:dl. (Definition List)

Identifies a list of terms and definitions.

Syntax

┌─────────────┬───────────────────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┐
│Tag          │Element                    │Attributes     │End            │
├─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────┤
│:dl.         │Definition list            │compact        │:edl.          │
│             │                           │tsize=         │               │
│             │                           │break=         │               │
├─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────┤
│:dthd.       │Definition-term heading    │               │               │
├─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────┤
│:ddhd.       │Definition-description     │               │               │
│             │heading                    │               │               │
├─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────┤
│:dt.         │Definition term            │               │               │
├─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────┤
│:dd.         │Definition description     │               │               │
└─────────────┴───────────────────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┘

Attributes

compact

Causes the list to be formatted without a blank line between each term and description. If you omit this attribute, a blank line is inserted.
tsize=10 | n
Defines the amount of space to allot for the terms and term headings. The default is 10 character units. If the value of tsize= exceeds the current size of the formatting area (the space between the current margins), the current formatting area size is assigned, and a warning message is issued.
break=none | fit | all
Controls the formatting of the terms and descriptions:

none

The description is on the same line as the term. If the length of the term exceeds the value specified by tsize=, the term extends into the description column, and the description starts one space after the term.
fit
The description is placed on the line below the term if the term is longer than the value specified by tsize=.
all
All descriptions are placed on the line below the term.

Conditions

• The term-heading tag (:dthd.) is paired with the description-heading tag (:ddhd.) and precedes the term and description tags (:dt. and :dd.).

• The term tag requires a description tag.

Example

:dl compact tsize=20.:dthd.:hp2.Mammal:ehp2.
:ddhd.:hp2.Description:ehp2.
:dt.Florida Panther
:dd.Relative of the mountain lion or puma.
:dt.Key Deer
:dd.&odq.Toy&cdq. member of the whitetail deer family.
:dt.Manatee
:dd.Gentle giant sea cow.
:edl.

Output

Mammal

Description
Florida Panther
Relative of the mountain lion or puma.
Key Deer
"Toy" member of the whitetail deer family.
Manatee
Gentle giant sea cow.

---

[Back: :ddf. (Dynamic Data Formatting)]
[Next: :docprof. (Document Profile)]