Dispatch Reference Guide: Print Friendly Version

How to Read the Reference Guide

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: <dpHeadline>

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>

Common Attributes

The common attributes are attributes that are common to most Dispatch tags. These attributes are: default, style, link, start, stop and length

default = "default text"

The "default" attribute allows you to set a default value for a Dispatch tag. You can use the default attribute to define what should happen if a tag has no value, such as a story without an author or headline.

Examples:

If a story has an author, the <dpAuthor> tag will display it as usual. You can also use the default attribute for the scenario of a story without an author.

<dpAuthor default="Staff Writer"> Staff Writer

<dpAuthor default="Anonymous"> Anonymous

An example of the default attribute used within the <dpHeadline> tag. Notice the use of nesting a tag within a tag.

<dpHeadline default="<dpColumn>"> Cinema Review

In the following example, if the story has a summary, it is displayed as usual. If the story doesn't have a summary the default value is used. In this case the default value is the first two sentences of the story, followed by an ellipses.

<dpSummary default="<dpStory length="2s">..."> What's left to be said about Woody Allen? Or maybe the question is, "What does Woody have left to say?"...

The style attribute allows you to change the formatting style of a tag. You can change the style to lower case, upper case, title case, spaced, roman decimal, decimal, remove or encode HTML, or any combination of styles.

style="lower" - converts to "lower case".

style="upper" - converts to "UPPER CASE".

style="title" - converts to "Title Case". Note: use title case with caution. Due to the complexities of the English language, it may not always be 100% accurate.

style="spaced" - adds a space between each character. "s p a c e d"

style="roman" - converts to roman numeral: IX

style="decimal" - converts to decimal: 9

style="noHtml" - removes all HTML.

style="noHtmlStyle" - removes all HTML except paragraphs and breaks .

style="identifier" - converts to lower case letters with no spaces. This is primarily used for creating file names.

style="scriptEncode" - converts quotes, commas, and apostrophes to their numeric ASCII values. Primarily used within JavaScript or other scripting languages.

style="uriEncode" - encodes the text so it can be passed through a URL. This is often used for passing a query string on to an external search engine or commerce site.

style="chef", style="cockney", style="fudd", style="jive", style="kraut", style="newspeak", style="valspeak" - dialect translator Easter eggs. Read more about these here

Examples:

<dpHeadline> Censored stories, 1998

<dpHeadline style="lower"> censored stories, 1998

<dpHeadline style="upper"> CENSORED STORIES, 1998

<dpHeadline style="title"> Censored Stories, 1998

<dpHeadline style="spaced"> C e n s o r e d s t o r i e s , 1 9 9 8

<dpHeadline style="roman"> Censored stories, MCMXCVIII

<dpHeadline style="decimal"> Censored stories, 1998

<dpHeadline style="spaced" style="upper"> C E N S O R E D S T O R I E S , 1 9 9 8

<dpHeadline style="uriEncode"> Censored+stories,+1998

link = "on|off|email|homepage"

The link attribute provides shorthand for creating a link around a tag, and is most commonly used within queries.

link="on" - creates a link to the story associated with the tag.

link="off" - no link is created. This is the default value for most tags.

link="email" - creates an email link. Note: this is only available on the <dpAuthor> and <dpImageArtist> tag.

link="homepage" - creates a link to a homepage. Note: this is only available on the <dpAuthor> and <dpImageArtist> tag.

Examples:

<dpHeadline> Dolled Up Dreck

<dpHeadline link="on"> Dolled Up Dreck

<dpHeadline link="off"> Dolled Up Dreck

<dpQuery author="this" max="3">
<dpHeadline link="on"> 
</dpQuery>
Dolled Up Dreck
Ashes to Ashes
Tucci Feely

<dpAuthor> Wil Gerken

<dpAuthor link="email"> Wil Gerken

<dpAuthor link="homepage"> Wil Gerken

start = "#p|#s|#w|#c|begin|end|resume"

stop = "#p|#s|#w|#c|begin|end|resume"

length = "#p|#s|#w|#c|begin|end"

Start, stop, and length manipulate the text returned by a tag, and are best described as a set of attributes.

The text that is returned by a tag is known as a "string". By default, the entire string is returned, and these attributes are not used. However, if you would like to return only a portion of the string, or manipulate the string in any way, you will need to use some or all of these attributes.

start - where to begin within the string

stop - where to end within the string

length - the length to return, most commonly used by itself or in conjunction with start.

#p - number of paragraphs. 1p = one paragraph, 2p = two paragraphs, etc.

#s - number of sentences. 1s = one sentence, 4s = four sentences, etc.

#w - number of words. 1w = one word, 5w = five words, etc.

#c - number of characters. 1c = one character, 10c = ten characters, etc.

begin - the beginning of the string

end - the end of the string

resume - continue from where you just left off. "Resume" will be equal to "begin" on the first call, and then equal to where you ended for the next call.

Examples:

Note: Spaces are counted as characters, but consecutive spaces are counted as only one character.

<dpHeadline> All Fired Up

<dpHeadline length="1w"> All

<dpHeadline length="2w"> All Fired

<dpHeadline length="3w"> All Fired Up

<dpHeadline length="3c"> All

<dpHeadline length="5c"> All F

Note: "Start" always begins after what you specify as the starting position, as in these examples below:

<dpHeadline start="begin"> All Fired Up

<dpHeadline start="1w"> Fired Up

<dpHeadline start="2w"> Up

<dpHeadline start="2c"> l Fired Up

<dpHeadline start="8c"> d Up

Note: "Stop" specifies what position to stop at, unlike "length" which specifies how much to return.

<dpHeadline start="4c" stop="5c"> F

<dpHeadline start="5c" stop="7c"> ir

<dpHeadline start="2w" stop="3w"> Up

Display Tags

The display tags are the Dispatch tags that specifically relate to the fields in your publication's database, be it the headline, author, story or a user defined field. They are the most common of the Dispatch tags, and are primarily used to retrieve, manipulate and display information on a page.

<dpAuthor>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The author of the story currently being built or queried. By default <dpAuthor> will always return all of the authors of the story.

A T T R I B U T E S:

Using "Kay Anne Sather" as an example:

<dpAuthor format="standard"> - Kay Anne Sather
<dpAuthor format="initials"> - KAS
<dpAuthor format="fmlast"> - K A Sather
<dpAuthor format="firstlast"> - Kay Sather
<dpAuthor format="lastfirst"> - Sather, Kay
<dpAuthor format="first"> - Kay
<dpAuthor format="middle"> - Anne
<dpAuthor format="last"> - Sather

number="#|all"

If their are multiple authors of a story, you may optionally reference the individual authors using the number attribute. For example number="1" would return the first author and number="2" would return the second author.

number="all" is the default and will always return all the authors of a story, be it one or many.

return="value|count"

By default all author(s) names are returned (return="value"). You may optionally return the count which tells you how many authors an individual story has, and then loop through the authors one by one using the number attribute.

For example:

<dpIf <dpAuthor return="count"> = 1> {do the regular author layout} <dpElseIf <dpAuthor return="count"> gt 1> {do the multi author layout and loop through the authors} </dpIf>

The following expands on this concept and creates a link to the author's archive page. If there are multiple authors, it will create a link to each author's individual archive page by looping through them.

<dpIf <dpAuthor return="count"> = 1> <dpAuthorCredit> <a href="../authors/<dpAuthorID>.html"><dpAuthor></a> <dpElseIf <dpAuthor return="count"> gt 1> <dpAuthorCredit> <dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpAuthor return="count">"> <a href="../authors/<dpAuthorID number="<dpVar i>">.html"> <dpAuthor number="<dpVar i>"></a> <dpIf <dpVar i> lt <dpAuthor return="count">> , </dpIf> </dpLoop> </dpIf>

The idea is to loop through however many authors you have (from="1" to="<dpAuthor return="count">"), and then process each one individually, using the number attribute and the loop variable (<dpVar i>).

An additional test is performed to see if it is the last author or not. If it isn't a comma is displayed.

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpAuthor>
Jeff Smith

<dpAuthor link="email">
Jeff Smith

<dpAuthor format="initials">
JS

<dpIf <dpAuthor>>
<dpAuthorCredit> <dpAuthor>
</dpIf>
By Jeff Smith

Customizing Author Formatting [1/2]

<dpAuthor number="all"> is the default value for authors and will always display multiple authors in the following format:

Humpty Dumpty, Robert Crumb and Dr. Seuss

If you decide you want to customize this, you can do so by looping through the authors as follows.

T A G C O D E:

<dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpAuthor return="count">"> <dpAuthor number="<dpVar i>"> <dpIf <dpVar i> = <dpMath <dpAuthor return="count">-1>> & <dpElseIf <dpVar i> != <dpAuthor return="count">> , </dpIf> </dpLoop>

E F F E C T:

Phil Campbell, Josh Feit, Trisha Ready & Jennifer Vogel

A D D I T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N:

This code always displays an author. It then tests to see if it is the one before last in a multiple author scenario. If it is, it displays an "&". If it isn't, it tests to make sure it isn't the last author and displays a comma.

Customizing Author Formatting [2/2]

A more common customization would be to add a link to an author archive page. This can be achieved with the same logic as the previous example, with the addition of a link around the author's name.

T A G C O D E:

<dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpAuthor return="count">"> <a href="../archives/<dpAuthorID number="<dpVar i>">.html"><dpAuthor number="<dpVar i>"></a> <dpIf <dpVar i> = <dpMath <dpAuthor return="count">-1>> & <dpElseIf <dpVar i> != <dpAuthor return="count">> , </dpIf> </dpLoop>

E F F E C T:

Phil Campbell, Josh Feit, Trisha Ready Jennifer Vogel

Modifying Multiple Author, Artist and UDF Output

T A G C O D E:

E F F E C T:

Testing for Multiple Authors

By default <dpAuthor> and <dpAuthorID> will always return all authors if there are multiple author. For example:

Robert Crumb and Neil Gaiman.

If you want to have a special layout for single authors and another layout for multiple authors, you can test the author count in a condition to achieve this.

T A G C O D E:

<dpIf <dpAuthor return="count"> = 1> # single author layout goes here <dpElse> # multiple author layout goes here </dpIf>

E F F E C T:

A D D I T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N:

The following is an example of how you might link to individual author archive pages:

<dpIf <dpAuthor return="count"> = 1> <dpAuthorCredit> <a href="../authors/<dpAuthorID>.html"><dpAuthor></a> <dpElseIf <dpAuthor return="count"> gt 1> <dpAuthorCredit> <dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpAuthor return="count">"> <a href="../authors/<dpAuthorID number="<dpVar i>">.html"><dpAuthor number="<dpVar i>"></a> <dpIf <dpVar i> lt <dpAuthor return="count">> , </dpIf> </dpLoop> </dpIf>

Exploring the Author Format Attribute

The following are examples of how to use the format attribute in <dpAuthor>.

T A G C O D E:

<dpAuthor> returns: Harry Dean Stanton <dpAuthor format="first"> would return: Harry <dpAuthor format="middle"> would return: Dean <dpAuthor format="last"> would return: Stanton <dpAuthor format="last" style="upper"> would return: STANTON

E F F E C T:

Testing for Author E-mail

You can have your author names linked to their e-mail addresses by using <dpAuthor link="email">, but what if an author doesn't have an e-mail address in the database?

With the following code, you can test to see if an e-mail address exists and, if not, link to a generic e-mail account.

Note that we start by testing to see if an author exists.

T A G C O D E:

<dpIf <dpAuthor>> <dpIf <dpAuthor link="email">!=<dpAuthor>> <dpAuthor link="email"> <dpElse> <a href="mailto:letters@yourpub.com"><dpAuthor></a> </dpIf> </dpIf>

E F F E C T:

<dpAuthorCredit>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the credit type for the author, such as "By" or "Edited By".

<dpAuthorCredit 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpAuthorCredit> <dpAuthor>

would return: By Neil Gaiman

A more common use would be to test to see if the story has an author first:

<dpIf <dpAuthor>> <dpAuthorCredit> <dpAuthor> </dpIf>

<dpAuthorID>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The author ID of the story currently being built or queried. ID's are always in lowercase and contain no spaces. They are most commonly used to reference images or files.

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpAuthorID>
jeffsmith

<dpColumn>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The column that the story belongs to which is currently being built or queried.

<dpColumn 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpColumn>
Music Feature

<dpColumn style="lower">
music feature

You're viewing: <dpColumn>
You're viewing: Music Feature

<dpColumnID>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The column ID that the story belongs to which is currently being built or queried. ID's are always in lowercase and contain no spaces. They are most commonly used to reference image names or files.

<dpColumnID 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpColumnID>
smith

<dpIf <dpColumnID> = "smith">
You're reading smith!
<dpElse>
You should really check out <a href="smith.html">Smith</a>.
</dpIf>

You're reading smith!

<dpFile>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The file name of the story currently being built or queried.

<dpFile 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpFile>
smith.html

<dpFileID>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The file ID of the story that is currently being built or queried. <dpFileID> always returns the base file name, as in "cinema" or "cinema4", whereas <dpFile> would return "cinema.html" or "cinema4.html".

<dpFileID 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpFileID>
smith

<dpHeadline>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The headline of the story currently being built or queried.

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpHeadline>
All Fired Up

<dpHeadline style="upper" style="spaced">
A L L F I R E D U P

<dpHeadline link="on"> 
<dpSummary>

All Fired Up
The Steak-Out, home of the $30 steak with no potato, burned down a week ago last Saturday.

Large Headline

To change the size of a Dispatch tag, use HTML tags such as header tags, fonts or style sheets.

T A G C O D E:

<dpHeadline>

E F F E C T:

Titanic Sinks! Hundreds Dead!

Color Headline

To change the appearance of a Dispatch tag, use HTML tags such as bold, italic, fonts, underlines, and style sheets.

T A G C O D E:

<dpHeadline>

E F F E C T:

Titanic Sinks! Hundreds Dead!

Upper Case Spaced Headline

Using the Dispatch style attribute, you can change the spacing of a tag for design purposes. You can also use additional styles to further adjust for your design.

Notice that two "style" attributes are used in the following example to achieve this effect.

T A G C O D E:

<dpHeadline style="upper" style="spaced">

E F F E C T:

T I T A N I C S I N K S ! H U N D R E D S D E A D !

Headline Test

If you want to test that a headline exists before displaying anything, you can use <dpIf>

T A G C O D E:

<dpIf <dpHeadline>> <dpHeadline> <dpElse> Sorry no headline </dpIf> This can also be written in the following format. != means not equal. <dpIf <dpHeadline> != ""> <dpHeadline> <dpElse> Sorry no headline </dpIf>

E F F E C T:

If there was a headline, the following would display:

Titanic Sinks! Hundreds Dead!

