, group, view, or other container element. | Select | |
Download (v.) | Use to describe copying a file from a server or site directly to your system in a file format. | Upload | |
Duplicate (v.) | Use to describe creating a copy of an object (like a file or configuration). The duplicate item may be edited upon or after creation. | Do not use interchangeably with Copy. | |
Edit (v.) | Use to describe making changes to an object (like a file, configuration, or policy). | Modify and Change are not recommended for this use case. | |
Expand (v.) | Use to describe expanding a container element (like a list or message) to show all its contents. | Collapse | |
Export (v.) | Use to describe packing the contents (like a project or spreadsheet) from a website or application to a file format (like .pdf or .xslx) to your system. | Import | Do not use interchangeably with Download. |
Filter (v.) | Use to describe the action of narrowing a set of search results to show only items meeting a certain criteria. Filtering is mostly associated with views like tables, lists, and card grids and assumes that a search has previously been performed to return an initial results list. | ||
Hide (v.) | Use to describe hiding something that is displayed in the interface. | Show | |
Home page (n.) | Use to describe the main page of a website. | Write Home page as two words, not one. | |
Import (v.) | Use to describe loading a copy of an object (like a file, image, or format) to your system, software, or application for use or processing. | Export | Do not use interchangeably with Upload or Add. |
Log in (v.) | Use to describe logging in. | Log out | Use log in to, not log into. |
Login (adj.) | Use to describe something related to the act of logging in to an application, like a login page. | The noun Login can also be used as an alternative for Username, but Username is recommended. | |
Log out (v.) | Use to describe logging out. | Log in | |
Modify | Do not use. See Edit. | ||
New | Do not use. See Add or Create. | ||
OK (adj.) | Use to collect confirmation or understanding from the user. | Do not use Okay, O.K., Ok, or ok in the UI. | |
Open (v.) | Use to describe launching something (like system preferences). | Close | |
Quit (v.) | Use to describe exiting an application. | ||
Please (adv.) | Do not use | Do not precede UI terms with "please". It is extraneous and overly formal. | |
Remove (v.) | Use to describe removing an item from a list, group, view, or other container element without completely deleting it. Also see Add and Delete. | Add | If what you’re removing is not readily apparent from the context, consider adding a noun (like “Remove file”). |
Save (v.) | Use to describe preserving changes made by the user. | Cancel | |
Search (v.) | Use to decribe the action of querying a data set to return a results list. Searching will always be applied against some criteria and may be narrow or broad. | ||
Select (v.) | Use to prompt the user to select an item from a list, group, view, or other container element. | Deselect | Do not use Choose for this use case. |
Set up (v.) | Use to describe setting up an arrangement (like a system, process, or environment). | Set up is two words as a verb and one word as a noun. See Setup. | |
Setup (n.) | Use to describe the setup of something (like a system, process, or environment). | Setup is one word as a noun and two words as a verb. See Set up. | |
Show (v.) | Use to describe displaying something that is hidden in the interface. | Hide | Do not use interchangeably with View or Expand. |
Sign up (v.) | Use to describe signing up for a web account, application, service, or event. | Sign up is two words as a verb and one word as an adjective or noun. See Signup. | |
Signup (adj.) | Use to describe something related to the act of signing up for a web account, application, service, or event, like a signup page. | The noun Signup can also be used to refer to a user signup submission (for example, "We need more signups for this event."). | |
View (v.) | Use to describe accessing another page to see details. (n.) Use to represent an arrangement of data in the interface (like a list view). | Do not use interchangeably with Show or Expand. | |
Upload (v.) | Use to describe loading a copy of a file to a server. | Do not use interchangeably with Import. | |
Username (n.) | Usually a unique ID (like ssmith123). | ||
Utilize (v.) | Do not use. Opt for the less formal version, Use. |
Abbreviations and acronyms
Use abbreviations that users are familiar with, and write out uncommon abbreviations. Only use an abbreviation that has already been established and never make up an abbreviation or acronym yourself to help keep consistency in your products. Make sure that your abbreviations are consistent, always abbreviate units of measurement, and, when referring to a product, default to how the company refers to it themselves.
Abbreviation | Usage |
|---|---|
CSS | Stands for Cascading Style Sheets. Write CSS in all caps. |
e.g., i.e., and etc. | Use sparingly. These terms aren’t easily understood by everyone, especially users whose native language is not rooted in Latin. Write out their meaning instead:
|
HTML | Stands for Hypertext Markup Language. Write HTML in all caps. |
JS | Stands for JavaScript. Write JS in all caps. |
K8 | Stands for Kubernetes. |
KVM | Refers to a kernel-based virtual machine. Write KVM in all caps. |
sysadmin | Avoid using abbreviations like sysadmin and SysAdmin because they’re too informal and not always easily understood. System should be singular (not Systems administrator) because it can include both a single system and multiple systems, similar to a brain surgeon, who works on more than one brain. Taken from Red Hat Corporate Style Guide. |
U.S. | As a noun, use United States unless there are space constraints. As an adjective, use U.S. (for example, U.S. soldier). As part of an organization, use U.S. Taken from Red Hat Corporate Style Guide. |
URL | Stands for Uniform Resource Locator. Write URL in all caps. |
VM | Refers to a virtual machine. OK to abbreviate as long as you've spelled it out once in the first occurrence and as long as VM won't be confused with other terms that share that acronym. Taken from Red Hat Corporate Style Guide. |
N/A | Refers to data not applicable, meaning there is no relevant, matching, or applicable data. For example, when a filter returns no results, when a data source is empty, or when no data source is connected. |
-- | Refers to data unavailable, meaning the data exists and fits the criteria, but is not currently available to display. For example, when a data source is connected, but data can't be fetched due to permission restrictions or errors. |
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