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.