Predefined entities

The Dialog Tag Language provides you with a set of predefined entities that you can use in your source files. You can use them when the symbol you want is not present on your keyboard, or conflicts with a conversion utility delimiter symbol.

You do not need to declare a predefined entity to use it. If you use the entity in your source file as you would an entity that you declare within your document subset, the conversion utility performs the substitution for you. You should always use the pre-defined entities for all symbols that are used as part of the tag language syntax.

The Dialog Tag Language predefined entities include:

&gtsym;: greater than (>)
&ltsym;: less than (<)
&colon;: colon (:)
&: ampersand (&)
&semi;: semicolon (;)
&period;: period (.)
&quote;: single quote (')
&dquote;: double quote (")
–: short dash (–)
¬: not symbol (¬)
&us;: underscore (_)
&or;: logical or (|)
&sll;: back slash (\)
&lbrk;: left bracket ([)
&rbrk;: right bracket (])
&lbrc;: left brace ({)
&rbrc;: right brace (})
−: minus sign (-)
+: plus sign (+)
&rbl;: required blank ( )
&tpl;: text placeholder ( )
&eqsym;: equal sign (=)
&rdb;: required SBCS blank in DBCS mode ( )
&percent;: percent sign (%)
&dot;: dot (.)
&cmdpmt: command prompt (= = = >)
&rptr: right pointer (-->)

Any of these predefined entities can be coded with a replication factor. For example, &gtsym(5); creates the string '>>>>>' in the substituted text.

Multicultural support text strings are also accessible as entities:

&more: More
&caution: CAUTION
&note: Note
&warning: Warning
&command: Command
&alpha: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
&scroll: Scroll
&option: Option
&horizdiv: |
&multihst: Enter "/" to select option
&multigui: Check box to select option
&release: Release
&maintlvl: Level:
&created: Created -
&datetext: Date:
&timetext: Time:
&notes: Notes
&attentn: Attention
&tutorial: Tutorial

Points to remember:

Some of the symbols defined in the preceding list do not display on some non-programmable terminals.
The &rbl; predefined entity creates one blank in the resulting panel text. To place three required blanks in a text string, for example, you should code &rbl;&rbl;&rbl; in your tag source file.
The &tpl; predefined entity uses a hex FF code to reserve a space in DTL formatted text. After formatting is completed, the hex FF character is replaced by a blank. As with any predefined entity, you can change this default to another value. The current value of &tpl; is used for post-formatting text replacement. Thus, if you prefer to use an @ as the reserved space character, define the entity in this way:
```
<! ENTITY TPL '@'>
```
If multiple reserved spaces are required, you could use these entity definitions to reserve 10 characters:
```
<! ENTITY TPL '@'>
<! ENTITY MYTPL '@@@@@@@@@@'>
```
To use your own entity name, first define TPL to override the system default character for text replacement. Second, add your entity definition, using the specified override character. When the &tpl; is changed, be careful to select a character that is not otherwise used in your panel.
The &rdb; predefined entity generates an SBCS blank when ISPDTLC is processing in DBCS mode, or a null character when processing in SBCS mode.
The &dot; predefined entity generates a dot (or period) character in the text. The number of spaces following the &dot; in the DTL source is maintained in the formatted panel.