Dispatch tags are presented in the following format:
<dpHeadline
default="default text"
style="lower|upper|title|spaced|roman|decimal|identifier|
noHtml|noHtmlStyle|scriptEncode|uriEncode"
link="on|off"
start="#p|#s|#w|#c|begin|end|resume"
stop="#p|#s|#w|#c|begin|end|resume"
length="#p|#s|#w|#c|begin|end"
>
The above syntax format should be read as follows:
- The tag is <dpHeadline>.
- All of the tag's possible tag attributes and all of their possible values are listed.
- Attribute values are separated by a pipe character "|" for readability only.
The pipe character is not intended to be used in coding and
should not be used. If you wanted to code
a headline tag that was uppercase and spaced, you would code it like this:
Right: <dpHeadline style="upper" style="spaced">
Wrong: <dpHeadline style="upper|spaced">
- Attributes can be used multiple times as in the above example, and
you can use as many or as few attributes as you want.
- Default values are in bold. If their isn't a default value, it is assumed that the attribute is equal to "" (no effect). It would be correct to say that <dpHeadline> is the same as <dpHeadline default="" style="" link="off" start="begin" stop="end" length="">
For comparison reference. The HTML <img> tag would be documented like this.
Only a portion of the attributes are being used for this example.
<img
src = "URL"
align = "left|right|top|middle|bottom"
alt = "default text"
width = "#"
height = "#"
>
Usually after the syntax of a tag is listed, its unique attributes are then defined. Frequently you will see a comment that says: "Please refer to the common attributes page for common attribute descriptions." The common attributes have been combined to a separate page to conserve space throughout the reference guide. To read about these attributes, follow the link as suggested.
D I S P A T C H T A G S Y N T A X R U L E S
Dispatch tags have similar syntax rules to HTML. If you can do it with HTML, you can probably do it with Dispatch tags.
Rules similar to HTML
- Dispatch tags must be enclosed within less than < and greater than >
signs.
- Dispatch tags are NOT case sensitive. You may mix the case however you
want. All of our examples use a style of case we prefer, but you may develop
your own style as well.
- White space and carriage returns don't matter. You can develop whatever
style you wish, lots of white space or very little.
- Attributes to a tag should be quote encapsulated. For example:
<dpHeadline case="lower"> as opposed to <dpHeadline case=lower>. You
can break this rule, but we recommend using quotes on all of your
attributes. You may also use 'single quotes' as well as "double quotes", as long as they are symmetrical.
- Dispatch tags may be combined with any HTML and can be used exactly like an HTML tag. For example, you can wrap bold tags around a headline: <b><dpHeadline></b>
Additional Rules
- If a tag fails, meaning it returns no results (null), then the tag
is stripped from the template, and nothing is left in its place.
- Dispatch tags may be nested within HTML tags or other Dispatch tags.
You can put a tag within a tag. This may look odd, but it is perfectly
legal and often used within queries, variables, and conditional tests.
Examples:
<meta name="keywords" content="<dpMetaKeywords>">
<a href="<dpPageForwardUrl>">Page Forward</a>
