Tenses

  • Use present tense or present progressive.

  • Avoid future tense.

Present tense

When describing the operation of a machine or a piece of software, use present tense.

When you describe two events that succeed each other, it is only normal to expect to move into the future tense. However, because computers and many modern electronics are so advanced, it is more fitting to stay in the present, which helps imply the instantaneous nature of their sequence.

A short delay

In cases of short delays, such as the 30 seconds it takes a program to install before you can use it, you should not let the gap move your tense to the future either. Stay in real time, but do let the user know that the next step proceeds after half a minute.

Future tense

In technical content, the future tense does not have the same immediacy as the present tense. Compare "When you connect the power cable, the device will boot up automatically," to "When you connect the power cable, the device boots up automatically." The future tense suggests a mild uncertainty as to how things unfold. This is not recommended in documentation.

Present progressive

When a future tense makes sense, try to construct the statement using the present progressive first. If it remains accurate, then going into the future tense may no longer be necessary.

Present perfect

Use present perfect for prerequisites and results.

Examples

  • Prerequisite: You have installed the software.

  • Result: You have added a user.