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A-Z Glossary

This document offers recommendations for the terms and language to use in a DHIS2 app. The guidelines below aren't strict rules, but recommendations to keep consistency across similar themes and concepts. Always strive to use terminology users are familiar with.

This document also outlines some DHIS2-specific terms that should be used with care. Using these terms inconsistently creates a confusing user experience.

& ⛔​

  • Avoid. Use the full word and instead.
  • ✅ Recommended: Patients and records.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Patients & records.

Access ⚠️​

  • OK to use when referring to permission to access an object.

  • Don't use as a verb. Use a clearer, more action specific term like open, edit, or view.

  • ✅ Recommended: You don't have access to this object.

  • ✅ Recommended: Open the visualization.

  • ❌ Not recommended: Access the visualization.

Add ✔️​

  • Use when the action will perform an additive action, like adding an existing item to a group.
  • Don't use at the end of a form, where it might be misunderstood as adding something to the form. Use create or save instead.
  • Create can be used if the action isn't strictly additive, like making a new dashboard that's a collection of other items. Add works, but create may be clearer.

App ✔️​

  • Use instead of application in most situations.
  • Use application in technical situations.
  • Where possible, be specific and refer to the app name instead (without app).
  • ✅ Recommended: Open Data Visualizer to make charts and tables.

Box ⚠️​

  • OK to use to refer to a specific control, but use the label name instead.
  • Always prefix with the label name.
  • ✅ Recommended: Enter your username in the username box.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Enter your username in the box.

Cancel ✔️​

  • Use as an action word that signals abandoning the current action without applying or saving changes.

Clear ⚠️​

  • Use when all values will be removed from the current selection, for example when clearing filters or clearing all choices.
  • Don't use when permanently deleting items, use remove or delete instead.

Copy ✔️​

  • Use copy instead of duplicate.
  • Combine with the item name for clarity. Copy Antenatal care program, for example.
  • Use the action phrase make a copy where a new item is created.

Config ⛔​

  • Avoid. Where necessary, use the full word, configuration, instead, but only in technical settings.
  • Use settings or setup instead.

Create ✔️​

  • Use when an action will finish an additive action, like the end of a New item form.
  • Related: add and new.

Delete ✔️​

  • Use when an item will be destroyed.
  • Use remove if an item will only be removed from the current context, but still exist elsewhere.

Display ⛔​

  • Avoid. Show is a clearer action term.
  • ✅ Recommended: Show legend key.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Display legend key.

Documentation ✔️​

  • Use the full word, documentation. Avoid docs.
  • ✅ Recommended: Check out the metadata documentation for more information.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Check out the metadata docs for more information.

Download ✔️​

  • Use where data isn't being manipulated before download.
  • Export may be clearer if the data will be manipulated or processed before download.

Drag ✔️​

  • Use drag instead of drag and drop if possible.
  • ✅ Recommended: Drag the dimension chip to the layout area.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Drag and drop the dimension chip to the layout area.

Dropdown ⛔​

  • Avoid. If referring to a set of options opening from a control, use menu instead. Consider removing the term completely. ✅ Recommended (best): Choose a program from the available sectors.
  • ✅ Recommended: Choose a program from the available sectors menu.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Choose a program from the available sectors dropdown.

E.g. ⛔​

  • Avoid. Use for example or such as instead.
  • If giving an example in a form input placeholder text, use Example: ….
  • ✅ Recommended: Give programs clear names, such as Malaria Registration.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Give programs clear names, e.g. Malaria Registration.

Edit ✔️​

  • Use when referring to an item, like Edit program.
  • If referring to a single change on a value, use change. Change username, for example, is clear. For the whole user profile, edit profile would be clear.

Emoji ✔️​

  • Use emoji for image-based icons.
  • Use emoticon for text-based icons, like :) and :(. Note that these emoticons may be converted to images.

Enable ⚠️​

  • OK if used consistently in an app, though turn on can be simpler.

Enter ✔️​

  • Use to refer to user input in form controls.
  • Use instead of write or add.
  • ✅ Recommended: Enter the organization name.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Write the organization name.

Etc. ⛔​

  • Avoid. Give several representative examples instead.
  • ✅ Recommended: Import metadata here, such as events, attributes, or programs.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Import metadata here, such as events, etc.

Execute ⛔​

  • Avoid. Run is clearer.
  • ✅ Recommended: Run the following commands to import data.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Execute the following commands to import data.