Else if there wasn't a headline, the following would display:

Sorry no headline

Truncate Headline

Some designs may require that you limit the maximum length of a headline or another Dispatch tag. This can be achieved by using the "length" attribute.

The following examples limit the length of the headline by character and word.

T A G C O D E:

<dpHeadline length="20c"> <dpHeadline length="3w">...

E F F E C T:

Titanic Sinks! Hundr

Titanic Sinks! Hundreds...

Vertical Headline

The following example demonstrates how you can loop through a Dispatch tag to achieve a desired design effect.

T A G C O D E:

<tt> <dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpLength unit="c"><dpHeadline></dpLength>"> <dpHeadline start="resume" length="1c"> </dpLoop> </tt>

E F F E C T:

T i t a n i c S i n k s ! H u n d r e d s D e a d !

A D D I T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N:

The tag code loops through the headline one character at a time. It defines the length of the loop by determining the length of the headline (<dpLength unit="c"><dpHeadline></dpLength>").

For each iteration of the loop, the headline picks up where it left off (start="resume"), and displays one character (length="1c") followed by a line break.

Diagonal Headline

The following example demonstrates how you can loop through a Dispatch tag to achieve a desired design effect.

T A G C O D E:

<tt> <dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpLength unit="c"><dpHeadline></dpLength>"> <dpLoop var="j" from="1" to="<dpVar i>"> </dpLoop> <dpHeadline start="resume" length="1c"> </dpLoop> </tt>

E F F E C T:

T i t a n i c S i n k s ! H u n d r e d s D e a d !

A D D I T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N:

The tag code loops through the headline one character at a time. It defines the length of the loop by determining the length of the headline (<dpLength unit="c"><dpHeadline></dpLength>").

For each iteration of the loop, a second loop is executed to insert spaces based on how many characters into the headline it currently is. Then the headline picks up where it left off (start="resume"), and displays one character (length="1c") followed by a line break.

<dpHeadlineDefault>

D E F I N I T I O N:

This tag will return the headline value you have set for this column's default headline.

<dpHeadlineDefault 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

<dpIssue>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The issue of the story currently being built or queried. This is also the directory name of the issue.

<dpIssue 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpIssue>
1998-06-25

<dpIssue style="roman">
MCMXCVIII-VI-XXV

<dpIssueID>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The issue ID of the story currently being built or queried. ID's are always in lowercase and contain no spaces. They are most commonly used to reference image names.

<dpIssueID 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpIssueID>
1998-06-25

<dpIssueDate>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The issue date of the issue currently being built or queried.

<dpIssueDate begin="strftime()" separator="default text" end="strftime()" 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 default format for <dpIssueDate> is: <dpIssueDate begin="%B %e - " begin="%B %e, %Y">, which returns a date in this format: "June 25 - July 1, 1999"

A T T R I B U T E S:

begin = "strftime()": The beginning run date of the issue being built or queried. This attribute takes strftime() syntax, as well as text. Please see table below.
end = "strftime()": The ending run date of the issue being built or queried. This attribute takes strftime() syntax, as well as text. Please see table below.
separator = "default text": This attribute takes any text. Common values are " - " and " to ". Please see examples below.

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

strftime() values:

%A Thursday National representation of the full weekday name.

%a Thu National representation of the abbreviated weekday name, where the abbreviation is the first three characters.

%B January National representation of the full month name.

%b Jan National representation of the abbreviated month name, where the abbreviation is the first three characters.

%m 01 Month as a decimal number (01-12).

%d 07 Day of the month as a decimal number (01-31).

%e 7 Day of the month as a decimal number (1-31); single digits are preceded by a blank.

%Y 1998 Year with century as a decimal number.

%y 98 Year without century as a decimal number (00-99).

%D 01/07/98 Equivalent to "%m/%d/%y".

Additional strftime() values can be found here.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpIssueDate>
June 25 - July 1, 1998

<dpIssueDate begin="%A" separator=" through " end="%A">
Thursday through Wednesday

<dpIssueDate begin="%A through " end="%A">
Thursday through Wednesday

<dpIssueDate begin="%B %e, %Y">
June 25, 1998

<dpIssueDate end="%B %e, %Y">
July 1, 1998

<dpIssueDate begin="%Y-%m-%d">
1998-06-25

<dpIssueDate begin="%B %e, %Y" style="upper">
JUNE 25, 1998

<dpIssueDate begin="%Y" style="roman">
MCMXCVIII

<dpIssueNumber>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The issue number of the issue currently being built or queried.

<dpIssueNumber 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpIssueNumber>
18

<dpIssueNumber style="roman">
XVIII

<dpIssueNumber style="roman" style="lower">
xviii

Volume <dpVolumeNumber> Issue <dpIssueNumber>
Volume 15 Issue 18

<dpMetaDescription>

D E F I N I T I O N:

This tag will return the column's default meta description. You set this in column defaults.

<dpMetaDescription default="default text" style="lower|upper|title|spaced|roman|decimal| noHtml|noHtmlStyle|identifier|scriptEncode" 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Notice that style="noHtml" is the default for this tag. This will prevent potential HTML from side effecting meta tags.

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpMetaKeywords>

D E F I N I T I O N:

This tag will return the column's default meta keywords. You set this in column defaults.

<dpMetaKeywords 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Notice that style="noHtml" is the default for this tag. This will prevent potential HTML from side effecting meta tags.

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

<dpSection>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The name of the section currently being built or queried. For example, if the story currently being built is within a section named "Music", <dpSection> would return Music.

<dpSection default="default text" style="lower|upper|title|spaced|roman|decimal|identifier| noHtml|noHtmlStyle|scriptEncode|uriEncode" start="#p|#s|#w|#c|begin|end|resume" stop="#p|#s|#w|#c|begin|end|resume" length="#p|#s|#w|#c|begin|end" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpSection>
Currents

<tt><dpSection style="upper" style="spaced"></tt>
C U R R E N T S

<dpIf <dpSection> = "music">
You're in the music section
<dpElse>
You're NOT in the music section
</dpIf>
You're NOT in the music section

<dpSectionID>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The section ID of the story currently being built or queried. ID's are always in lowercase and contain no spaces. They are most commonly used to reference image names.

<dpSectionID 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpSectionID>
currents

<img src="../images/<dpSectionID>.gif">

<dpStory>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The story currently being built or queried.

A T T R I B U T E S:

images="on|all|off|#|# to #|#,#"

Tells the story to display images or not. You may simply say on or all to display all of the images, or you may reference a single image, multiple images or a range of images.

<dpStory images="on">
<dpStory images="1, 3">
<dpStory images="2 to 4">
<dpStory images="2 to 4, 6">
<dpStory images="3 to <dpImageCount>">

Defines how you want your images aligned within the story.

right - all images align to the right.
left - all images align to the left
toggleLeft - images toggle left to right, back and forth
toggleRight - images toggle right to left, back and forth
center - centers image and follows it with a 
none

imageStart="#p"

Defines the starting position for the first image. The default is 0p, meaning before the first paragraph. <dpStory imageStart="3p"> would display the first image after the 3rd paragraph.

imageStop="#p"

Defines the ending position for the last image. This is only relevant if there is more then one image to be displayed. This is usually used in conjunction with <dpImageStart> to define a range where images should be displayed. The default is 3/4 through the story, meaning the last image will display at that position.

Examples:

<dpStory imageStart="2p" imageStop="10p">
This would put the first image after the second paragraph, and the last image after the 10th paragraph. All of the remaining images would be equidistantly dispersed within this range.
<dpStory imageStop="14p">
If this story had three images, the first image would be before the first paragraph (default). The middle image would be after the 7th paragraph, and the last image would be after the 14th paragraph. If there was only one image, it would still be before the first paragraph and the imageStop attribute would be ignored.

imageMacro="macro name"

The <dpStory> image shorthand is quite flexible and easy to use, but it always uses a pre-defined table that is hard coded into Dispatch. The imageMacro attribute allows you to override this table format and use a layout of your choosing.

When defining this layout, you can use any HTML you want and image tags "without" the number attribute. Dispatch will handle advancing the number values for the appropriate images. You may also use other Dispatch tags like conditional statements.

For example:

<dpMacro myImageLayout>
 <table border=1 align="<dpImageAlign>" width="<dpImageWidth>">
 <tr>
 <td>
 Image Table 
 <dpImage> 
 <dpImageCaption> 
 <dpImageArtist>
 </td>
 </tr>
 </table>
</dpMacro>

Note: Like all macros, this macro needs to be declared before it is used, meaning it must be above whatever references it within your template.

Usage would be as follows:

<dpStory images="all" imageMacro="myImageLayout">

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

Your First Story Layout

A basic story layout. No conditional tests and nothing fancy.

T A G C O D E:

<dpHeadline> <dpSubheadline> By <dpAuthor> <dpStory> The above works fine, but doesn't take in many conditions, such as the absence of a headline, or a subheadline, or an author. What if the author credit isn't "by" but "edited by." The following enhancement satisfies these specific concerns: <dpHeadline default="<dpColumn>"> <dpIf <dpSubheadline>> <dpSubheadline> </dpIf> <dpIf <dpAuthor>> <dpAuthorCredit> <dpAuthor> </dpIf> <dpStory> And now with a little formatting and style: <dpHeadline default="<dpColumn>"> <dpIf <dpSubheadline>> <dpSubheadline> </dpIf> <dpIf <dpAuthor>> <dpAuthorCredit> <dpAuthor style="upper"> </dpIf> <dpStory images="on" imageAlign="right">

E F F E C T:

Testing the Length of Story

You can test the length of a story in order to decide whether to display additional ads or suggested links on the side. This can be easily achieved with <dpLength>.

T A G C O D E:

Set a variable that contains the length of the story in characters, so you can use this value in conditional tests throughout your template. <dpVar characterCount="<dpLength unit="c"><dpStory></dpLength>"> Then add your tests where needed. <dpIf <dpVar characterCount> gt 1500> # display side ads </dpIf> or <dpIf <dpVar characterCount> gt 1500> # display side ads <dpElseIf <dpVar characterCount> gt 2000> # display side ads and suggested links </dpIf> Another example, might be testing the number of paragraphs for image placement. This is just a variation on the code above. <dpVar paraCount="<dpLength unit="p"><dpStory></dpLength>"> <dpIf <dpVar paraCount> gt 3> <dpC>Start Images lower on the page</dpC> <dpStory images="on" imageStart="2p" imageAlign="right"> <dpElse> <dpStory images="on" imageAlign="right"> </dpIf>

E F F E C T:

Dropcaps

This example shows how you can give the first character of a story a special treatment, and then display the remainder of the story.

T A G C O D E:

<table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 align=left> <tr> <td valign=top align=left> <dpStory start="begin" length="1c" style="noHtml"> </td> <td valign=top align=left> </td> </tr> </table> <dpStory start="resume">

E F F E C T:

W

hen Paul McCartney Stated that the Beatles would never work together again on April 10, 1970, people were moved and disappointed, as if a best friend had turned his back on them. That breakup was the first in a decade that saw the demise of several other huge rock bands who make up the core of classic rock. Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Pink Floyd buckled under the weight of death or malicious infighting, leaving mediocre final albums in their wake. They might not have gone out on a high note, but they all exited fairly quickly and gracefully (at least as far as the public was concerned). The dirty laundry we've come to read about in the 20 years since wasn't spelled out in the press at that time, so fans felt only loss and adoration. We loved them, and we still love them.

So why is it that I'm finding it hard to feel that kind of love these days?

The explosion of music coverage in magazines and on the web since Michael first moonwalked and Madonna pulled on her fishnets has evolved to the point where no subject is out of bounds. And some bands are happy to play into it: What could keep fans more on edge than constant breakup rumors and in-fighting?

Pavement are the biggest offenders these days. In fact, they've been "breaking up" for the majority of their career. But last November, it looked like the end had finally come. The New Musical Express website (www.nme.com) reported a much publicized -- and disputed -- comment allegedly made by lead singer Stephen Malkmus during a performance at the London Brixton Academy. According to the website, Malkmus explained a pair of handcuffs hanging from his mic stand by saying, "These symbolize what it's like being in a band."

Matador, the band's label, stoked the fires by neither confirming nor denying the story in a brief post on their homepage.

On December 1, matters became even more confusing when NME quoted bandmember Scott Kannberg from an earlier SonicNet (www.sonicnet.com) article, where Kannberg claimed that what Malkmus had actually said about the cuffs was "This is what it's like playing in England." Kannberg was quoted by NME as saying the band was going to take a few years off, and the website called the split "official."

To make matters more confusing, the official Pavement website (www.pavementtherockband.com) put up the following disclaimer: "Contrary to what has been said, Pavement are not breaking up. They are taking a much needed rest as they do at the end of every touring year. They would like to thank all of those who have supported them this year as in the past. They will be back sooner than you know. In the meantime, Pavement will be working on The Slow Century video and DVD compilation to be released sometime in the new century."

Hey, Pavement: Break up or speak up. We're tired of trying to find reliable information about the future of your band. I run out to the record store just like everybody else on release day, happy to get your new record, but by crying wolf so often you're tainting your legacy.

Likewise, the Smashing Pumpkins are a lightning rod for breakup rumors. After the admission that Siamese Dream was pretty much the Billy and Jimmy show, it seemed alt rock had finally found a control freak to rival Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis, and it wasn't until Corgan promised to let the rest of the band play on the follow-up that it appeared the group would continue... until the drama of firing Jimmy... who rejoins triumphantly... and now we have the departure of D'Arcy.

Of course, there have been some modern-day departures that left me feeling misty. Bands who knew when to say when and did it with grace. Take Portland's Heatmiser, who made the best album of their career, Mic City Sons, for Virgin/Caroline, and then promptly disappeared. Lucky for us, Elliott Smith and Sam Coomes put out even better records thereafter. And there was Seattle's own Soundgarden, who calmly called it quits in April 1997 after the modest success of Down on the Upside. True, their commercial peak was Superunknown, but they got out of the grunge game while others (Alice in Chains, Tad) were stumbling blindly toward the end.

It's best to leave us wanting more, not sick to death of you. We expect a reunion in five years anyway, now that hell froze over for the Eagles. In the opening days of 2000 we have been given a warning sign: Camper Van Beethoven, the first major indie rock reunion. Who's next? Slint?

So Pavement, Smashing Pumpkins: You guys go ahead and break up. We dare you. You'll be back.

<dpSubheadline>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The subheadline of the story currently being built or queried.

