Can, Could, May, Might, Must, Should

Avoid the modal verbs could, may, might, and should in technical documentation. Modal verbs are ambiguous and leave the reader wondering what to do.

• Can means the ability to do something. Avoid could.
• May means permission to do something. Avoid may. We rarely indicate permission to do something in the documentation. Use can for the ability to do something.
• Might means it’s possible to do something. Avoid might and use an imperative instead. For example, instead of saying ���You might consider XYZ” use “Consider XYZ”.
• Must means it’s necessary to do something. Avoid should. Use must for necessity or rephrase as “Salesforce recommends...” to tell a customer to do something.