Exceptions to Microsoft Writing Style Guide
The Microsoft Writing Style Guide defines the style guidelines for technical writing at Pega. However, remember about some exceptions to those guidelines.
Apply the following guidelines despite their contradiction with the Microsoft Manual of Style:
- Do not use contractions.
- Do not use em dashes.
- Do not end sentences or clauses with prepositions.
- Do not use the first-person plural (
we
). - Do not use the phrase
we recommend
; instead, state the benefit of doing something in a certain way.For example:
To improve performance, turn off all background applications.
- To indicate that users enter text into a field, use
enter
instead oftype.
- Do not add any styling or DITA elements to mentions of keyboard keys.
deprecated
is acceptable in all types of text, whileobsolete
should always be avoided.- block list, blocked list, and variations on this term in the sense of
allowed
andnot allowed
are all to be avoided. Toblock
in a general sense is still acceptable. - Do not write
the following:
without also adding a noun.
- User interface element reference
When referring to specific user interface elements, remember to follow the established guidelines so that your content is correct, consistent with our writing standards, and easy to follow.
- Additional style guidelines
To create consistent documentation of good quality, ensure that you
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