<dpSubheadline 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpSubHeadline>
Sonoita's Locals Lose An Institution Of Sorts.

<dpSubHeadline>
Sonoita's Locals Lose An Institution Of Sorts.

<dpSubHeadline style="lower">
sonoita's locals lose an institution of sorts.

<dpSubheadlineDefault>

D E F I N I T I O N:

This tag will return the subheadline value you have set for this column's default subheadline.

<dpSubheadlineDefault 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

<dpSummary>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The summary of the story currently being built or queried.

<dpSummary 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpSummary>
The Steak-Out, home of the $30 steak with no potato, burned down a week ago last Saturday.

<dpHeadline link="on"> 
<dpSummary start="begin" length="9w">...

All Fired Up
The Steak-Out, home of the $30 steak with no...

<dpSummaryDefault>

D E F I N I T I O N:

This tag will return the summary you have set for this column's default summary.

<dpSummaryDefault 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

<dpUserField>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the value contained in a user defined field (UDF) or the number (count) of values in a user defined field.

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

Creating E-commerce Links and Passing Arguments for External Queries

Using User Defined Fields, you can create e-commerce links for books, movies, or music reviews.

For example, if you have a User Defined Field named "book title," you can create a link to that book at Amazon.com. Find the format that Amazon.com uses for its queries. For books, the URL (at the time of writing this) is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?keyword=book+title&mode=books Add the following code to your template. It may look a bit cryptic, but it should make sense if you read through it.

T A G C O D E:

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?keyword=<dpUserField name="book title" style="lower" style="nohtml" style="urlEncode">&mode=books">Search for related books at Amazon.com</a> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?keyword=<dpUserField name="book title" style="lower" style="nohtml" style="urlEncode">&mode=books">Purchase <dpUserField name="book title"> at Amazon.com</a> Basically, we've replaced the keyword section, which previously had "book+title", with the following: <dpUserField name="book title" style="lower" style="nohtml" style="urlEncode">, which says take the Book Title, change it to lower case, remove any HTML it may have, and encode it so it can be passed in a URL. Try it out and you'll see how it connects directly to the Amazon search allowing the reader to get right to the book they want. You can use this dynamic tag code to create smart links to external sites. Here's another example using Google.com and a variable: <dpVar encodedTitle="<dpUserField name="book title" style="lower" style="noHtml" style="urlEncode">"> <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=<dpVar encodedTitle>&mode=books" target="_blank">Search Google for more on <dpUserField name="book title"></a> This would create a link like the following: http://www.google.com/search?q=good+omens

E F F E C T:

Sorting By UDF

To sort by a UDF, simply add a sort value like the following to your query.

T A G C O D E:

The following will sort by film title from a to z: <dpQuery sort="userField:film title"> The following will reverse sort by film title from z to a: <dpQuery sort="-userField:film title"> And the following will first sort by film title, then by issue: <dpQuery sort="userField:film title" sort="issue"> Here are a few real life examples: <dpQuery issue="all" userField="film genre" sort="userfield:film title" sort="fuzzy" max="4"> <dpUserField name="film title"> </dpQuery> The above query looks through "all" issues, matching any stories based on film genres. It then sorts the output alphabetically by "film title", then does a "fuzzy" sort for the best matches. To shorten this list for our demo, we set the max output to 4: Apocalypse Now Grand Illusion Since You Went Away Welcome to Sarajevo Here's the same basic query with a reverse sort: <dpQuery issue="all" userField="film genre" sort="-userfield:film title" sort="fuzzy" max="4"> <dpUserField name="film title"> </dpQuery> Output: Welcome to Sarajevo Since You Went Away Grand Illusion Apocalypse Now Sorting by UDFs allows you to organize your output alphabetically. It is also the ideal way to create lists of UDF values.

E F F E C T:

Debugging Queries with <dpUserField number="all">

Use the number attribute of a User Defined Field in queries to examine the output and fine tune your queries for best results.

T A G C O D E:

<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all"> will return something like the following: romance, comedy, cult This can be useful information when exploring suggested link matches. For example, if you want a list of up to five suggested links of other films with similar film genres as the story you are reading, use the following: Suggested Links for <dpHeadline>: <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpQuery> which would output something like this: Suggested Links for Planet of the Vampires: The Body Snatcher The Changeling The Exorcist Halloween House of Wax That works perfectly, but provides little output to confirm how the match happened while debugging your templates. Here's a modification using <dpUserField number="all"> to provide better output while testing: Suggested Links for <dpHeadline> (<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all">) <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> (<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all">) </dpQuery> which would output something like this: Suggested Links for Planet of the Vampires (Classic, Horror) The Body Snatcher (Classic, Horror) The Changeling (Horror) The Exorcist (Horror) Halloween (Horror) House of Wax (Horror)

E F F E C T:

Retrieving UDF Values

The following syntax demonstrates options for retrieving and manipulate the values associated with a User Defined Field:

T A G C O D E:

<dpUserField name="film genre"> - comedy <dpUserField name="film genre" number="all"> - comedy, drama, romance <dpUserField name="film genre" number="1"> - comedy <dpUserField name="film genre" number="2"> - drama <dpUserField name="film genre" number="3"> - romance <dpUserField name="film genre" return="count"> - 3 <dpUserField name="film genre" number="all" style="upper"> - COMEDY, DRAMA, ROMANCE

E F F E C T:

Customizing UDF Display

The following macro shows how to control the display of User Defined Field values which contain multiple entries:

T A G C O D E:

Here are a few examples of the values from a User Defined Field of "film genre": comedy, horror, sci-fi comedy, horror and sci-fi comedy and horror and sci-fi comedy - horror - sci-fi Change the separators within the macro below to get the different results shown above. <dpMacro myUserFieldStyle> <dpVar totalValues="<dpUserField name="<dpVar fieldName>" return="count">"> <dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpVar totalValues>"> <dpIf <dpVar i> = <dpVar totalValues>> <dpUserField name="<dpVar fieldName>" number="<dpVar i>"> <dpElseIf <dpVar i> = <dpMath <dpVar totalValues>-1>> <dpUserField name="<dpVar fieldName>" number="<dpVar i>"> and <dpElse> <dpUserField name="<dpVar fieldName>" number="<dpVar i>">, </dpIf> </dpLoop> </dpMacro> To call this macro, use the following tag code: <dpVar fieldName="film stars"> <dpMacro myUserFieldStyle> This sets the variable fieldName to "film stars" so the macro knows what UDF to manipulate. This logic can also be used for other User Defined Fields with values containing multiple entries, such as author and artist names.

E F F E C T:

<dpVolumeNumber>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The volume number of the issue currently being built or queried.

<dpVolumeNumber 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpVolumeNumber>
15

<dpVolumeNumber style="roman">
XV

Volume <dpVolumeNumber style="roman"> Issue <dpIssueNumber style="roman">
Volume XV Issue XVIII

Flow Control

Flow control tags relate to conditional statements, and looping constructs. The most common use of a flow control tag is a <dpIf> statement. Using <dpIf> you can perform tests within your template to decide how you want your page to render. For example, testing the character count of a story to decide how to present the images, ads, suggested links, or even if you want to split the story into multiple pages.

<dpIf>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Conditional tests allow you to make comparisons within your templates. For example, you can calculate how many characters are in a story, and provide a special layout for each circumstance.

Simple Condition Syntax

<dpIf (comparison statement)> action </dpIf>

Complete Condition Syntax

<dpIf (comparison statement)> action <dpElseIf (comparison statement)> action <dpElse> action </dpIf>

C O M P A R I S O N O P E R A T O R S:

= equal

!= not equal

in is in set

not not in set

gt greater than

lt less than

E X A M P L E S:

The following can be read as "If the section for this story is music, then display the message You're in the music section":

<dpIf <dpSection>="music">
You're in the music section
</dpIf>

The following can be read as "If the section for this story is music, then display the message You're in the music section, else (otherwise) display You're not in the music section":

<dpIf <dpSection>="music">
You're in the music section
<dpElse>
You're not in the music section
</dpIf>

The following can be read as "If the section for this story is music, then display the message 'You're in the music section', else if the section for this story is film, then display the message 'You're in the film section', else (otherwise) display 'You're not in the music or film section' ."

<dpIf <dpSection>="music">
You're in the music section
<dpElseIf <dpSection>="film">
You're in the film section
<dpElse>
You're not in the music or film section
</dpIf>

The following can be read as "If you're not in the film section, display the message Go to the film section":

<dpIf <dpSection> != "film">
Go to the film section.
</dpIf>

<dpLoop>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Looping is most commonly used to step through a story, headline or other display tag by paragraph or font. However you can use it for whatever you want.

<dpLoop var="variable" from="#" to="#" step="#|-#"> Instructions to repeat. </dpLoop>

A T T R I B U T E S:

var=(variable name): Defines the name of a variable. This variable should be considered a counter and will always have the current value you can use.
from="#": Defines the starting number of the loop.
to="#": Defines the ending number of the loop.
step="#": Allows you to step through the loop by a value other than one. The default value is one.

E X A M P L E S:

would create: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

would create: 2 4 6 8 10

would list all of the images in the story

<dpLoop var="x" from="1" to="<dpLength unit="p"><dpStory></dpLength>">
Paragraph #<dpVar x>
<dpStory start="resume" length="<dpVar x>p">
</dpLoop>

would loop through the story one paragraph at a time from the first paragraph to the last paragraph. It would display the paragraph number followed by the paragraph itself.

Random Case

Well, it's not exactly random, but it achieves the same visual effect. The following example loops through a story seven characters at a time, displaying them in assorted case. The primary intention of this example is to demonstrate some of the design possibilities possible by processing a story on a character by character level using length and resume.

T A G C O D E:

<dpVar charCount="<dpLength unit="c"><dpStory></dpLength>"> <dpLoop var="i" from="0" to="<dpVar charCount>" step="7"> <dpStory start="resume" length="1c" style="lower"> <dpStory start="resume" length="1c" style="upper"> <dpStory start="resume" length="1c" style="lower"> <dpStory start="resume" length="1c" style="lower"> <dpStory start="resume" length="1c"> <dpStory start="resume" length="1c"> <dpStory start="resume" length="1c" style="upper"> </dpLoop>

E F F E C T:

iN foURTeEn-HUNdRed-aNd-nineTy-two, CoLumbuS sAiled ThE oceaN bLue...oR so we'vE been LeD to beLiEve. ANd When hE rAn out Of Ocean BlUe he bUmPed up AgAinst ThE beacH sOmewhErE in thE wEst InDiEs.

CoLuMbus, An Eye-tAlIan, wAs RunniNg A smalLiSh scoUtIng exPeDitioN fOr the SpAniarDs, whosE qUeen hE'D talkEd Into fRoNting HiM threE rUnty sHiPs for ThE purpOsE of fiNdIng a sHoRtcut To India, wHere tHeY had lOtS of siLk And teA aNd spiCeS the fOlKs bacK oN the IBeRian PEnInsulA hAd a haNkEring FoR. wheN tHe shiP hIt the SaNd out In The CaRiBbean 506 yearS aGo, ChRiS declArEd he'D fOund INdIa and NaMed thE rUddy-CoMplecTeD surfErS who gReEted hIs Boats "iNdianS."

he waS wRong eVeRy way ImAginaBlE.

so tO aPpropRiAtely HoNor CoLuMbus' BlUnder, wE here In AmeriCa (nameD fOr anoThEr itaLiAn, AmErIgo VeSpUcci, WhO also PuT in ceRtAin clAiMs for DiScoveRiNg majOr Parts Of The neW wOrld) MaNufacTuRed a cReAtion-mYth thAt Holds SaCred tHe NotioN--taugHt Like a GrImm's FaIry taLe To eveRy KindeRgArtneR--that ChRistoPhEr colUmBus diScOvereD aMericA iN 1492. nEver mInD that He BeachEd On a smAlL islaNd SouthEaSt of CUbA and nEvEr camE nEar thE nOrth AMeRican MaInlanD; Never MiNd thaT hE thouGhT he waS iN indiA; Never MiNd thaT lEif ErIkSen haD bEen heRe CentuRiEs earLiEr; neVeR mind AlL mannEr Of incOnTroveRtIble fAcT: colUmBus diScOvereD aMericA.

How coMeS it, tHeN, thaT iN 1988 ThE voteRs Of ariZoNa, thE lAst of ThE contIgUous 48 tO attaIn StateHoOd, paSsEd a coNsTitutIoNal amEnDment MaKing ENgLish tHe OfficIaL langUaGe, anD rEquirInG that AlL statE bUsineSs Be conDuCted iN eNglisH aNd engLiSh onlY?

Why noT iTaliaN, Since We've prOpAgateD tHe notIoN that An ItaliAn DiscoVeRed thIs Place? oR how aBoUt spaNiSh, CaStIlliaN-Style, oF courSe, sincE tHey puT uP the cAsH for tHe VoyagE oF discOvEry? BUt If you ReAlly tHiNk the FiRst whItE man tO pLant hIs Flag oUgHt to gEt Dibs oN tHe lanGuAge thInG, why NoT norwEgIan?

THeN agaiN, Hows aBoUt indIaN? oh mY gOodneSs Yes: pAsS the cHuTney. Or Do you MeAn red InDian? Or Do you SpEak wiTh ForkeD tOngue?

tHe poiNt Is, thAt Half tHe LanguAgEs on tHe PlaneT hAve leGiTimatE cLaims To CurreNcY in AmErIca's HiStory, iTs preSeNt and ItS futuRe. the FReNch owNeD most Of This pLaCe for A tIme; tHe Dutch HaD a pieCe Of the AcTion, AlOng wiTh PortuGuEse, AFrIcans, mExicaNs, a whoLe Array Of DiffeReNt triBaL peopLeS from AlEuts tO aThabaScAns to InCas, MAyAns, AZtEcs...yOur boYs Named SiOux, yOuR algoNqUins, ApAches...and tHeN therE wEre RuSsIans, ChInese, cAnadiAnS.

if tHeRe's oNe Thing An AmeriCaN is, iT'S a monGrEl. AnD iF therE'S one tHiNg the
De Facto NaTive tOnGue of ThIs natIoN is, iT'S amerIcAn, noT tHe queEn's engLiSh, thOuGh its LiNguisTiC lineAgE is moRe Or lesS dEscenDeD from ThE writTeN langUaGe of tHe BritiSh Isles.

aMericAn Is a poLyGlot pAtOis thAt BorroWs HeaviLy--one MiGht saY sTeals UnConscIoNably--From eVeRy othEr LanguAgE on thE pLanet, aNd conSeQuentLy Is the MoSt ricH aNd widElY variEd And exPrEssivE hUman tOnGue exTaNt. We'vE got a VoCabulArY seveRaL timeS gReateR tHan thE rOmancE lAnguaGeS, let AlOne thE tRibal ToNgues Of The seCoNd- anD tHird-WoRlds, AnD oldeR lAnguaGeS are oNlY now bEgInninG tO broaDeN theiR tHesauRi By borRoWing bAcK pidgEn-amerIcAn terMs We've AlReady RiPped oFf From tHeM.

ameRiCan laNgUage iS a Bawdy, bRawliNg SteroId-monsTeR of a gRoWing cHiLd thaT dRaws iTs Very vIgOr froM iTs proXiMity tO tHat stOrIed meLtIng poT oF otheR cUlturEs And laNgUages--All of WhIch coMe Here aNd Give.

