Capitalization of UI Elements
Follow these rules for capitalization in the user interface:
- For menu items, button labels, titles, tabs, datagrid column headers, use title capitalization.
- For all other text controls, including text boxes, drop-down menus, check boxes, radio buttons, tooltips, and tree views, use sentence capitalization.
- For a product name, use the capitalization as defined in the trademark, for example, vSphere Web Client.
- For capitalization of specific words, see the VMware Technical Publications Glossary.
- For object names, use the capitalization as determined by the user.
Examples
Tabs | |
Datagrids | ![]() |
Stack Editor Use sentence caps for controls and descriptions in the content area. | |
Dialogs Use sentence caps for controls (except buttons) in the content area. | |
Wizards Use sentence caps in the table of contents, the section header and description, and for controls (except buttons) in the content area. | |
Menu items |
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Tooltips Use sentence caps when describing a control. |
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Links | |
Navigator |
Title-Style Capitalization
Capitalize every word except the following:
- Articles ("a," "an," and "the")
- Coordinating conjunctions ("and," "but," "for," "nor," and "or")
- Prepositions of four or fewer letters ("with", "of," and "for")
- The word "to" in an infinitive phrase (for example, "How to Set Up Your Computer")
- Case-sensitive programming terms and object names (for example, "A fancy cluster")
- Always capitalize the first and last words, regardless of their parts of speech (for example, "The Text to Look For").
Sentence-Style Capitalization
- Always capitalize the first word of a new sentence. Proper nouns and capitalized object names maintain their usual capitalization. Rewrite sentences that start with a case-sensitive lowercase word, such as an object name.
- Do not capitalize the word following a colon unless the word is a proper noun, or the text following the colon or dash is a complete sentence.