Last update Dec29/19W3C//Dtd html 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> Master Style Guide: Chapter 10

Chapter 10
Working with checklists

This chapter discusses the issues involved with checklists, including:

Creating checklists
Formatting checklists
Using checklists offline
Using interactive checklists

These are discussed in the following sections.

Creating checklists

Checklists are useful for providing a list of specific tasks to perform in a particular order. Similar to procedures, using the NumStep and NumStep+ paragraph styles as defined elsewhere in this book, checklists have the following attributes:

Be concise--Checklists should be short and concise. Do not explain why a task has to be performed or how to do the task; tasks should begin with action verbs such as "Reboot" or "Install" or "Change." If the user needs to know how to perform a task, the explanation belongs outside the checklist.
Two or more entries at every level--Following the "always two, never one" rule for bullet lists and headings, any one level of a checklist must contain at least two entries.
No more than three levels deep--Just as three levels of bullet (1, 2, and 3) and heading (2, 3, and 4) are generally allowed, checklists should have no more than three levels of elements. The completion of all child elements is required before the parent level's checkbox can be marked as complete.
Each element has a single box to check--In simple checklists, each element has a single box to check when the task is complete. In complex checklists, a single document may be used for performing the same tasks on several different systems or several different times; in these cases, having multiple aligned checkboxes, one per system or per time, is appropriate.

Formatting checklists

The format of the checklist depends on the publishing tool being used and the complexity of the checklist.

The suggested style rules for checklists are:

For simple checklists, use a square box, such as the Zapf Dingbats "o" character ("o") and an em space to the left of the task.
For complex checklists, consider using a table instead of individual paragraphs. An empty cell can be used in lieu of a checkbox. If the entire document is the checklist, the table would have no caption. If the checklist is only part of the document, the table should have a caption (like "Table 1 Checklist for whatever") and be listed in the list of tables (should one exist).
Indent each sublevel another 0.50 inches from the left of the preceding level.

If the entire document is a checklist, the top level can be aligned as if it was a normal paragraph (1 inch margin), which means level 2 would be at 0.50 inches and level 3 at 0.75 inches indented.

If the checklist is only part of the document, the top level of the checklist should be indented 0.50 inches like the Bullet 1 Para style, which means level 2 would be at 0.75 inches and level 3 at 1.00 inches indented.
Use the standard fonts, such as Times New Roman and Arial Black, for normal text and for headings (respectively) in the checklist, just as with normal technical documents.

The formatting for checklists that will be used offline (as hard-copy documentation) as opposed to online (via a web form) are different and are discussed in the following sections.

Using checklists offline

If the checklist is to be used offline, as hard-copy documentation, we recommend the following additional style rules:

Keep elements together--When possible, keep all children elements on the same page as their parent. When not possible, try to avoid widow/orphan issues (where only one element of the family is on one page and all the other elements are on a different page).
Use white space--You should use white space in the left margin (indents) as well as between the elements at the various levels (such as 12 points between level 1 elements, 10 points between level 2 elements, and 8 points between level 3 elements). Be consistent in your use of white space.

Using interactive checklists

Checklists can be interactive as well as static. Interactive checklists can be web forms or living documents.

Using checklists on the web

If the checklist is to be used on the web, we suggest using an html FORM and the INPUT TYPE="CHECKBOX" tag to generate the checkbox.

Web based checklists can be automated with JavaScript or Java to automatically mark a parent element as completed when all its children elements are themselves completed.

Using checklists through the publishing tool

Some people like to maintain a living document that acts as a checklist. One example is a Y2K readiness checklist, where each system had to have several specific tasks performed (upgrade the OS, upgrade the base application suite, upgrade the departmental application suite, and so on). A living document, which would have the most current status, was used. In this example, the checklist was a table and each cell was either the system name (in text) or the checkbox. Empty checkboxes were blank, completed checkboxes were "4" ("4" in Zapf Dingbats), and tasks that did not need to be completed (for example, the machine was being decommissioned) were marked "5" ("5" in Zapf Dingbats).

We do not recommend using "living document checklists" for customer deliverables.

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