Hi please tell me which one is correct?
"when you click on this button a new window will open" or
"when you click on this button a new window will be opened"
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when you talk about things that are surely going to happen, use the present tense -"This train leaves in some time", "Slamming the door makes noise" and so, "When you click on this button, a new window opens up".– Maulik VJun 9, 2015 at 6:41
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@Maulik - I'd leave off the up in that sentence. When you click on this button, a new window opens. (The up isn't wrong, but it isn't needed, either.)– J.R. ♦Jun 9, 2015 at 8:41
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2 Answers
How about "this button opens a new window"? When writing instructions for software, it's important to keep things short, and to use simple cause and effect.
As far as the sentences you gave, they are equally correct. If you must use one, pick one, and make sure you use that form consistently throughout your writing.
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I like your suggestion. If the O.P. wanted to keep the "clicking" part in the sentence, that's done easily enough: Clicking on this button opens a new window. +1 for the remark at the end about all of these options being grammatically correct, and for emphasizing the importance of consistency.– J.R. ♦Jun 9, 2015 at 8:43
when you click on this button a new window will open
when you click on this button a new window will be opened
Both are correct.
...a new window will open is simpler. The word "window" is the subject, and "opens" is used intransitively.
...a new window will be opened (a passive construction) is more complicated since an unidentified agent opens the window.
The passive formulation brings another process into the scenario. This may very well be the case; there may be a controller receiving the click and acting upon it; but the end-user (if this sentence is aimed at the end-user?) does not typically need to know what is going on "behind the scenes".