So I ask aGaIn: WhAt's up wItH the ENgLish-OnLy thiNg? most Of Us couLdN't spEaK real EnGlish If We wanTeD to. I ReNted THe Full MOnTy for JoNes anD hIs wifE uP in FlAgStaff A cOuple WeEks agO, And MrS. Jones DiDn't eNjOy it aT aLl. ShE cOuld oNlY make OuT abouT oNe worD iN threE. They wErE speaKiNg worKiNg-clAsS englIsH. try A sImilaR eThnic FlIck, sUbTitleD iN, say, sOuthsIdE chicAgO dialEcT, and YoUr audIeNce in ShEffieLd, englAnD, wouLd Be simIlArly aT sEa.

BuT aSide fRoM the iNhErent InAccurAcY in caLlIng ArIzOna's RaCist lItTle biT oF initIaTive aNd ReferEnDum EnGlIsh-oNlY vs. AMeRican-oNly, tHeRe's tHaT wholE dEal wiTh The U.S. ConstItUtion AnD the FIrSt ameNdMent tHeReto. NoWhere In The foUnDing dOcUmentS oF this NaTion'S gOvernMeNt is tHeRe any ReFerenCe To an oFfIcial LaNguagE. Nor coUlDa, shOuLda, wOuLda beEn.

the fIrSt freEdOm the FrAmers ObServeD iN the BIlL of RiGhTs was ThE freeDoM of spEeCh, anD tHerefOr, of thE pRess, AnD by loGiCal exTeNsion, oF reliGiOn, faItH, of aSsEmbly. iT takeS nO more SoPhistIcAted lEgAl schOlAr thaN yOur tyPiCal 5-YeAr-olD tO recoGnIze thAt If govErNment DeClareS eNglisH tO be thE oNly laWfUl and OfFiciaL lAnguaGe Of our SoCiety, aNd thuS tHat goVeRnmenT bUsineSs CannoT bE tranSaCted iN sPanisH, LatviAn, urdu Or Latin, tHen thE fIrst AMeNdmenT iS meanInGless To AmeriCaNs who HaPpen tO sPeak oNe Of thoSe InsteAd Of engLiSh.

I sAiD as muCh A decaDe Ago, aNd PrediCtEd a shOrT life FoR the ENgLish-OnLy ameNdMent. As Is so oFtEn the CaSe, noT oNly waS i Right, i Was waY aHead oF mY time.

iT took 10 Years FoR the ARiZona SUpReme COuRt to iSsUe a quItE simpLe, quitE cOmmonSeNsicaL oPinioN aGainsT tHe conStItutiOnAlity Of The EnGlIsh-oNlY law. AnD at thAt, the oPiNion wAs AnnouNcEd a yeAr After ThE retiReMent oF tHe jusTiCe who WrOte thE mAjoriTy OpiniOn.

and nOw The caSe Must cErTainlY gO to thE u.s. SuPrEme CoUrT, whiCh Has a rEcEnt hiStOry of CoWardiCe In facInG such OuTwardLy SimplE aNd uncOnTroveRsIal caSeS.

hey! wE know AmEricaN eNglisH iS for aLl PractIcAl purPoSes thE lAnguaGe Of u.S. gOvernMeNt, coMmErce aNd Daily LiFe: We DoN't neEd Some xEnOphobIc, raciSt Law on ThE bookS tO make It OfficIaL, and To Force NoN-engLiSh speAkErs fuRtHer ouTsIde thE mAinstReAm.

DoWn Here iN sOutheRn ArizoNa, wherE mUch of ThE locaL cOmmerCe Still GoEs on iN bOrder SpAnish, tHe rulInG grinGo Class LiKes to LoOk dowN iTs patRiCian nOsE at thOsE ignoRaNt, laZy MexicAnS whosE eNglisH iSn't uP tO harvArD stanDaRds. NEvEr minD tHat moSt Of theSe White BoYs can't PronoUnCe "taMaLes" oR uNdersTaNd wheN tHe waiTrEss smIlEs and CaLls thEm "cabrOnEs."

IT'S kind Of Like FReD astaIrE and GInGer RoGeRs--FReD beinG tHe whiTe Boy anD gInger ThE mexiCaN. fed To The tiTs With hEaRing AStAire lIoNized FoR his tErPsichOrEan skIlLs, GiNgEr oncE rEmarkEd, archLy, "honEy, i did EvEry daNcE step FrEd eveR dId...BaCkwarDs, and iN hIgh heElS."

CoMpRende?

Horizontal Paragraphs

A fun example that demonstrates using loop and length to achieve a desired effect.

T A G C O D E:

<table border=0 cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0> <tr> <dpVar paraCount="<dpLength unit="p"><dpStory></dpLength>"> <dpLoop var="i" from="0" to="<dpVar paraCount>"> <td valign=middle align=left width=250> <dpStory start="resume" length="1p"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width=250 height=1 alt=""> </td> </dpLoop> </tr> </table>

E F F E C T:

TUBA CITY--UP until now I never gave a thought to how this place came to be called what we call it. The first time I came through here must have been 25 years ago, and it sounded appropriately colorful and colloquial and Stephen Vincent Benet. You know, "...Tombstone and Tucson and Mexican Hat." So I concentrated on finding a gas station and a Coke machine and thought ahead to Flagstaff.

Today I've got time to kill, so I'm parked outside a McDonald's eating an Egg McMuffin and realizing for the first time that there must have been a tuba in Tuba City's past.

What the Navajos called the place before the white men brought their musical instruments and their language to the rez I have no idea. This place might not even have been a place, as far as the aborigines were concerned. Maybe Tuba City is only here because of white capitalism.

There's an ancient trading post here. And where white capitalism went, the army and the Indian Bureau followed, to protect the dollar and eventually, fruitlessly, to missionize the heathen.

The town's core clearly is G.I.

Stone buildings of the Victorian period and style testify to mid-19th-century failure to impose WASPish civilization and sensibility on desert semi-nomads. The rock houses and offices of early government settlement stand empty and idle today. Today they still are the best real estate in town and yet the wind and not much else blows through them, an ironic commentary on wasted time and dubious intentions. A continuing waste of resource. Down the street toward the highway that crosses the rez, a jumble of trailers sits behind a billboard that proclaims, "All People Housing."

Populism comes at a price and part of that is living in recycled beer cans.

Across the road from All People Housing, three-quarter-ton pickups with gooseneck trailers are parked on a sandlot, peddling alfalfa hay for $7 a bale. As a man whose personal hay requirements approach two tons per annum, I'm interested both in the quality and price of the product. It looks to be good, third-cutting hay, 100-plus pounds to the bale, and cheaper than I can usually buy it in Patagonia or Sonoita. I pull up alongside a Navajo sitting in the back of a stock trailer and ask where it's from.

"St. George," he says. He knows I know that he doesn't need to explain that there's not much in the way of commercial hay production on the reservation. A tourist from New Jersey could tell you as much. Navajo rugs and blankets aren't the only reason the rez is sheep country. Arid doesn't begin to describe the climate and terrain. Anyway, they import horse hay from Utah, and according to my Native American informant, the Mormon farmers from St. George exact a considerable tariff on agricultural products crossing the border onto the rez.

By now I have a far deeper appreciation of Tuba City than the previous quarter-century had given me. A little curiosity and a single question can earn a man a lot out here.

Back on Highway 160 I picture the road ahead: Monument Valley and the left-hander at Teec Nos Pos, Four Corners and Cortez, Colorado, and then how far and how long to Hotchkiss beyond? Then it dawns on me that it doesn't matter. I remember the last time I drove this road; two years ago, heading west, from the same house in Hotchkiss that is my destination today. That time my destination was today's point of origination. Morse to Jones then: Jones to Morse now. Then, I stopped for gas and Gatorade at Kayenta in the middle of a monsoon. Then I was on my motorcycle, soaked to the hide, burnt to a frito from wind and intermittent sun, aching like a stubbed toe and wishing my ride were over. I asked a young Navajo man coming out of the Circle K if he could tell me how far it was to Flagstaff.

"Yes," he said. "Maybe about 110 miles. Maybe 300." He struck off walking in that direction. If it was information enough for him, on foot, it surely was sufficient unto my needs, with a hundred horsepower under my ass.

I was going to wind up at Jones' house in Flagstaff before I shut it down for the day: I was going to get cold leftovers, a hot bath and a pallet on the floor no matter what hour I arrived. These issues had been decided by or for me before I embarked, perhaps before I was born. So what I sought from the Indian shuffling down the side of the highway was superfluous information. It didn't matter whether Flagstaff was 110 miles and an hour away, or 300 miles and 15 hours distant. He understood that; what was my problem?

"You'll be there when you get there," I told myself, and turned off the radio. I thought of Chuck Bowden, the gawky guy I went to high school with, who became an amateur newspaper reporter and then a famous professional writer of trenchant social commentary in glossy national magazines. Not to mention books. I asked Chuck one time what he found so attractive about the ground between Yuma and Gila Bend.

"There's less to see there," he said. Deliberately Papago-sounding, I thought at the time.

Well I wanted to see and hear less too. Less FM radio and air-conditioning and the interior of a Dakota pickup, so I shut off the tunes and the air and opened the windows and gawked around at the sandstone and sagebrush and Maynard Dixon clouds in the blue blue sky.

Before long this minimalist sensory environment concentrated itself on the bridge of my nose where the pads of my sunglasses seemed to me to be restricting my breathing. A stream-of-consciousness ran through my torpid thought-processes something like this:

Pinched nostrils...pince nez...Nez Perce...from where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.

Fortunately for everyone, not the least of whom would be you, the reader, the archetypal reservation vignette suddenly appeared before me.

A pickup truck pulled onto the highway a ways up the road. Far enough that I didn't run up on their bumper, but not so far I didn't have to brake and slow to follow them. Two young Navajos, a boy and a girl, teens or early 20s, sat in the back, staring at me staring back at them. Perfect.

I heard some stand-up comic on TV one time say that the hardest thing in the world was to look cool riding in the back of a pickup. I laughed then because I'd done my share of riding in the back of a pickup. I smiled now because these two Navajo kids didn't seem uncomfortable or uncool in the least.

I tailed them for 10 or 15 miles, and it occurred to me that some of the differences that white boys like me perceive between, well, white boys like me and Indians like them could be founded in, found in, these pickup trucks and the contrasting views they afford of the world around us. Here I sit, hand on the wheel, foot on the gas, rushing to meet a world that hurries toward me through the glass of my windshield.

And there sit the heirs of the Navajo nation: bare-headed under the summer sun, whipped by an unceasing wind, their backs to the momentum of an iron horse that hurls them toward an unseen destination...the world they know receding into the infinite behind them.

I think I better stop and take a leak.

By now I have a far deeper appreciation of Tuba City than the previous quarter-century had given me. A little curiosity and a single question can earn a man a lot out here.

The Wave

The wave demonstrates one way of using <dpLoop>, <dpVar>, length and <dpIf> to achieve about any design effect imaginable.

T A G C O D E:

<dpVar direction="decrement"> <dpVar fontSize="7"> <dpVar charCount="<dpLength unit="c"><dpStory></dpLength>"> <dpLoop var="i" from="0" to="<dpVar charCount>"> <dpIf <dpVar direction>="decrement"> <dpVar fontSize="<dpMath <dpVar fontSize> - 1>"> <dpIf <dpVar fontSize> = 1> <dpVar direction="increment"> </dpIf> <dpElse> <dpVar fontSize="<dpMath <dpVar fontSize> + 1>"> <dpIf <dpVar fontSize> = 6> <dpVar direction="decrement"> </dpIf> </dpIf> "><dpStory start="resume" length="1c"> </dpLoop>

E F F E C T:

T U B A C I T Y - - U P u n t i l n o w I n e v e r g a v e a t h o u g h t t o h o w t h i s p l a c e c a m e t o b e c a l l e d w h a t w e c a l l i t . T h e f i r s t t i m e I c a m e t h r o u g h h e r e m u s t h a v e b e e n 2 5 y e a r s a g o , a n d i t s o u n d e d a p p r o p r i a t e l y c o l o r f u l a n d c o l l o q u i a l a n d S t e p h e n V i n c e n t B e n e t . Y o u k n o w , " . . . T o m b s t o n e a n d T u c s o n a n d M e x i c a n H a t . " S o I c o n c e n t r a t e d o n f i n d i n g a g a s s t a t i o n a n d a C o k e m a c h i n e a n d t h o u g h t a h e a d t o F l a g s t a f f .

T o d a y I ' v e g o t t i m e t o k i l l , s o I ' m p a r k e d o u t s i d e a M c D o n a l d ' s e a t i n g a n E g g M c M u f f i n a n d r e a l i z i n g f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e t h a t t h e r e m u s t h a v e b e e n a t u b a i n T u b a C i t y ' s p a s t .

W h a t t h e N a v a j o s c a l l e d t h e p l a c e b e f o r e t h e w h i t e m e n b r o u g h t t h e i r m u s i c a l i n s t r u m e n t s a n d t h e i r l a n g u a g e t o t h e r e z I h a v e n o i d e a . T h i s p l a c e m i g h t n o t e v e n h a v e b e e n a p l a c e , a s f a r a s t h e a b o r i g i n e s w e r e c o n c e r n e d . M a y b e T u b a C i t y i s o n l y h e r e b e c a u s e o f w h i t e c a p i t a l i s m .

...

Toggling Paragraphs

This example shows how you can use loop to toggle paragraphs left and right to break up the reading a bit.

T A G C O D E:

E F F E C T:

STOP LOOKING AT ME like I'm stupid -- cuz I'm NOT. Oh, I see how you look at me when you think I'm not looking. You smile and nod at all my ass and monkey jokes, and then, as soon as I turn away? BAM! Your eyes rocket up to the top of your skull and take two swift orbits around your sockets before plummeting back to normal. Then, lips curling into that familiar, all-knowing sneer, you whisper underneath your breath, "Hoooo-boy! Wm.™ Steven Humphrey sure is stoo-ooh-ooh-PID!"

