[Sigia-l] loooooong buttons

[Fred Beecher]

Hi Samantha,

I know your message said specifically that you were looking for
research, but I'll blatantly ignore that and talk about my decidedly
non-scientific approach to this problem. : )

To the extent possible (and I will fight tooth and nail for this kind
of thing), buttons always need to be used for functionality. Buttons
make something happen. Links go to different pages. This has been a
reliable generalization for me.

Really really long buttons, though, I do think should be avoided. The
key to using buttons for functionality is that their labels should as
clearly and concisely as possible communicate the result of clicking
that button. If you can write the result in the form "Verb -> Object,"
that's a good indicator that a) you are being clear and concise, b) a
button is the way to go, and c) the function is simple enough that a
single button will suffice. If a button does something very
complicated, then maybe it would be best to break that functionality
up a little bit, like Skot suggested.

"Print Summary & Sources" seems very clear and concise to me, and I
bet it tests well with your particular audience.

Take care,
- Fred