At the top of the Prototype page is one example of an uplink.

Approved Uplink Patterns

Every page on the website needs an uplink. This page lists out all approved uplink patterns. The patterns are very specific, including commas and periods. The numbers are just for our reference during communication.

1. In the Main Menu, click Setup, Advanced Setup, This Page.
This is the most common pattern. Each item should show exactly as the user would see it in the Main Menu. So the "parent page" is considered to be Main Menu.

2. In the Chart Module, click the Missing Teeth tab.
The specific click is referenced as a location within the window of the parent page.

3. In the Main Toolbar, click WebMail.
Notice that WebMail shows as one word because that's exactly how the label shows on the Toolbar button.

4. The Images Module is a place where...
This pattern is only approved for the seven main Modules. It allows combining an uplink with an intro sentence. The wording does not have to exactly match this example, but is still limited to one sentence.

5. In an Insurance Plan, at the upper left, click Drop.
This pattern shows the inclusion of "at the upper left" as an optional location clause. Make sure to use commas for clauses. The wording of this optional clause can vary. For example, it might be "below the calendar", "in the toolbar", or "at the upper left corner". The point is that an additional clause is allowed which tells the reader where to look. This is only done for UI controls which do not have an obvious typical location. It is helpful on large complex pages. This clause can be combined with any other pattern. Make sure there's a comma before and after every single clause. Notice the three commas in the pattern below.

6. In the Appointments Module, on the right, under the calendar, is the Pinboard area.
Instead of telling the reader to click on something, this instead tells the reader where to look on a complicated page. As in the example, this pattern almost always includes a location clause. This pattern is used for subpages of complex pages, where the screenshot is just a cropped section of a larger window.

7. In the Providers list, click Add, or double-click an existing provider to edit.
By including "Add" and "or double-click", you are providing a kind of alternate uplink in the same sentence. But this only works in the limited situation where both actions would be from the same parent window, so it's still a single uplink. Including "to edit" is required, but may have been missed in some pages already approved. Make sure there's a comma before "or".

8. In the Imaging Module, select an image on a mount. In the toolbar, click Size.
This shows how to avoid "then" and "and". When you can't make it one clean sentence because of the number of instructions, then create a second short sentence.

9. In Carriers, on the right side, is a Combine button.
In this case, the main image for the manual page is going to be the parent page with multiple rows selected. The actual screenshot of the Combine Carriers page will be further down the page after all the instructions for selecting items in the grid, etc.

Alternate Uplinks

Some pages have multiple uplinks, with each uplink being a valid way to click to get to the window. Pick the primary uplink, which will link to the true parent, and use it. Put all subsequent alternate uplinks after the screenshot, along with whatever commentary is needed. Format each alternate uplink properly.

Multiple Ancestors

Some uplinks have only one parent, but it might make sense for the uplink to also show a link to another higher ancestor. This is the "Multiple Ancestors" pattern, but it has been overused.

Here's a standard uplink:
M1. In the Clinic List, click Add, or double-click on an existing Clinic to edit.
And here's a multiple ancestors version of the same uplink that's now discouraged.
M2. In the Main Menu, click Lists, Clinics. Click Add, or double-click on an existing Clinic to edit.
The reason this is now discouraged is because it's overy complex. It's simpler for the reader to just have one uplink.

But in some specific areas of the manual, the multiple ancestors pattern is still the preferred pattern. It's only approved for the specific areas below:

M3. In the Main Menu, click Setup, Program Links. Double-click on XDR.

M4. In the Main Menu, click eServices, Web Sched.

M5. In the Main Menu, click Reports, Standard. In the Daily section, click Adjustments.

M6. In the Payment window, in the Credit Card Payment area, click XCharge.
This pattern shows that multiple ancestors is allowed in any situation where the parent is just an area of a larger window. The reader needs to know how to get to that larger window, so include both links.

M7. This pattern is allowed only for Canada pages. It will typically have 3 links.
For Canada users, in the Procedure Codes window, click Tools.

uicontrol

uicontrol tags are allowed in any of the above patterns. For example, this is an acceptable variation of pattern #M5:

In the Main Menu, click Reports, Standard. In the Daily section, click Adjustments.

Technical Pages

Some pages have absolutely no UI screenshot. This includes many pages in the technical section, such as Versions pages. These uplink patterns are only approved in these sorts of pages, and never in normal pages with a screenshot. Even if one of these uplink patterns is used, the page still cannot be marked as "done" for the Standard Pattern review. It should instead be marked n/a. Jordan will review those and initial so that they looks like n/a js.

T1. See Parent page.
This is the simplest pattern, but can usually be improved if user was supposed to click on something.

T2. The Topaz HID USB (HSB) signature pad is our recommended Topaz model for simple Electronic Signatures pad integration.
This combines an uplink with an introductory sententence.

Watch out For

Watch out for these errors:

• "then" is not part of any pattern.
• "and" is not part of any pattern.
• If you see "and" or "then", you probably need a period instead.
• Use commas around both sides of each clause.
• Clauses don't come last; they tell the reader where to look before the instruction to click.
• Most uplinks are in active voice. You are telling reader what to do.
• Don't remove links to make a page match the patterns. Move links below the screenshot, instead.
• Like this: "an" Insurance Plan, "the" Main Toolbar, "the" Insurance Plan window (window not part of link).

Patterns Proposed

List any proposed patterns here, along with your name. Try to list an example of a page for context. Or send me an email.

Uplink Quality

A quality uplink should be:

• Exactly like one of the approved patterns.
• First on the page, except for optional intro sentence.
• No other sentence directly after it in the same paragraph.