Well, LOOK! I'm not the one who's stupid, it's my TV column that's stupid. If I had MY way, I'd be writing a column about some very intelligent subject... like... oh, I don't know... like art, or politics... you know, stuff like those four-eyed sissies over at Salon write (except I certainly wouldn't name my magazine Salon! HA! What a bunch of Nancys!! HA! HA! HAAAA!). Anyway, if you ever read the other TV columnists in town (and I know for a fact you don't), they are always doing things to make themselves look smart. See, they can be talking about Moesha or Green Acres, and figure out some way to stick in the word "recalcitrant" (which means "refusing to obey") or "ignominious" (which means the same as "ignorant" but spelled differently). But don't be fooled! These people are in fact, very STUPID, and it would be ignominiously recalcitrant of me to state otherwise!

SO! In an effort to stop your incessant eye-rolling and palm-sniggering, I've decided to smarten up my column this week by talking about a TV channel which is nothing if not brainy: the Bravo network. In Bravo, we find a channel that is so intelligent, so cultured, it would make any of those poofs over at Salon wet their lacy petticoats. Though touted as "a film and arts network," it wisely stays away from what I like to call "the idiot arts" -- which includes opera, modern dance, and poetry -- and sticks with less snooty subjects, like independent film, interviews, and profiles, as well as the more intelligent variety of TV show (not Moesha or Green Acres).

For example, if you are an independent film aficionado (i.e. someone who doesn't mind watching a three-hour movie about water dripping into a bucket), Bravo often spotlights fancy-pants directors such as Kurosawa and Fellini, as well as modern-day hacks Spike Lee and John Waters. Music lovers will appreciate in-depth profiles of David Bowie, Isaac "Hot Buttered Soul" Hayes, and the Blue Note record label (Note to famous jazz artists: getting drunk and "just winging it" is not an acceptable substitute for saxophone lessons). And fans of pompous celebs should really love Inside the Actors Studio, in which laughably untalented actors like Martin Short, Sly Stallone, and Kim Basinger pontificate on the vagaries of the stage in front of an audience of drooling thespians/ future waiters.

However! What you should definitely not miss is Louis Theroux's Wild Weekends (in which the son of novelist Paul Theroux travels around interviewing UFO abductees, demolition derby drivers, and porn stars) and reruns of the '80s TV classic Moonlighting, which (believe it or don't) makes one fall in love with Bruce Willis all over again. Waitasecond!! I saw you roll your eyes! Goddammit, I AM NOT STUPID!!

Image Tags

The image tags allow you to get to access all the given information on a particular image or series of images. They are most commonly used to define an image macro, but can also be used independently for precision image placement and manipulation. For more information on image macros, see <dpStory>.

<dpImage>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns <img src="file.gif" width="100" height="220" alt="alt value">. In addition, you can push through any other values you want. The image tag will ignore everything but the number attribute and will just send your extras along.

<dpImage number="#" >

E X A M P L E S:

<dpImage number="#" align="right">
returns
<img src="file.gif" width="100" height="220" alt="alt value" align="right">

<dpImage number="#" align="left" onmouseover="doSomething()">
returns
<img src="file.gif" width="100" height="220" alt="alt value" align="left" onmouseover="doSomething()">

You can also override values as follows:
<dpImage number="#" width="5">
returns <img src="file.gif" width="5" height="220" alt="alt value">

Testing Image Sizes for Layout

If you want to have wide images centered and other images aligned on the right, you can do this with an image macro. The following macro tests to see if the image width is greater than 350 pixels. If it is, it uses a centering layout. If it isn't that wide, the macro aligns the image on the right.

T A G C O D E:

<dpMacro myImageLayout> <dpIf <dpImageWidth> gt 350> <center> <dpImage> </center> <dpElse> <dpImage align="right"> </dpIf> </dpMacro> <dpStory images="on" imageMacro="myImageLayout">

E F F E C T:

Passing JavaScript or other Attributes on to Images

You may pass an "onMouseOver" event or a "vspace" on to an image associated with a story.

T A G C O D E:

You can do this longhand: <img src="<dpImageURL>" width="<dpImageWidth>" height="<dpImageHeight>" alt="<dpImageAlt>" onMouseOver="do something" vspace="10"> or you can do it shorthand: <dpImage onMouseOver="do something" vspace="10"> Both examples produce identical results. <dpImage> provides a shorthand that always fills out the width, height, and alt attributes as well as creating an image tag. You can pass other values on to it or override existing values by adding attributes to the tag. Here's an example of forcing the alt of all images to display the caption. <dpImage alt="<dpImageCaption>">

E F F E C T:

<dpImageAlt>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the alt value of the specified image.

<dpImageAlt number="#" 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

<dpImageArtist>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the artist of a specific image referenced by the number. For example, if a story had three images, you would reference the second image's artist as follows: <dpImageArtist number="2">.

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

<dpImageCaption>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the caption of a specific image referenced by the number. For example, if a story had three images, you would reference the second image's caption as follows: <dpImageCaption number="2">.

<dpImageCaption number="#" 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

<dpImageCount>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the number of images the story has associated with it. For example, if a story had three images, <dpImageCount> would return "3".

<dpImageCount 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

<dpImageCredit>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the credit type of the artist, for the specific image referenced by the number. Example return values include "Photo by" and "Illustration by".

<dpImageCredit number="#" 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

<dpImageHeight>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the height of the specified image.

<dpImageHeight number="#" 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

<dpImageID>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the base file name of the image. No suffix.

<dpImageID 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpImageURL> returns feature1-2.gif

<dpImageID> returns feature1-2

<dpImageNumber>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the number of the "current" image. This would most commonly be used in an image macro to test for a specific image. For example, if it was the first image you may want to do something specific, or the last image.

<dpImageNumber 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpIf <dpImageNumber> = 1>
tests if it is the first image
special treatment for the first image
<dpElseIf <dpImageNumber> = <dpImageCount>>
tests if it is the last image
special treatment for the last image
<dpElse>
default treatment (not the first or last image)
</dpIf>

<dpImageURL>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the URL of the specified image. For example <dpImageURL number="1"> would return "feature2-1.gif".

<dpImageURL number="#" 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

<dpImageWidth>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Returns the width of the specified image.

<dpImageWidth number="#" 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

Miscellaneous Tags

The miscellaneous tags consist primarily of functions, like <dpLength> which calculates the length of a tag value or string by character, word, sentence or paragraph. Other miscellaneous tags include <dpMath> which allows you to perform mathematical operations, and <dpSpawn> which allows a template to create other pages within your site, most commonly used for server side includes or micro sites, like author archive pages.

<dpArray>

D E F I N I T I O N:

<dpArray> allows you to sort and display values you set in an array using <dpArrayElement>. It is most commonly used to display unique and sorted lists of authors in your database.

A T T R I B U T E S:

name="arrayName": The name attribute is used for the name of the array you are referencing. It should be the same name you used when defining your array with <dpArrayElement></dpArrayElement>
sort="ascending|descending|asc|desc": The sort attribute lets you sort the array either ascending or descending. Asc and Desc are aliases to ascending and descending. The default sort is ascending.
number="all|#": By default <dpArray> will return "all" elements in the array. You may also optionally choose to loop through an array or request a specific element by using the number attribute.
return="value|count": By default <dpArray> will return all the elements in the array. You may also optionally choose to get just a count of elements in the array. This is most commonly used in conjunction of looping through an array or checking the size of an array before displaying it.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpArray name="myList" sort="ascending">

myList has <dpArray name="myList" return="count"> values.

<dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpArray name="myList" return="count">"> <dpArray name="myList" number="<dpVar i>" sort="ascending"> </dpLoop>

D E T A I L S:

<dpArray> can be used as a stand alone tag which will perform the requested sort and display the entire array (each element). It can also be used interactively in conjunction with <dpLoop> to traverse through the array.
name is required. All other values are optional and have default settings.
The name is the same name you used to set each array element.
sorting can be ascending or descending, with ascending as the default.
by default, <dpArray> will return the whole array, but you may request an individual element number as well, by using number="#"
return="count" will return the number of elements the array holds.

Defining and Using an <dpArray>

The following will define an array named "myList". It will then load two values into the array. Notice that the values require a key which is used for sorting, and a value which is used when you display the array.

T A G C O D E:

<dpArrayElement name="myList" key="gerken, wil"> Wil Gerken </dpArrayElement> <dpArrayElement name="myList" key="forbes, collin"> Collin Forbes </dpArrayElement> The following will sort the values in the "myList" array and display them all. <dpArray name="myList" sort="ascending" number="all"> which will return: Collin Forbes Wil Gerken Give it a try in the tag tester.

E F F E C T:

Creating an Author List

The following produces a two column layout of unique authors sorted alphabetically. To add links to the author archive page, modify the array element to include the desired link. For instance:

<a href="../authors/<dpAuthorID number="<dpVar i>">"><dpAuthor number="<dpVar i>"></a> 

T A G C O D E:

<dpQuery issue="all" realm="author"> <dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpAuthor return="count">"> <dpArrayElement name="myList" key="<dpAuthor number="<dpVar i>" format="lastfirst">"> <dpAuthor number="<dpVar i>"> </dpArrayElement> </dpLoop> </dpQuery> <dpComment> Set middle marker and offset by one if uneven so left side gets extra length. </dpComment> <dpVar top="<dpArray name="myList" return="count">"> <dpVar middle="<dpMath <dpVar top>/2>"> <dpIf <dpMath <dpVar top>%<dpVar middle>> != 0> <dpVar middle="<dpMath <dpVar middle>+1>"> </dpIf> <dpComment> Render dual column table </dpComment> <table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <ul> <dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpVar top>"> <li><dpArray name="myList" sort="ascending" number="<dpVar i>"> <dpIf <dpVar i> = <dpVar middle>> </ul> </td> <td valign="top"> <ul> </dpIf> </dpLoop> </ul> </td> </tr> </table>

E F F E C T:

<dpArrayElement>

D E F I N I T I O N:

<dpArrayElement> lets you define elements within an array. It is always used in conjunction with <dpArray>.

<dpArrayElement name="arrayName" key="sort value"> Value </dpArrayElement>

A T T R I B U T E S:

name="arrayName": The name attribute is used for the name of the array you want to create. You should use the same array name for each element you add to the array.
key="sort key": The key attribute is used for sorting. For example, if you set a value of "Alfred E. Neuman", you would probably want a key of "neuman, alfred e."
value: The value is whatever value you want to assign to that array elemnt. It usually contains all the HTML formatting you will want when you display the array.

D E T A I L S:

<dpArrayElement> requires a name, key and a close tag </dpArrayElement>. The value is technically optional, but it is fairly unlikely you would not set a value.
The name value is the name of the array, such as "myList", "authorArray", etc. Make sure you use the same name for all of the elements you want to be a part of that array.
The key value is used as a sort key. This is what <dpArray sort="ascending"> operates on. A common example would be an author's name: "last name, first middle".
keys are case sensitive.
The value can contain whatever output you want to store with that element, like a link to an author's archive page. All leading and trailing white space is trimmed off of the value.
If you set two elements to the exact same key, it will overwrite the existing key. Put differently, keys must be unique. This can be used to your advantage in creating a unique list of elements from a larger list on non-unique elements.

<dpComment>

D E F I N I T I O N:

<dpComment> provides a method for you to put comments within your template. Unlike HTML comments, these comments will be removed when the template is built.

<dpComment>Comment goes here.</dpComment>

<dpComment> Comment goes here. </dpComment>

A T T R I B U T E S:

Not applicable.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpComment>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Create a list of all the authors in my database.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
</dpComment>

<dpCurrentIssue>

D E F I N I T I O N:

This tag will return the issue/issueID of the latest issue in your database. It's purpose is primarily to use in a conditional test to see if the issue being built is the current issue or not.

<dpCurrentIssue 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" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpIf <dpIssue> = <dpCurrentIssue>> {create author archive pages} </dpIf>

This Week in Film: <dpQuery issue="<dpCurrentIssue>" section="film"> <dpHeadline link="on"> <dpSummary> </dpQuery>

<dpInclude>

D E F I N I T I O N:

<dpInclude> allows you to pull in (include) a template within a template. This is most commonly used for pulling in a template full of common macros, or design headers and footers.

<dpInclude template="template name" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

template="(template name)": Name of external template.

<dpLength>

D E F I N I T I O N:

<dpLength> returns the length of a string in paragraphs (p), sentences (s), words (w), or characters (c).

<dpLength unit="p|s|w|c">string or tag(s) to evaluate</dpLength>

A T T R I B U T E S:

Not applicable.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpLength unit="w">How many words?</dpLength> would return 3

<dpLength unit="w">How many characters?</dpLength> would return 18

A more common usage would be:

You now have a variable that holds the number of total paragraphs this story has. This can be used for layout purposes, statistical information like word count, a variable to determine if you should split this story into multiple pages, etc.

<dpMath>

D E F I N I T I O N:

<dpMath> lets you perform mathematical calculations within the tag and will return the result.

<dpMath calculation goes here>

O P E R A T O R S:

+, -, *, /, ( )

E X A M P L E S:

<dpMath 4+4> would return 8

<dpMath <dpLength unit="p"><dpStory></dpLength> - 4>
would return the length of the story in paragraphs subtracting 4.

<dpSpawn>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Spawn provides a method for a template to build additional files. This is most commonly used to generate server side includes, or to create and/or update mini sites.

This syntax it used to define a template inline. Mostly common for creating include files.

<dpSpawn path="relative path" file="file name"> template defined here </dpSpawn>

This syntax references an external template you've defined in the Template Manager. This is a common method for mini sites.

<dpSpawn path="relative path" file="file name" template="template name">

A T T R I B U T E S:

path="(relative path)": The location or where the file should go, using relative addressing: path="/archives/"
file="(file name)": The name of the file.
template="(template name)": Name of external template.

E X A M P L E S:

The following code will build author archives for all of the authors in your database. It uses a template defined in the Template Manager called "author archives".

<dpQuery issue="all" realm="author">
<dpSpawn path="/archives/authors/" file="<dpAuthorID>.html" template="author archives">
</dpQuery>

Navigational Tags

The navigational tags relate specifically to directional navigation within your web site. They allow you to add features such as page forward and page back between stories, threading across issues within a specific column, page numbering systems, or hybrids of all of the above. See <dpQuery> for examples of site navigation related to suggested links, such as "more by this author", "recently in this column", or "other Jazz reviews".