Fill in / Fill out ✔️​

  • Use fill in for single form inputs (or enter, for text inputs). _ Use _fill out_ for an entire form. Don't use complete to refer to a form.

Filter ✔️​

  • Use when applying a filtering criteria to an existing collection of items or data.
  • Only use filter when attributes are used, like program type or first name.
  • Use search if free text is the only filter applied across multiple attributes.
  • For search box placeholder text, Search for a data item is usually clearer than Filter data items.

Impact ⛔​

  • Avoid. Use affects, or be more specific and describe what will happen.
  • ✅ Recommended (best): Large files can take a long time to upload.
  • ✅ Recommended (OK): Large files can affect loading times.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Large files can impact loading times.

Import ✔️​

  • Use to refer to the data import process.
  • For uploading a file, use upload. For example, to import location data the user needs to upload a GeoJSON file.

In order to ⛔​

  • Avoid. The clearer and shorter to will usually work alone.
  • ✅ Recommended: Use the importer to add data from other instances.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Use the importer in order to add data from other instances.

Install ✔️​

  • Use to refer to installing applications.

Launch ⛔​

  • Avoid. Use start or open instead.
  • ✅ Recommended: Start program import wizard.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Launch program import wizard.
  • ✅ Recommended: Open Capture to add records.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Launch Capture to add records.

Learn more ✔️​

  • Use to link to contextual help or documentation.
  • Combine with the context. A link may read Learn more about user permissions, for example.

Log in / Log out ✔️​

  • Use as an action, instead of sign in or sign out.

New ✔️​

  • Use as an action label that proceeds the item it will create.
  • Only use if the item didn't exist before. If moving or adding an existing item to a group, use add.
  • Don't use at the end of forms, use create as the final action.

Once ⚠️​

  • Only use to refer to a count, not a sequential event. Use after to refer to sequential events.
  • ✅ Recommended: Add data after setting up a group.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Add data once you set up a group.

Refresh ✔️​

  • Use instead of reload in most cases.

Remove ✔️​

  • Use when an item will be removed from a context, but not deleted.

Required ✔️​

  • Use instead of mandatory or compulsory.

Reset ✔️​

  • Use for an action that will return something to its earlier value(s). Reset user permissions, for example.
  • If there is a default value, Reset to default can be used.

Run ✔️​

  • Start a process. Use instead of execute or initialize.

Save ✔️​

  • Save changes to the current context.

Save as ✔️​

  • Save the current context, including changes, as a new object.

Search ✔️​

  • Use to refer to searching a collection of data with a user input, not when setting attributes to filter by.

Select ⚠️​

  • Avoid unless explicitly selecting items. If instructing a user to make a selection, use choose instead.
  • Can be used when referring to data items in a select/deselect situation, like data table rows. In that case, a use can Select rows, Select all, or Deselect all.

Show ✔️​

  • Use as an action term instead of display.

Specify ⛔​

  • Avoid. Use set instead.
  • ✅ Recommended: Set the refresh interval to match the network speed.
  • ❌ Not recommended: Specific the refresh interval to match the network speed.

Text box ⛔​

  • Avoid. Use box instead, or refer to the control label.

This / that ⚠️​

  • Avoid unless the reference is clear. These terms can be ambiguous. Use the noun instead.
  • ✅ Recommended: The import settings are used to set the import rules.
  • ❌ Not recommended: This is used to set the import rules.

Update ✔️​

  • Use when applying changes to an object.

View details ✔️​

  • Use for an action label for a control that shows more information about an object. Use instead of show details or details.

DHIS2-specific glossary​

These terms are used, or have been used, extensively across DHIS2. Use them with caution and avoid using these terms for new or different use cases. The full DHIS2 glossary can be found here.

Approve​

  • Used extensively across Data Approvals app. Using approve in other contexts may not be clear.
  • Avoid using unless the task relates to the DHIS2 data approving workflow.

Category​

  • An object in the DHIS2 data model. Avoid using for other purposes.
  • Use group or grouping instead.

Complete​

  • Used in Data Entry and Tracker contexts to signal completion status.
  • Avoid using, unless the action is related to the data completion model. Use fill out instead when referring to forms.

Favorite​

  • Previously, used across analytics apps to refer to user saved charts, tables and maps. Replaced by saved visualization.
  • Avoid using favorite for any new concepts. Some references to favorite may remain.

Indicator​

  • An object in the DHIS2 data model. Avoid using for other purposes.
  • Use sign or signal instead.