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jgpaiva:
Actually, the ellipses make a lot of sense. They represent the undo-point. If the menu you're opening has ellipses, you know that you'll have a way to get back with that action and don't have to decide now if you want to do it (thus you can get more information about the action before deciding to run it).
If the ellipses weren't on the "shut down..." button, people would think that that button would shut the computer down right away and not press it, and then they wouldn't be able to find the "restart" button, which is inside that menu. (this refers to someone who doesn't know the system, of course)

lanux128:
it's a UI design convention - resistance is futile.. [repeat to fade] :)

An ellipsis (...) at the end of a menu item indicates that an application needs additional user input to execute the item's command. An ellipsis indicates that the application will display a dialog box before executing the command. However, not all menu items that open additional windows should have an ellipsis. For example, the About item in a Help menu should not end in an ellipsis.-http://java.sun.com/products/jlf/at/book/Menus2.html
--- End quote ---

btw, couldn't find a Microsoft source..

Deof Movestofca:
If the ellipses weren't on the "shut down..." button, people would think that that button would shut the computer down right away and not press it, and then they wouldn't be able to find the "restart" button, which is inside that menu. (this refers to someone who doesn't know the system, of course)-jgpaiva (December 20, 2007, 10:41 AM)
--- End quote ---
While this makes some sense, one would think that anyone who would know the system well enough to know what the ellipses were for would have already figured out that there was a "Restart" option on the "Shutdown..." dialog and how to use it.  On top of that, it seems that such information isn't common, public knowledge (I certainly didn't know about it until now) considering that lanux128 couldn't find a MS source for the rationale and had to use one from Sun that I doubt many non-programmers have read.  So unless I'm misunderstanding something, they added a "feature" (for lack of a better word) to help people who didn't know enough about the system, but then refrained from telling those people who the feature was supposed to help that it was there.  I hope this doesn't sound like I'm faulting your explanation (which I thought you did quite well, btw), rather I don't fully comprehend the logic behind the rationale for adding such a poorly documented "feature".  I suppose it's one of those "it seemed to be a good idea at the time" and "well, that's the way we've always done it, so why change?" things.

Anyway, getting back to the original intention of this post, if there's anyone who knows, or is willing to figure out, how to remove them, I would be grateful if he or she would share such knowledge with me.  I'm fully willing to take full responsibility for any consequences that arise from my use of such information.;)

Lashiec:
First result on Google. And they said Microsoft didn't have a set of UI guidelines like Apple...

I think it's a great idea, even if you're a seasoned user or programmer, once you get a new program, and you start testing it, it's reassuring to know what actions mean another step (thus giving you the option to go back) and which ones are not.

f0dder:
I like the ellipses, just like I like the Alt+Letter underlines. They both serve a purpose, and I can't understand people who find them un-aesthetic.

If you want to remove the ellipsis, you'll end up modifying at least a bunch of .exe resources, and for some apps you'd have to touch regular data and even code as well, since menu items can be constructed dynamically. Good luck ;)

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