<dpColumnURL>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The URL of a specific column being built or queried. This is most often used to point to the first story within a column, which may be a dynamic element, depending on your publication.

<dpColumnURL column = "this|column|columnID" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

column="this|column|columnID": The <dpColumnURL> tag always defaults to the column the story being built or queried is in, which is notated by column="this". If you want to query the beginning of a different column, you can set the column value to a specific column/columnID. Examples:
<dpColumnURL column="this"> - smith.html
<dpColumnURL column="Jeff Smith"> -
<dpColumnURL column="curr"> - curr.html

E X A M P L E S:

<dpColumnURL>
smith.html

<a href="<dpColumnURL column="curr">">Go to the Currents Features</a>
Go to the Currents Features

<dpPageBackURL>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The URL of the previous page from the story currently being built or queried.

<dpPageBackURL>

A T T R I B U T E S:

Not applicable.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpPageBackURL>
mailbag.html

<a href="<dpPageBackURL>"><img src="../images/pageback.gif"></a>

<dpIf <dpPageBackUrl>>
<a href="<dpPageBackURL>"><img src="../images/pageback.gif"></a>
</dpIf>

<dpPageForwardURL>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The URL of the next page from the story currently being built or queried. Page sequence is determined by the order of the stories within pagination.

<dpPageForwardURL>

A T T R I B U T E S:

Not applicable.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpPageForwardURL>
skinny.html

<a href="<dpPageForwardURL>">Page Forward</a>
Page Forward

<dpIf <dpPageForwardURL>>
<a href="<dpPageForwardURL>">Page Forward</a>
</dpIf>
Page Forward

<dpPageNumber>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The page number of the story currently being built or queried.

A T T R I B U T E S:

type="issue|section"

The <dpPageNumber> tag always defaults to issue page numbering, which numbers pages front to back in the issue. An alternate page numbering type, section numbering, is also available. In section numbering each section begins with page 1.

<dpPageNumber type="issue"> - 2
<dpPageNumber type="section"> - 2

position="this|last|first"

The default page position is always the page you are viewing, known as "this". You may also easily access the first and last page of the issue or section, by using the position attribute. This is frequently used in comparison tests to see if you are currently viewing the last page of an issue or section.

<dpPageNumber type="issue" position="this"> - 2
<dpPageNumber type="issue" position="last"> - 39
<dpPageNumber type="section" position="this"> - 2
<dpPageNumber type="section" position="last"> - 8

Please refer to the common attributes page for the common attribute descriptions.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpPageNumber>
2

Page <dpPageNumber type="section">
Page 2

<dpPageNumber style="roman">
II

The last page in this issue is page <dpPageNumber position="last">
The last page in this issue is page 32

<dpSectionURL>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The URL of a specific section being built or queried. This is most often used to point to the first story within a section, which may be a dynamic element, depending on your publication.

<dpSectionURL section = "this|section|sectionID" >

A T T R I B U T E S:

section="this|section|sectionID": The <dpSectionURL> tag always defaults to the section the story being built or queried is in, which is notated by section="this". If you want to query a the beginning of a different section, you can set the section value to a specific section/sectionID. Examples:
<dpSectionURL section="this"> - mailbag.html
<dpSectionURL section="City Week"> - cw.html
<dpSectionURL section="cityweek"> - cw.html

E X A M P L E S:

<dpSectionURL>
mailbag.html

The first story in this section is <a href="<dpSectionURL>"><dpSectionURL></a>
The first story in this section is mailbag.html

<a href="<dpSectionURL section="music">">Go to the Music Section</a>
Go to the Music Section

<a href="<dpSectionURL section="Currents">">Currents</a> .
<a href="<dpSectionURL section="Music">">Music</a> .
<a href="<dpSectionURL section="Cinema">">Cinema</a> .
<a href="<dpSectionURL section="Books">">Books</a> .
<a href="<dpSectionURL section="Review">">Review</a> .
<a href="<dpSectionURL section="City Week">">City Week</a>
Currents . Music . Cinema . Books . Review . City Week

<dpThreadBackURL>

D E F I N I T I O N:

The URL of the previous story in this column's sequence.

<dpThreadBackURL>

A T T R I B U T E S:

Not applicable.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpThreadBackURL>
../1999-05-07/smith.html

<a href="<dpThreadBackURL>">Previously in this column</a>
Previously in this column

<dpIf <dpThreadBackURL>>
<a href="<dpThreadBackURL>">Previously in this column (error checked)</a>
</dpIf>
Previously in this column (error checked)

Queries

Queries allow you to query your database to find matches based on the criteria you set within the query tag. Common uses of queries include table of contents pages, suggested links, more stories by a specific author, previously in this column, page numbering systems, query if a story is running or not this issue, and much, much more.

<dpQuery>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Simple Query Format:

<dpQuery>
{Looping Query Section}
</dpQuery>

The query tag is a container tag, meaning it requires an opening and closing tag: <dpQuery></dpQuery>. To define and execute a query, the above syntax is all that is needed. However, you will usually use at least one attribute to refine your query for your specific needs.

Everything that appears within the {Looping Query Section} will be repeated for each match.

For example, the following syntax queries all of the publication's archives looking for matches of the cinema column. If it finds a match, it will output a linked headline of the matching story.

<dpQuery column="cin">
<dpHeadline link="on">
</dpQuery>
Native Talent
Last Night Stand
Seeing Through The Roos
X Marks The Plot
etc.

Complete Query Format:

The query tag also includes additional tags that can be optionally used within the query container to extend the functionality of the query tag.

<dpQuery>
 {Header Section}
 <dpLoop>
 {Looping Query Section}
 </dpLoop>
 {Footer Section}
 <dpFail>
 {Failed Query Section}
</dpQuery>

<dpLoop></dpLoop>

The <dpLoop></dpLoop> container tag allows you to designate the {Looping Query Section}. In the simple format, <dpLoop></dpLoop> is assumed.

The advantage to using the <dpLoop></dpLoop> container tag is so that you can define a {Header Section} and/or a {Footer Section}

The header and footer sections will only be displayed once for the entire query, where the information within the <dpLoop></dpLoop> container tag will be displayed for each match. Please see the examples below.

<dpFail>

The <dpFail> tag allows you to define what should be displayed if there are no matches. By default, if there are no matches, the entire query will fail and nothing within the query container will be displayed. Note: <dpFail> is similar to an else clause.

A T T R I B U T E S:

issue = "this|all|archives|issue|issueID"

The issue attribute allows you to choose whether you want to query only the issue being built, all issues, just the archives, a specific issue, or a combination of issues. Note: like all Dispatch attributes, you may use multiples, such as <dpQuery issue="this" issue="1998-05-07">

issue="this" - This is the default value and only queries the issue being built.

issue="all" - Queries all issues, including the issue being built.

issue="archives" - Queries all issues before the issue being built. The issue being built is not included, only the issues that precede it in date. Most commonly used for suggested links.

issue="issue|issueID" - You can specify a specific issue using <dpIssue>/<dpIssueID> format: yyyy-mm-dd. Example: issue="1999-10-22"

section = "this|all|section|sectionID"

The section attribute allows you to query only within the section being built, all sections, a specific section, or a combination of sections.

section="this" - limits the query to the current section being built. For example, if the page being built is in the film section, it would only query film.

section="all" - queries all sections. This is the default value.

section="section|sectionID" - queries a specific section you designate. Both <dpSection> & <dpSectionID> syntax can be used. Example: section="music"

column = "this|all|column|columnID"

The column attribute allows you to query only the specific column being built, all columns, a specific column, or a combination of columns.

column="this" - limits the query to the current column being built. For example, if the story being built is a cinema feature column, it would only query other stories that are cinema feature columns.

column="all" - queries all columns. This is the default value.

column="column|columnID" - queries a specific column you designate. Both <dpColumn> & <dpColumnID> syntax can be used. Example: column="cover"

author = "this|all|author|authorID"

The author attribute allows you to query only the specific author being built, all authors, a specific author, or a combination of authors.

author="this" - limits the query to the current author of the story being built. For example, if the story being built is written by Jeff Smith, it would only query other stories that were written by Jeff Smith.

author="all" - queries all authors. This is the default value.

author="author|authorID" - queries a specific author you designate. Both <dpAuthor> & <dpAuthorID> syntax can be used.

paginated = "yes|no|all"

The paginated attribute limits the query to only paginated pages, only non-paginated pages, or both paginated and non-paginated pages.

paginated="yes" - limits the query to paginated pages only. This is the default.

paginated="no" - limits the query to non-paginated pages only.

paginated="all" - queries both paginated and non-paginated pages.

includethis = "yes|no"

The includethis attribute tells the query whether it should use the story currently being built within the query or not.

includethis="yes" - tells the query to include itself, the story currently being built, within the query.

includethis="no" - tells the query not to include itself, the story currently being built, within the query. This is the default.

max = "#"

The max attribute limits the amount of stories to be available for output. Max takes any decimal value. For example, if you defined your query and wanted to make sure it only contained a maximum of three results, you would use max="3". The max attribute is handled at the very end of the query, which means that your query will still be calculated over a full set. Only after all filters and sorting has been applied is the set reduced to the maximum value. The default is max="", which applies no limitations.

min = "#"

The min attribute sets a minimum amount of the query set before it will process. For example, if you only wanted the query to execute if there where at least three results within the set, you would use min="3". You could also combine min and max to set a minimum and maximum, such as min="3" and max="4". This will never process less then three or more then four.

sort = "+-(issue|section|column|author|story)"

You can sort your query results ascending or descending by any of these values or a combination of them. The direction of the sort works as follows: sort="issue" sorts by issues ascending, sort="+issue" is the same and also sorts by issues ascending, sort="-issue" reverse sorts by issues or descending. You may also combine sorts to achieve multiple sorting. For example, <dpQuery sort="-issue" sort="story"> sorts the issues descending and then by story ascending.

+ = ascending
- = descending

exclude = "<dpQuery>"

The exclude attribute allows you to exclude a query set from the query you are performing. For example, say you wanted to list more stories by author and more stories by column on the same page. These queries are likely to have a few of the same links. If you want to make sure they don't, you can use the exclude attribute.

realm="author|column|section|issue"

If you set the realm attribute, the query will loop once for each unique author, section, column, or issue matched by the rest of the query. This is most often used to create a list of all of your authors, sections, columns or issues.

userField="name|match|value"

The userField attribute allows you to query over a specific userField. It takes multiple values which allow you to fine tune your query. The first value is the name of the user field, the second value defines how to match it, and the remaining value(s) specifies what to match.

columnType="all|column|interstitial"

By default Dispatch queries all columns, but there are times when you may want to limit the queries to just stories or just interstitials. A common use of this is when you want to avoid having an interstitial show up in an all inclusive index of the issue.

return="value|count"

By default a query will always return the values of the query (return="value"). The return attribute can also allow you to find out just how many values a query would have had, rather then returning them (return="count"). This would most commonly be used in a conditional test, and should be written without the close query </dpQuery>.

For example:

The following code first creates a list of up to 3 (max="3") stories by "this" author from the archives. It then performs a test to see if there were greater than 3 (gt 3) stories by this author in the archives. If there were, it puts in a link to their author archive page. If there weren't, nothing is displayed. The goal here was to prevent the "more..." link from being displayed unless there truly were more. <dpQuery return="count"> makes it easy to achieve this, and avoids incrementing variables.

  <dpQuery issue="archives" author="this" max="3">  
    More by <dpAuthor>:<br>
    <dpLoop>
      <dpHeadline link="on"><br>
    </dpLoop>
  </dpQuery>

  <dpIf <dpQuery issue="archives" author="this" return="count"> gt 3>
     <a href="../archives/authors/<dpAuthorID>.html">more...</a><br>
  </dpIf>

Another example for comparison:

Note: return="value" is the default, and therefore not needed.

  <dpQuery issue="archives" column="music">  
    <dpHeadline><br>
  </dpQuery>

would return this:

The Sound and the Fury
Scavengers of the Vast Wasteland
Make Your Mama Proud
High Impact

---

<dpQuery issue="archives" column="music" return="count">

would return "4".

E X A M P L E S:

<dpQuery column="cin">
 Recently in this column: 
 <dpHeadline link="on"> 
</dpQuery>
Recently in this column:
Native Talent
Recently in this column:
Last Night Stand
Recently in this column:
Seeing Through The Roos
Recently in this column:
X Marks The Plot
etc.

<dpQuery column="cin">
 Recently in this column: 
 <dpLoop>
 <dpHeadline link="on"> 
 </dpLoop>
</dpQuery>
Recently in this column:
Native Talent
Last Night Stand
Seeing Through The Roos
X Marks The Plot
etc.

Recently in this column: 
<dpQuery column="danehy">
 <dpHeadline link="on"> 
</dpQuery>
Recently in this column:

Recently in this column: 
<dpQuery column="danehy">
 <dpHeadline link="on"> 
 <dpFail>
 No matches found 
</dpQuery>
Recently in this column:
No matches found

Also in this Section [1/2]

The following query would be a common query to include on a sectional table of contents, like for your music or film section.

T A G C O D E:

<dpQuery issue="this" section="music"> <dpHeadline link="on"> <dpSummary> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

The Burden of Spoof
Prince of parody Weird Al Yankovic polkas into the TCC on March 1.

Soundbites
Making mountains out of Molehill... The BMI Showcase lowdown... Soundbites salutes Al Perry... and more!

Rhythm & Views
Wise words on the latest from The Rusty Boys.

Club Listings
What's happening at Tucson night spots this week.

Also in this Section [2/2]

The following query picks up where the previous left off, but makes it more dynamic and multi-purpose for all table of contents pages by using "this" rather then hard coding "music". It also tests for an author and displays the author name(s) if the story is credited.

T A G C O D E:

<dpQuery issue="this" section="this"> <dpHeadline link="on"> <dpSummary> <dpIf <dpAuthor>> <dpAuthorCredit> <dpAuthor> </dpIf> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

The Burden of Spoof
Prince of parody Weird Al Yankovic polkas into the TCC on March 1.
By Curtis McCrary

Soundbites
Making mountains out of Molehill... The BMI Showcase lowdown... Soundbites salutes Al Perry... and more!
By Stephen Seigel

Rhythm & Views
Wise words on the latest from The Rusty Boys.
Fred Mills

Club Listings
What's happening at Tucson night spots this week.

