| title | author | ms.author | ms.date | ms.topic | ms.prod |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
What's new? - Microsoft Style Guide |
pallep |
pallep |
3/31/2020 |
article |
non-product-specific |
This table shows a history of recent updates to the Microsoft Writing Style Guide.
| Date | Article | Change |
|---|---|---|
| March 31, 2020 | Capitalization | Added guidance for hyphenated compound words |
| March 31, 2020 | Hyphens | Updated list of examples. |
| March 31, 2020 | Later | Updated list of examples. |
| March 31, 2020 | Multifactor authentication | Added guidance for multifactor authentication. |
| March 31, 2020 | Nouns and pronouns | Added guidance for they. |
| March 31, 2020 | Numbers | Updated guidance on comma usage. |
| March 31, 2020 | runs vs. runs on | Updated list of examples. |
| March 31, 2020 | Units of measure terms | Updated examples on Speed frequency. Also updated comma exceptions and examples. |
| September 21, 2019 | Mouse and mouse interaction term collection | Added guidance for scroll. |
| September 21, 2019 | Start button, Start menu | Updated the guideline for when to use bold formatting for Start. |
| September 21, 2019 | Describing interactions with UI | Deleted press and hold. Clarified that select and hold is the correct term to use to describe pressing and holding a UI element. Added examples. |
| September 18, 2019 | Numbers | Added guidelines for using K, M, and B as abbreviations for thousand, million, and billion. |
| September 17, 2019 | Microsoft | Added a guideline about when to include Microsoft in references to product names. |
| September 13, 2019 | Bias-free communication Nouns and pronouns |
Clarified and expanded the guidelines for gender-neutral writing. |
| August 16, 2019 | registry, registry settings | Updated the examples. |
| August 8, 2019 | author | Expanded this topic to say don't use author as a verb when you mean in general "to make something." Use a more precise verb. |
| August 8, 2019 | Code examples | Clarified the approach to creating code examples, including planning for and writing. (No change to the guidelines themselves.) |
| August 8, 2019 | Formatting developer text elements | Added updated examples and fixed some errors. |
| August 8, 2019 | Reference documentation | Updated contents. Updated and added more examples. |
| July 25, 2019 | Describing interactions with UI | Clarified the use of select and enter in describing user actions in instructions. Added examples. |
| June 27, 2019 | and so on, etc. | Clarified that these terms shouldn't be used. Added examples of alternative wording. |
| June 27, 2019 | sign in, sign out | Added sign into and log into to the list of terms that shouldn't be used. Updated the examples. |
| May 28, 2019 | "appears, displays" and "displays, appears" | Deleted these topics from the A–Z word list. Microsoft style no longer makes a recommendation for these terms. |
| May 28, 2019 | hard-code, hard-coded, hard-coding | Renamed the "hard-coded" topic so that the guideline applies to the additional word forms. |
| May 28, 2019 | passwordless | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
| May 6, 2019 | Global communications > Names and contact information | Added global considerations for content that addresses the customer by name, such as in email or the product UI. |
| April 4, 2019 | Date and time term collection | Added guidelines for abbreviating days of the week. Changed the guideline for month abbreviations to say don't use a period. |
| April 1, 2019 | mixed reality, mixed-reality | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
| April 1, 2019 | fail over, fail back, failover, failback | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
| April 1, 2019 | single sign-on (SSO) | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
| March 11, 2019 | Commas | Added guidelines for when to use a comma in a series of two or more adjectives that precede a noun. |
| February 28, 2019 | Computer and device term collection | Added guidelines for using desktop as a hardware term. Updated the guidelines for computer, PC, machine, and other device terms. |
| February 27, 2019 | blade | Clarified what the UI element called a blade is. Deleted the guideline to define blade on first mention. |
| February 22, 2019 | AI and bot term collection | Changed the name from "Bot term collection." Updated the guidelines for bot, chatbot, virtual agent, and AI. Added new guidelines for the terms intelligent/intelligence and Microsoft AI. |
| February 1, 2019 | Formatting developer text elements | Clarified the guideline for how to format UI text and updated the examples. |
| February 1, 2019 | Formatting common text elements | Clarified the guidelines for how to format error messages and UI text and how to refer to error messages in text. Updated the examples. |
| February 1, 2019 | Formatting text in instructions | Added guidelines for how to refer to palettes and toggles when they're referenced in instructions. |
| February 1, 2019 | toggle | Clarified the guideline for how to refer to toggle keys and switches. |
| February 1, 2019 | palette | Clarified the guideline for how to refer to palettes and updated the examples. |
| January 18, 2019 | Internet of Things (IoT) | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
| December 12, 2018 | Describing interactions with UI toggle |
Updated the guidance for using switch, turn on, and turn off when describing actions involving toggle switches and toggle keys. Added examples. |
| November 27, 2018 | Mouse and mouse interaction term collection | Updated the guideline to say that hover over is an acceptable alternative to point to and that hover is OK as an adjective. Added examples. |
| November 26, 2018 | drill down, drill up, drill through | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
| November 26, 2018 | avg | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
| November 8, 2018 | e.g. | Updated to say that for example, such as, and like are all OK to use instead of e.g. |
| November 7, 2018 | Formatting text in instructions | Changed the guideline for key names, combinations, and sequences to say don't put a space around the plus sign (+) in keyboard shortcuts. Also, use bold formatting for key names and keyboard shortcuts when they appear in instructions. |
| October 6, 2018 | Tables | Clarified that a table must have two or more rows and two or more columns. Otherwise, use a list. |
| October 4, 2018 | Mouse and mouse interaction term collection | Changed the guideline to say that mice is the preferred plural of mouse, not mouse devices. |
| September 11, 2018 | org, organization | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
| September 11, 2018 | company vs. organization | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |
| September 10, 2018 | e-sports | Added a topic to the A–Z word list. |