State Fair food on a stick... and on your screen?

State Fair food on a stick... and on your screen?

With the State Fair right around the corner, food on a stick is on our minds, so it only seems right to highlight the everyday screen controls that are named after delicious snacks! If you have ever typed "click the three dots" in a guide or workshop handout and wondered what those buttons are actually called, today's Quick Bytes post is for you. Or maybe someone has told you to "click the hamburger" and you didn't know what to look for. Knowing the names of the buttons will make your step-by-step instructions clearer, more accessible and easier for participants to follow. 

The everyday tech "Food Menu"

The Kebab Menu (three vertical dots) [⋮]

It looks like a stacked skewer of meat and you will see it throughout Google workspace. You will see this throughout Google Workspace including your Gemini chat sidebar, Google Drive files, Chrome and Gmail messages. Screen readers often announce it as More Actions or More Options. 

The Meatball Menu (three horizontal dots) [...]

Picture three meatballs side-by-side on a plate. The meatball menu should be familiar because you will see it in almost every app we use.

The Waffle Menu (3x3 grid) [⁝⁝⁝]

Resembling a waffle grid, this button sits in the top-right corner of your Google account. Clicking on the waffle opens a menu of shortcut icons for different apps. 

• Tip: Click the pencil icon in the waffle, then click and drag the app icons to rearrange them, placing your most frequently used apps at the top.

The Hamburger menu (three stacked horizontal bars) [≡]

The three bold lines can remind you of the two buns and patty of a hamburger. It is usually used for a collapsible navigation menu, so you will find it in the top corner of mobile websites, or Google Calendar or Gmail to open and close the main navigation panel.

Using clear icon terminology will keep your instructions clear, accessible and easy to digest. If only our computer screens served actual mini donuts 😋!! 

Article by Karen Matthes, Extension Learning Technologies, klm@umn.edu