Using the Negate Operator

There are often scenarios where you want to query over a section, but exclude a column or a few columns. This can be achieved simply by using the negate operator. For example, say we want to list all the stories in the film section, but not the film times, or tv times. Here's how that works:

T A G C O D E:

<dpQuery issue="this" section="film" column="-filmtimes" column="-tvtimes"> <dpHeadline link="on"> <dpSummary> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

Billionaire Boys Flub
Skip "Boiler Room" and rent "Glengarry Glen Ross" or "Wall Street" instead.

Film Clips
Check out Tucson Weekly's capsule reviews.

More by this Author [1/4]

The following query searches through all of the archives looking for additional stories by this author. If matches are found it will display the output and return a maximum of 3 links. Note: if no matches are found, the "More by this author:" will still be displayed.

T A G C O D E:

More by this author: <dpQuery issue="archives" author="this" max="3"> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

More by this author:
Savage Love
Germ Warfare
Cross Your Heart

More by this Author [2/4]

The following query searches through all of the archives looking for additional stories by this author. If matches are found it will display the output and return a maximum of 3 links. If no matches are found, nothing will be displayed.

In addition to preventing anything from being displayed if no matches are found, this version has replaced the word "author" with the author's name, and added a summary and issue date.

T A G C O D E:

<dpQuery issue="archives" author="this" max="3"> More by <dpAuthor>: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> <dpSummary> [<dpIssueDate begin="%m-%d-%Y">] </dpLoop> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

More by Dan Savage:

Savage Love
Las Vegas is a sexy city, and I am a sheltered Seattleite. I want to explode! Should I become a showgirl? [01-20-2000]

Savage Love
Making any special plans for New Year's Eve? Prepared for Y2K? Laying in any provisions? [12-30-1999]

Cross Your Heart
I recently met an ambitious, attractive, charming, talented, and terrific young woman. One MAJOR problem, though... [12-09-1999]

More by this Author [3/4]

This version of more by this author takes into consideration that a story may have more than one author and in that scenario it should display suggested links for each of the authors independently. This is achieved by creating a loop that processes each author one at a time. If there is only one author, it will display the one like before, but if there are multiple, it will list them out one after the other.

T A G C O D E:

<dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpAuthor return="count">"> <dpQuery issue="archives" author="<dpAuthorID number="<dpVar i>">" max="3"> More by <dpAuthor number="<dpVar i>">: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> <dpSummary> [<dpIssueDate begin="%m-%d-%Y">] </dpLoop> </dpQuery> </dpLoop>

E F F E C T:

More by Phil Campbell:

Of Rags and Riches
[11-18-1999]

Facing the Mob
[11-11-1999]

One Step Forward...
[11-11-1999]

More by Josh Feit:

Windows for Unions
[11-18-1999]

Last Train to Debtsville
Light rail planning gets heavy as Schell gets pissy and wants to borrow more money. By JOSH FEIT [11-11-1999]

Seattle Weekly Up for Sale
[09-30-1999]

More by Jennifer Vogel:

Sliced Eyeballs
[10-28-1999]

A D D I T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N:

To explain this in more detail, let's first examine what the loop does by simplifying it a bit. The loop is defined as being a number from "1" to the amount of authors a story has. If the story has 3 authors, it will loop three times (from 1 to 3). The variable "i" will contain the loop number it is currently on. Here's what it would look like if you had 3 authors on a story.

All authors: <dpAuthor> 

<dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpAuthor return="count">">
Author <dpVar i>: <dpAuthor number="<dpVar i>"> 
</dpLoop>

The default setting for <dpAuthor> is <dpAuthor number="all"> which displays all the authors of a story. By setting the number value to a literal like number="2", we are able to extract the second author only.

The full version of this query uses this principle to run the query once per author, taking special care that the appropriate author is referenced within the query itself.

More by this Author [4/4]

This example picks up where the previous left off and adds an enhancement of testing to see if the author had more then 3 stories. If she/he did, a link is inserted to link them to an author archive for their complete list. This author archive would be something you would have created using the <dpSpawn> tag.

This test is achieved by performing another query about the author, but this time only returning the "count" of how many matches the query made. This is then compared to see if it is greater than 3 and if so, the more link is added.

T A G C O D E:

<dpLoop var="i" from="1" to="<dpAuthor return="count">"> <dpQuery issue="archives" author="<dpAuthorID number="<dpVar i>">" max="3"> More by <dpAuthor number="<dpVar i>">: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> <dpSummary> [<dpIssueDate begin="%m-%d-%Y">] </dpLoop> <dpIf <dpQuery issue="all" author="<dpAuthorID number="<dpVar i>">" return="count"> gt 3> <a href="../archives/<dpAuthorID number="<dpVar i>">.html">more...</a> </dpIf> </dpQuery> </dpLoop>

E F F E C T:

More by Phil Campbell:

Of Rags and Riches
[11-18-1999]

Facing the Mob
[11-11-1999]

One Step Forward...
[11-11-1999]

more...

More by Josh Feit:

Windows for Unions
[11-18-1999]

Last Train to Debtsville
Light rail planning gets heavy as Schell gets pissy and wants to borrow more money. By JOSH FEIT [11-11-1999]

Seattle Weekly Up for Sale
[09-30-1999]

more...

More by Jennifer Vogel:

Sliced Eyeballs
[10-28-1999]

Recently in this Column

The following query searches through all of the archives looking for additional stories previously in this column. If matches are found it will display the output and return a maximum of 3 links. If no matches are found, nothing will be displayed.

T A G C O D E:

<dpQuery issue="archives" column="this" max="3"> Recently in <dpColumn>: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> <dpSummary> [<dpIssueDate begin="%m-%d-%Y">] </dpLoop> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

Recently in I, Anonymous:

Drop the Chalupa
I am sick to the guillotines in regards to that spoiled Chihuahua on TV. Did you know they use irritants for the mouth motion? Would you like to know what else makes me sick?!? [11-18-1999]

Mumia Shmoomia
To the zealots who staged the "Free Mumia" protest rally that clogged up Third and Fourth Avenue during rush hour on Friday, October 22nd [11-11-1999]

Rookie of the Year
Hey NFL Rookie! You know you hurt me, right? [11-04-1999]

Using the Exclude Attribute

The exclude attribute is most commonly used when you have a few groupings of suggested links, and want to make sure their is no redundancy. For example, if you had "previously in this column", and "recently by this author", there could be the same links listed in both places. Here's how you prevent that.

T A G C O D E:

Before: <dpQuery issue="archives" column="this" max="3"> Previously in <dpColumn>: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpLoop> </dpQuery> <dpQuery issue="archives" author="this" max="3"> Recently by <dpAuthor>: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpLoop> </dpQuery> After: <dpQuery issue="archives" column="this" max="3"> Previously in <dpColumn>: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpLoop> </dpQuery> <dpQuery issue="archives" author="this" max="3" exclude="<dpQuery issue="archives" column="this" max="3">"> Recently by <dpAuthor>: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpLoop> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

Before:

Previously in Music:
MP3s Basically Suck
Heat Seeking
Shaolin Slangmaster

Recently by Erin Franzman:
MP3s Basically Suck
Welcome
Going Underground

After:

Previously in Music:
MP3s Basically Suck
Heat Seeking
Shaolin Slangmaster

Recently by Erin Franzman:
Welcome
Going Underground
If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say, Tell the Truth Anyway

A D D I T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N:

Notice the exclude attribute in the second query. This exclude lists a query of results you want to exclude, like a subset. In this case, it excludes any result that would have been in the query before it.

Suggested Links Within a Drop-down menu (Select)

Say you want to list your suggested links in a drop-down menu, rather then on the page itself. You would do this simply by adding the appropriate form elements to the query, so that Dispatch can build the form. Note: this version requires JavaScript.

T A G C O D E:

<form onSubmit="document.location.href=myNav.options[myNav.options.selectedIndex].value; return false"> <select name="myNav"> <dpQuery issue="archives" column="this" max="20"> <option value="../<dpIssue>/<dpFile>"><dpHeadline> </dpQuery> </select> <input type="submit" value="go"> </form>

E F F E C T:

Other Music Reviews in this Issue [1/2]

Say you want to chain stories of the same column together within an issue, like all of the music reviews. Here's how you would achieve that.

T A G C O D E:

Hard coded version: <dpQuery issue="this" column="music_reviews"> More Music Reviews in this issue: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpLoop> </dpQuery> More dynamic version: <dpQuery issue="this" column="this"> More <dpColumn> in this issue: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpLoop> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

More Music Reviews in this issue:
Conceptual Chaos
The Shirt Off Your Back
Shamrocks and Glocks
Jones on the Jukebox
CD Review Revue

Other Music Reviews in this Issue [2/2]

In this example, we will have two queries. One to connect to other music reviews in the issue the reader is reading, and a second query to recent record reviews. This is an interesting way to provide two directional navigation.

T A G C O D E:

<dpQuery issue="this" column="music"> More Music Reviews in this issue: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpLoop> </dpQuery> <dpQuery issue="archives" column="music" max="5"> Recent Music Reviews: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> [<dpIssueDate begin="%m-%d-%Y">] </dpLoop> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

More Music Reviews in this issue:
Conceptual Chaos
The Shirt Off Your Back
Shamrocks and Glocks
Jones on the Jukebox
CD Review Revue

Recent Music Reviews:
MP3s Basically Suck [02-03-2000]
Heat Seeking [02-03-2000]
Shaolin Slangmaster [02-03-2000]
The Last Classic Rock Band [01-27-2000]
Utilizing the Usage [01-27-2000]

Listing All Columns With Realm

The following will query over all your issues to find all the unique columns in your database. The realm attribute and value of "column" limits this query to only one result per column.

T A G C O D E:

<dpQuery issue="all" realm="column"> <dpColumn> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

News Index
City
In Other News...
Police Beat
Last Days
Columns Index
Savage Love
I Love Television
This Week on TV
etc...

A D D I T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N:

To make the list more readable, you can also add sort="column" to sort by the column name.

All Ages Action
Art
Arts Index
Big Cover
Book Review Revue
Book Supplement
Books
Calendar Index
CD Review Revue
Celeb
Chow
City
City of Paris
Club Directory
etc...

Querying by Issue Volume and/or Issue Number

You can list all of stories from a single volume number by querying over all of your issues to finding matches for the specific volume number.

T A G C O D E:

<dpQuery issue="all" volumeNumber="8"> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpQuery> Or perhaps you only want volume number 8 and issue numbers 4 and 6: <dpQuery issue="all" volumeNumber="8" issueNumber="4" issueNumber="6"> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

Preventing Interstitials from showing up in Queries

By default both interstitials and columns will show up in queries. You can override this default using the columnType attribute.

The following will limit results to columns only, thus preventing interstitials from showing up:

T A G C O D E:

<dpQuery issue="this" columnType="column"> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpQuery>

E F F E C T:

A D D I T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N:

The following will do the opposite and only return interstitials in the results: <dpQuery issue="this" columnType="interstitial">
<dpHeadline link="on"> 
</dpQuery>

And the default columnType setting will return both insterstitials and columns: <dpQuery issue="this" columnType="all">
<dpHeadline link="on"> 
</dpQuery>

Fuzzy and Fuzzier: Part 1

You have been cataloging film stories with film genres, film titles, film directors, and film stars (actors) for the past few months. How can you best use this information?

T A G C O D E:

Film Genre Matching Example: The following query will search through all of the archives, matching all stories with similar film genres to this story. It will then sort those results using a fuzzy algorithm that weights the matched stories from the best to the worst matches. Once this sort is complete, the query tag will return up to five matches from the top. In summary, you get the best five stories matching on similar film genres. <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpQuery> ----------- Here's a modified version with some debugging output, and a higher max so you can see what the results would have been and what film genres each story had: The following lists the headline and film genres of the story you would be reading. It then lists 5 suggested links matching on film genres. Each links displays the headline and film genres of that story. <dpHeadline> (<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all">) Suggested Links: <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> (<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all">) </dpQuery> The results: The Body Snatcher (Classic, Horror) Suggested Links: Planet of the Vampires (Classic, Horror) The Changeling (Horror) The Exorcist (Horror) Halloween (Horror) House of Wax (Horror) As you can see, the story contained the genres: classic and horror. The query then matched all stories containing "classic" and/or "horror". It then sorted them by the best (the ones with both classic and horror) to the worst (the ones with just classic or horror). ------ Before we move on to more complex queries (those using multiple user fields), let's examine what sort="fuzzier" does. sort="fuzzier" assigns a random value to like weighted matches mixing them up a bit. The concept here is to avoid favoritism, in which the same links get used a too often on suggested links. If we run the above query again and again right now, it will always return those same five films in that same order. However, if we use sort="fuzzier", the equal weighted "horror" films will get mixed up and may provide different results. For example: Suggested Links: <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" sort="fuzzier" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> (<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all">) </dpQuery> Suggested Links: Planet of the Vampires (Classic, Horror) Sleepy Hollow (Horror) The Changeling (Horror) The Exorcist (Horror) Halloween (Horror) and a second time: Suggested Links: Planet of the Vampires (Classic, Horror) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Horror) Sleepy Hollow (Horror) Halloween (Horror) From Beyond (Horror) So, which should you use? That's up to you. We would recommend sort="fuzzier" if you want to mix up the suggested links just a bit more, hence the name fuzzier. Next, how to get even better suggested links, by using multiple user fields...

E F F E C T:

Fuzzy and Fuzzier: Part 2

In Part 1, we saw how you can use sort="fuzzy" and sort="fuzzier" to find suggested links based on a user field match. In this part we discuss how to fine tune this process.

