Content Pattern: Node Descriptions

Node descriptions briefly describe a node’s function and output. In Dynamo, they appear in two places:

• In the node tooltip
• In the documentation browser

Follow these guidelines to ensure consistency and help save time when writing or updating node descriptions.

Overview

Descriptions should be one to two sentences. If more info is needed, include it under In Depth in the Documentation Browser.

Sentence case (capitalize the first word of a sentence and any proper nouns). No period at the end.

Language should be as clear and simple as possible. Define acronyms at first mention unless they are known even to non-expert users.

Always prioritize clarity, even if that means deviating from these guidelines.

Guidelines

Do's	Don'ts
Start the description with a third-person verb. Example: Determines if one geometry object intersects with another	Don't start with a second-person verb or with any noun. Example: Determine if one geometry object intersects with another
Use "Returns," "Creates," or another descriptive verb instead of "Gets." Example: Returns a Nurbs representation of a surface	Don't use "Get" or "Gets." It's less specific and has several possible translations. Example: Gets a Nurbs representation of the surface
When referring to inputs, use "given" or "input" instead of "specified" or any other terms. Omit "given" or "input" when possible to simplify the description and reduce word count. Example: Deletes the given file Example: Projects a curve along the given projection direction onto given base geometry You may use "specified" when not directly referring to an input. Example: Writes text content to a file specified by the given path	When referring to inputs, to ensure consistency, don't use "specified" or any other term except "given" or "input." Don't mix "given" and "input" in the same description unless needed for clarity. Example: Deletes the specified file Example: Projects an input curve along a given projection direction onto a specified base geometry
Use "a" or "an" when first referring to an input. Use "the given" or "the input" instead of "a" or "an" as needed for clarity. Example: Sweeps a curve along the path curve	Don't use "this" when first referring to an input. Example: Sweeps this surve along the path curve
When first referring to an output or other noun that's the target of the node operation, use "a" or "an." Only use "the" when pairing it with "input" or "given." Example: Copies a file Example: Copies the given file	When first referring to an output or other noun that's the target of the node operation, don't use "the" on its own. Example: Copies the file
Capitalize the first word of a sentence and any proper nouns such as names and traditionally capitalized nouns. Example: Returns the intersection of two BoundingBoxes	Don't capitalize common geometry objects and concepts unless needed for clarity. Example: Scales non-uniformly around the given Plane
Capitalize Boolean. Capitalize True and False when referring to the output of Booleans. Example: Returns True if the two values are different Example: Converts a string to all uppercase or all lowercase characters based on a Boolean parameter	Don't lowercase Boolean. Don't lowercase True and False when referring to the output of Booleans. Example: Returns true if the two values are different Example: Converts a string to all uppercase characters or all lowercase characters based on a boolean parameter