When writing instructions, is it OK to leave “and” out of a quick chain of commands?

Question

I'm editing a series of instructions, and I keep stumbling over this issue of whether using "and" in a chain of similar commands is necessary.

From the Start menu, select All Programs, then Quicktime Player.

Is that line fine as is? Or should I add "and"? Maybe take out the comma too?

Select All Programs, and then Quicktime Player. Select All Programs and then Quicktime Player.

Answer 1

Grammatically, I think it's wrong, but I feel your pain... In a list of instructions, I always allow readability to trump grammatical perfection. One of my personal favorites is to also do this:

Start menu -> All Programs -> Quicktime Player

Answer 2

Because you are denoting things in sequence, rather than a group of events, I think you have written it best in the first example. The alternative examples seem almost to change the meaning or cry out for their missing verb in the second clause.

If you felt it necessary, you might write "From the Start menu, select All Programs, then select Quicktime Player." This might be more clear. (Note the lack of "and.")