Tag text

The content or text of a tag is coded immediately following the start tag. This is the actual text that is subject to formatting and translation. The text is processed according to the type of tag it follows.

For example, the text following this P (paragraph) tag is the actual text that appears in the panel after formatting:

<p>The copy command allows you to copy single or multiple forms.

Because the tag text is processed according to the tag characteristics, not the way it is written in the source file, the paragraph could also be marked up using more than one line, like this:

<p>
The copy command allows you to
copy single or multiple forms.

The formatted result is the same in either case.

In most cases, there is no limit to the amount of text you can code. However, keep in mind that the text of some tags, such as the title of a PANEL tag, should be limited because of size constraints of the panel they are coded within. Tag reference describes text length restrictions (if they exist) for each of the tags.

In most cases, multiple lines of text are concatenated. Concatenation, leading blanks, and trailing blanks are processed in this way:

Leading and trailing blanks between lines of text are not preserved. Instead, they are compressed to a single blank when the lines are concatenated.
The first line of tag text may start on the same line as the start tag, or on the next line. The formatted result is the same.

The text of some tags, such as the FIG, LINES, and XMP tag, allow you to control where lines break. That is, within the range of the tag, each output line is ended at the same point that you ended the input line. With these tags, multiple lines are not concatenated, and all blanks are preserved.