Use the second person almost exclusively. Use the pronoun you to address your readers directly and use the active voice.
Preferred |
Discouraged |
If Pass 2 is successful, you must change the switch settings. |
If Pass 2 is successful, the user must change the switch settings. |
The configure program stops unless you select the Remove option. |
The configure program stops unless the user selects the Remove option. |
You must not edit or alter this file. |
A customer must not edit or alter this file. |
