Q. Does Chicago have any recommendations for capitalizing digital copy that will appear as part of a GUI display? I am working on a project that includes a series of steps—and subsequent error feedback—for setting up a digital camera. I am wondering if I should follow CMOS 8.159 (“Principles of headline-style capitalization”) or if there is something else that applies to digital media. Thanks!
A. Headline caps are good for labels (e.g., for icons or section heads); sentence caps are better for instructions or captions that are like sentences. If you can choose only one style, sentence caps are safe for most purposes, whereas headline caps are going to look weird for any text of more than a couple of words. Click Here looks fine; Make Sure All the Calibrations Were Correctly Entered—not so much.