I am currently designing a web application, and have got into a bit of an argument with the boss over the correct language to use on a search form.
Below is the form in question:
The options here will filter the results, so for example if nothing is selected from the Status dropdown, all jobs will be shown regardless of status, whereas if a status is selected, only jobs with that specific status will be displayed. A job may only have one status, and be assigned to one client.
The wording of the text for the default Client & Status texts are causing some confusion. At present they are set to "All Clients" and "All Statuses", however it is being argued that this should read "Any Client" or "Any Status".
Which would be the correct text to show in this situation, and what is the difference between "any" and "all"?
Best Answer
In your specific case, "all" is preferable, because it accurately describes the search-pool. "I want to search," the user thinks, "the list of all the clients." I do not think your menu should offer the option to search for "any candidate," since the search should return all the people matching the search criterion, not just some arbitrary one.
More generally, "any," "every," and "all" are sometimes interchangeable, but there are cases where they have different meanings. To illustrate this, they must be translated non-synonymously in some cases symbolic logic, revealing different English meanings. For instance, where “any” and “all” quantify over people:
Same meanings:
Different meanings:
Different meanings:
There is a pattern here. "All" and "any" can be used to express the same quantities when the scope of their quantification is a whole sentence. However, they have different meanings when they quantify over part of a sentence.