What are good rules for naming menu items? [closed]

Question

I'm establishing some style guidance for naming items which are accessed from my application's menu bar.

What are the commonly accepted rules for naming menu items?

When should the names of the menu items begin with verbs? Adjectives? Nouns?

When should an ellipsis be required? (e.g, "Tools > Options...")

Answer 1

The standards cited by Paul Hibbitts on this page give some general naming guidelines and also explain how to use ellipsis (hint: “Tools > Options...” is wrong).

Here are some additional guidelines pulled together from various other sources.

Menu names should be short, clear, and concise to speed reading and recognition. Ideally, a name should be a single word. Each word must be “high value” providing the most information about what the menu item does and distinguishing the menu items from each other. This implies:

• Do not use sentences (e.g., use Copy, not I Want You to Copy this).

• Do not include articles (e.g., use Generate Network, not Generate the Network).

• Do not use etiquette (e.g., don’t use Please Generate Network).

• Do not include the implementation in the command (e.g., don’t use Network Generation Wizard).

• Generally use verbs for names, indicating the action the menu item commits or purpose it serves (e.g., Copy, Undo). Avoid names of entities or states (e.g., don’t use Copier, Reversion)

• When using verbs, word in active voice as a command from the user to the computer (e.g., Generate Network). Do not use passive voice (e.g., don’t use Network Generating). Do not word as a question to the user (e.g., don’t use Generate Your Network?).

• Use an adjective if the menu item changes the attribute of something, where the adjective is the attribute value the thing will assume (e.g., Bold, Italic). Do not include “empty” verbs that merely mean “change” (e.g., don’t use Make Bold and Set to Italic).

• Use a noun if the menu item navigates the user to a window of attributes or objects for review or modification, where the noun is the destination (e.g., Options, Inventory). Likewise use a noun for changes the view or perspective in the current window (e.g., Print Layout). Do not include empty verbs that merely mean “get this” (e.g., don’t use Open Options, Manage Inventory, Show in Print Layout).

• Nouns may also be used as the direct object in the grammatical sense of the pulldown or cascade menu name (e.g,. use Insert > Page Numbers, Format > Borders; not Insert > Add Page Numbers, Format > Set Borders).

BTW, these guidelines apply to names for all commands (e.g., for context menu items, side bar menus, command buttons, links), not just pulldown menu items.

Answer 2

I've found the published guidelines for various desktop platforms a good source of (broad) advice in these matters. Your mileage might vary of course!

Here is some related info from the Windows User Experience Guidelines.

Labels

Using ellipses

And also related info from the Apple Human Interface Guidelines.

Naming menu items

Answer 3

I think it's a application-by-application decision. It's good to have rules though.

The last menu rules I made were:

1. Creating an object was always: New [thing]
2. Always start with a verb in all other cases, delete [thing], upload [thing] etc
3. Always use an icon
4. Use separators to group things together.
5. Look for examples of the same kind of thing and try to be consistent
6. No ellipses in any cases
7. Indentation was used for a specific case of "Draft/Edit/Approve" menu objects
8. Don't use sub-menus in any cases

This isn't a general pattern. It worked in the case I had. Example:

Answer 4

Follow the UX Guidelines of the platform you are developing for. Monster List of UI guidelines