Writing & StyleStyle guide

Formatting Palette Names in Instructions

Formatting Palette Names in Instructions records a distinct Microsoft Style Guide authoring convention and keeps it scoped to technical instructions rather than presenting it as a universal grammar rule.

Quick answer

When a palette must be named in Microsoft-style instructions, bold the palette name and normally use sentence-style capitalization unless matching the UI requires otherwise.

Key details

Core Issueformatting palette names in instructions
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Important caveats

Scope Boundary

Avoid unnecessary discussion of the palette as a container when the user action alone is sufficient.

Further guidance

Content

When a palette must be named in Microsoft-style instructions, bold the palette name and normally use sentence-style capitalization unless matching the UI requires otherwise.

Purpose

Make necessary palette references recognizable while keeping the instruction action-first.

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

  1. Formatting text in instructions — Microsoft Style Guide (opens in a new tab)Microsoft · Current Microsoft technical-style conventions for formatting UI references, user input, commands, code-related elements, and other text in instructions.

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