Salesforce Style Guide for Documentation and User Interface Text
jVoice
Use active voice whenever possible. Be careful not to change the meaning of a sentence when rewording from passive to active voice.
Passive voice can be appropriate in some cases. For example,
- When active voice creates an awkward construction
- The subject is unknown or not the focus of the sentence
- You want to avoid blaming the user
- To convey an impersonal tone for a technical audience
Here are some strategies and examples for changing passive voice to active voice.
| Strategy | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Identify the real subject and switch from passive to active voice. | Passive Voice | Active Voice |
| The data is entered by the user. | The user enters the data. | |
|
When you create an action, its layout is populated with a default set of fields. |
When you create an action, Salesforce populates its layout with a default set of fields. | |
| Replace the passive voice with the imperative. | If you want to place a frame script on a tween layer, it must be created on another layer and dragged to the tween layer as well. | To place frame scripts on a tween layer, create them on another layer and drag them to the tween layer. |
| Is a technology the subject of the sentence? Sometimes the active voice is awkward, and the passive voice is better. | The variable is passed in the URL. Convert a field’s type from one that’s supported for actions to one that isn’t supported. | |