Recommended names for the different parts of the Positron interface?

[davidkane9]

What names does Posit plan on using for the different panes/panels/views/tabs of the Positron interface? And how does it plan to write them (ALL CAPITALS? Title case? et cetera)?

As an example, The RStudio docs specify that the four main areas of the interface are "panes" and that, within panes, we have "tabs." The docs also specify that the tabs, like "Console," are in title case.

What will be the equivalent terms/punctuations for Positron?

I ask because I am rewriting my tutorial.helpers package and I want my language to match the (eventual) Posit documentation.

[juliasilge]

Thank you so much for your interest in updating your package to show how to use Positron! 🙌

We have some initial documentation at https://positron.posit.co/, especially with relevant info for this at "Guides". You'll notice that some components have a different name than RStudio (like the Data Explorer) and some are the same as RStudio (like the Console). The layout for Positron is much more flexible than RStudio, so we won't be able to say something like "there are four main areas". We do inherit a fair number of UI components from VS Code, so their docs are also a good place to look for things, such as what the Activity Bar is or what the Command Palette is. We are following the VS Code style of capitalizing these components.

Do you have any other specific questions on components?

[davidkane9]

I am looking for guidance as to the language/capitalization that the Positron documentation will eventually use, so that I can start using it now. Consider an example sentence:

The Console Pane is located in the panel beneath the Welcome page.

My assumptions:

• It is "Console," not "CONSOLE" (as it appears in the interface) or "console."
• It is a "pane," not a "tab," as it is in RStudio.
• Pane is capitalized when it is used in conjunction with a specific pane, like the Console or the Terminal.
• "Panel" is the name of a group of panes.

I derive the first three rules on from the fact that the Posit documentation has sentences like "The Connections Pane allows you to explore database connections created ..."

I also guess that a group of panes --- like Console, Terminal, Problems, et cetera --- is referred to as a "panel," as opposed to a "pane," as it is in RStudio. My reason for this guess is that VS Code seems to use this terminology, but I am no expert.

Are my assumptions correct?

[juliasilge]

Ah OK, I would recommend:

The Console is located in the Panel beneath the Welcome page.

These major areas are called:

• Activity Bar (green)
• Primary Side Bar (black)
• Editor (pink)
• Panel (yellow)
• Secondary Side Bar (orange)

Components can move around with a lot of flexibility; for example, the Console can be in the Panel or the Secondary Side Bar.

Let me know if you have other questions! We do use the VS Code naming conventions and that's definitely a good place to start.

[davidkane9]

Thanks! This is very useful.