T A G C O D E:

We have showed queries like this: Suggested Links: <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> (<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all">) </dpQuery> instead of this: <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> Suggested Links: <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"> (<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all">) </dpLoop> </dpQuery> The reason we are doing this is for ease of readability. When you actually use these queries we always recommend using the latter version with the <dpLoop>. Why? Mainly because of the "Suggested Links:" header. In the first example, the suggested links header will always display regardless of whether any matches are found. The second version will only display the suggested links header if the query is successful. This is a much better approach and the recommended version. ------- Now, back to sort="fuzzy". Let's look at the example of matching film genres for a film that may have few genres associated with it: <dpHeadline> (<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all">) Suggested Links: <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> (<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all">) </dpQuery> This could return results like this for the film "I Love You to Death" which is just a comedy. I Love You to Death (Comedy) Suggested Links: The Flim-Flam Man (Comedy) The Muse (Comedy) The Ruling Class (Comedy) The Producers (Comedy) Bicentennial Man (Comedy) Granted, those matches are of other comedy films, but they are all over the map and don't necessarily have anything in common with "I Love You to Death" outside of also being funny. Here's how we can improve the match... -------- Our examples so far have used only one user field, however our demo publication, Baltimore CityPaper, catalogs a lot more rich meta information about their film reviews, such as film stars (actors), and film directors. Using this additional information, we can refine our query: <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" userField="film director" userField="film stars" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> Here it is with all the additional debugging information, so we analyze the results: <dpHeadline> (<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all">) (<dpUserField name="film director" number="all">) (<dpUserField name="film stars" number="all">) Suggested Links: <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" userField="film director" userField="film stars" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> (<dpUserField name="film genre" number="all">) (<dpUserField name="film director" number="all">) (<dpUserField name="film stars" number="all">) </dpQuery> I Love You to Death (Comedy) (Lawrence Kasdan) (Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, River Phoenix) Suggested Links: Mumford (Comedy) (Lawrence Kasdan) () The January Man (Comedy, Suspense) (Pat O'Conner) (Kevin Kline, Harvey Keitel, Susan Sarandon) Illuminata (Comedy) (John Turturro) (John Turturro) The Dinner Game (Comedy, Foreign) (Francis Veber) () Tapeheads (Comedy) (Bill Fishman) (John Cusack, Tim Robbins) "I Love You to Death" is a comedy directed by Lawrence Kasden starring Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, River Phoenix. Using all of this information, the sort="fuzzy" was able to group the best matches first. "Mumford" is also a comedy by the same director. "The January Man" is also a comedy starring Kevin Kline. The rest are looser matches, but you can see as a database becomes more populated, you have the ability to link to the best matches first. Next, further refinements for multiple user field matches....

E F F E C T:

Fuzzy and Fuzzier: Part 3

Previously, we've examined single user field matches, and compound user field matches. Now, we examine how to further fine tune the compound user field matches:

T A G C O D E:

The query we last analyzed was: <dpHeadline> Suggested Links: <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" userField="film director" userField="film stars" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpQuery> which returned the following: I Love You to Death (Comedy) (Lawrence Kasdan) (Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, River Phoenix) Suggested Links: Mumford (Comedy) (Lawrence Kasdan) () The January Man (Comedy, Suspense) (Pat O'Conner) (Kevin Kline, Harvey Keitel, Susan Sarandon) Illuminata (Comedy) (John Turturro) (John Turturro) The Dinner Game (Comedy, Foreign) (Francis Veber) () Tapeheads (Comedy) (Bill Fishman) (John Cusack, Tim Robbins) If you feel that an actor match is more important than a director match, or that a genre match should be the highest, how can you weight the most important field to match on? By adding weights to the user field values. These values can be any positive or negative decimal number. The following will weight the film stars as the most important match criteria: <dpHeadline> Suggested Links: <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre" userField="film director" userField="film stars(5)" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpQuery> Note the addition of (5) after the user field film stars. Here's the results (with debugging info): The January Man (Comedy, Suspense) (Pat O'Conner) (Kevin Kline, Harvey Keitel, Susan Sarandon) Suggested Links: I Love You to Death (Comedy) (Lawrence Kasdan) (Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, River Phoenix) Blue Collar (Drama) (Paul Schrader) (Richard Pryor, Yaphet Kotto, Harvey Keitel) Anywhere but Here (Drama, Literary Adaption) (Wayne Wang) (Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman) Illuminata (Drama, Literary Adaption) (John Turturro) (John Turturro, Katherine Borowitz, Donal McCann, Beverly D'Angelo, Susan Sarandon, Christopher Walken, Bill Irwin) Mumford (Comedy) (Lawrence Kasdan) () "I Love You to Death" was the best match since it matched a film star and a genre. "Blue Collar" came in second only matching a film star, and the same with "Anywhere but Here" and "Illuminata". As you can see, weighting the film stars heavily shifted emphasis and may have actually strayed from best matches in our case. ----- Here are a few more examples: This weights film stars highest, then film genres, then film directors. <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre(2)" userField="film stars(3)" userField="film director" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpQuery> This sets a negative value on directors to say they are bad matches and you'd rather not have them (probably not true in this case). <dpQuery issue="archives" userField="film genre(2)" userField="film stars(3)" userField="film director(-10)" sort="fuzzy" max="5"> <dpHeadline link="on"> </dpQuery> ----- Hopefully this series has showcased the potential of userField matches when combined with fuzzy sorts. The suggested links possibilities are endless.

E F F E C T:

Variables & Macros

Variables and Macros allow you to create your own macro subroutines, or save a value in a variable for later use within your template. A common use of macros would be a capsule style layout for your table of contents pages, or a subroutine to create suggested author links. It is also common to place all of your site's macros in their own file that your templates can all reference. Organizing your templates like this, can aid in streamlining and modifying your templates.

<dpMacro>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Macros are similar to variables, but rather than setting a value they define a series of instructions you can use within your template. If you end up doing the same thing more then once within your template, macros are usually a helpful shorthand.

<dpMacro macroName="value">

<dpMacro macroName>value</dpMacro>

Macro Usage:

<dpMacro macroName>

A T T R I B U T E S:

Not applicable.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpMacroDefine>

D E F I N I T I O N:

<dpMacroDefine> is the preferred way of defining macros. By defining macros with <dpMacroDefine> you have the extra advantage of being able to call a macro from within macro definition.

<dpMacroDefine macroName> macro </dpMacroDefine>

A T T R I B U T E S:

Not applicable.

E X A M P L E S:

<dpVar>

D E F I N I T I O N:

Variables allow you to create your own variables you can use within a template. Variables are usually used to save or set values you want to reference later in your template.

<dpVar variableName="value">

<dpVar variableName>value</dpVar>

Variable Usage:

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for additional details on the style attribute.

E X A M P L E S:

My name is <dpVar myName>
would display
My name is Deuteronomy

<dpIf <dpColumnID>="feature">
<dpVar headerImage="cool_image.gif">
<dpElse>
<dpVar headerImage="plain_image.gif">
</dpIf>

<img src="<dpVar headerImage>">
would display cool_image.gif if it was the feature and plain_image.gif if it wasn't.

Using Styles with <dpVar>

Styles can be used with <dpVar> just as with any other display tag within Dispatch. However, you must always state the name of the variable first and then follow it with the desired styles. The following will NOT work: <dpVar style="upper" myIntro>

T A G C O D E:

Declare a variable: <dpVar myIntro="Hello World"> or <dpVar myIntro>Hello World</dpVar> Apply the desired styles: <dpVar myIntro style="upper"> - HELLO WORLD <dpVar myIntro style="upper" style="spaced"> - H E L L O W O R L D

E F F E C T:

<dpVarDefine>

D E F I N I T I O N:

<dpVarDefine> is the preferred method of defining variables. The advantage to using <dpVarDefine> is the ability to nest variables. Note: all leading and trailing padding is removed from the variable definition.

<dpVarDefine variableName> variable </dpVarDefine>

A T T R I B U T E S:

Please refer to the common attributes page for additional details on the style attribute.

E X A M P L E S:

Home: Support: Reference Guide

Questions? Comments?
Please write support@desert.net.

<dpAuthor default="Staff Writer">	Staff Writer
<dpAuthor default="Anonymous">	Anonymous

<dpHeadline>	Censored stories, 1998
<dpHeadline style="lower">	censored stories, 1998
<dpHeadline style="upper">	CENSORED STORIES, 1998
<dpHeadline style="title">	Censored Stories, 1998
<dpHeadline style="spaced">	C e n s o r e d s t o r i e s , 1 9 9 8
<dpHeadline style="roman">	Censored stories, MCMXCVIII
<dpHeadline style="decimal">	Censored stories, 1998
<dpHeadline style="spaced" style="upper">	C E N S O R E D S T O R I E S , 1 9 9 8
<dpHeadline style="uriEncode">	Censored+stories,+1998

<dpHeadline>	Dolled Up Dreck
<dpHeadline link="on">	Dolled Up Dreck
<dpHeadline link="off">	Dolled Up Dreck
<dpQuery author="this" max="3"> <dpHeadline link="on"><br> </dpQuery>	Dolled Up Dreck Ashes to Ashes Tucci Feely
<dpAuthor>	Wil Gerken
<dpAuthor link="email">	Wil Gerken
<dpAuthor link="homepage">	Wil Gerken

<dpHeadline>	All Fired Up
<dpHeadline length="1w">	All
<dpHeadline length="2w">	All Fired
<dpHeadline length="3w">	All Fired Up
<dpHeadline length="3c">	All
<dpHeadline length="5c">	All F

<dpHeadline start="begin">	All Fired Up
<dpHeadline start="1w">	Fired Up
<dpHeadline start="2w">	Up
<dpHeadline start="2c">	l Fired Up
<dpHeadline start="8c">	d Up

<dpHeadline start="4c" stop="5c">	F
<dpHeadline start="5c" stop="7c">	ir
<dpHeadline start="2w" stop="3w">	Up

<dpAuthor>	Jeff Smith
<dpAuthor link="email">	Jeff Smith
<dpAuthor format="initials">	JS
<dpIf <dpAuthor>> <i><dpAuthorCredit> <dpAuthor></i> </dpIf>	By Jeff Smith

<dpColumn>	Music Feature
<dpColumn style="lower">	music feature
You're viewing: <dpColumn>	You're viewing: Music Feature

<dpColumnID>	smith
<dpIf <dpColumnID> = "smith"> You're reading smith! <dpElse> You should really check out <a href="smith.html">Smith</a>. </dpIf>	You're reading smith!

<dpHeadline>	All Fired Up
<dpHeadline style="upper" style="spaced">	A L L F I R E D U P
<b><dpHeadline link="on"></b><br> <dpSummary>	All Fired Up The Steak-Out, home of the $30 steak with no potato, burned down a week ago last Saturday.

%A	Thursday	National representation of the full weekday name.
%a	Thu	National representation of the abbreviated weekday name, where the abbreviation is the first three characters.
%B	January	National representation of the full month name.
%b	Jan	National representation of the abbreviated month name, where the abbreviation is the first three characters.
%m	01	Month as a decimal number (01-12).
%d	07	Day of the month as a decimal number (01-31).
%e	7	Day of the month as a decimal number (1-31); single digits are preceded by a blank.
%Y	1998	Year with century as a decimal number.
%y	98	Year without century as a decimal number (00-99).
%D	01/07/98	Equivalent to "%m/%d/%y".

<dpIssueDate>	June 25 - July 1, 1998
<dpIssueDate begin="%A" separator=" through " end="%A">	Thursday through Wednesday
<dpIssueDate begin="%A through " end="%A">	Thursday through Wednesday
<dpIssueDate begin="%B %e, %Y">	June 25, 1998
<dpIssueDate end="%B %e, %Y">	July 1, 1998
<dpIssueDate begin="%Y-%m-%d">	1998-06-25
<dpIssueDate begin="%B %e, %Y" style="upper">	JUNE 25, 1998
<dpIssueDate begin="%Y" style="roman">	MCMXCVIII

<dpIssueNumber>	18
<dpIssueNumber style="roman">	XVIII
<dpIssueNumber style="roman" style="lower">	xviii
Volume <dpVolumeNumber> Issue <dpIssueNumber>	Volume 15 Issue 18

<dpSection>	Currents
<tt><dpSection style="upper" style="spaced"></tt>	`C U R R E N T S`
<dpIf <dpSection> = "music"> You're in the music section <dpElse> You're NOT in the music section </dpIf>	You're NOT in the music section

<dpSectionID>	currents
<img src="../images/<dpSectionID>.gif">

<dpSubHeadline>	Sonoita's Locals Lose An Institution Of Sorts.
<i><dpSubHeadline></i>	Sonoita's Locals Lose An Institution Of Sorts.
<dpSubHeadline style="lower">	sonoita's locals lose an institution of sorts.

<dpSummary>	The Steak-Out, home of the $30 steak with no potato, burned down a week ago last Saturday.
<b><dpHeadline link="on"></b><br> <dpSummary start="begin" length="9w">...	All Fired Up The Steak-Out, home of the $30 steak with no...

<dpVolumeNumber>	15
<dpVolumeNumber style="roman">	XV
Volume <dpVolumeNumber style="roman"> Issue <dpIssueNumber style="roman">	Volume XV Issue XVIII

=	equal
!=	not equal
in	is in set
not	not in set
gt	greater than
lt	less than

<dpColumnURL>	smith.html
<a href="<dpColumnURL column="curr">">Go to the Currents Features</a>	Go to the Currents Features

<dpPageBackURL>	mailbag.html
<a href="<dpPageBackURL>"><img src="../images/pageback.gif"></a>
<dpIf <dpPageBackUrl>> <a href="<dpPageBackURL>"><img src="../images/pageback.gif"></a> </dpIf>

<dpPageForwardURL>	skinny.html
<a href="<dpPageForwardURL>">Page Forward</a>	Page Forward
<dpIf <dpPageForwardURL>> <a href="<dpPageForwardURL>">Page Forward</a> </dpIf>	Page Forward

<dpPageNumber>	2
Page <dpPageNumber type="section">	Page 2
<dpPageNumber style="roman">	II
The last page in this issue is page <dpPageNumber position="last">	The last page in this issue is page 32

<dpSectionURL>	mailbag.html
The first story in this section is <a href="<dpSectionURL>"><dpSectionURL></a>	The first story in this section is mailbag.html
<a href="<dpSectionURL section="music">">Go to the Music Section</a>	Go to the Music Section
<a href="<dpSectionURL section="Currents">">Currents</a> . <a href="<dpSectionURL section="Music">">Music</a> . <a href="<dpSectionURL section="Cinema">">Cinema</a> . <a href="<dpSectionURL section="Books">">Books</a> . <a href="<dpSectionURL section="Review">">Review</a> . <a href="<dpSectionURL section="City Week">">City Week</a>	Currents . Music . Cinema . Books . Review . City Week

<dpThreadBackURL>	../1999-05-07/smith.html
<a href="<dpThreadBackURL>">Previously in this column</a>	Previously in this column
<dpIf <dpThreadBackURL>> <a href="<dpThreadBackURL>">Previously in this column (error checked)</a> </dpIf>	Previously in this column (error checked)

<dpQuery column="cin"> <b>Recently in this column:</b><br> <dpHeadline link="on"><br> </dpQuery>	Recently in this column: Native Talent Recently in this column: Last Night Stand Recently in this column: Seeing Through The Roos Recently in this column: X Marks The Plot etc.
<dpQuery column="cin"> <b>Recently in this column:</b><br> <dpLoop> <dpHeadline link="on"><br> </dpLoop> </dpQuery>	Recently in this column: Native Talent Last Night Stand Seeing Through The Roos X Marks The Plot etc.
<b>Recently in this column:</b><br> <dpQuery column="danehy"> <dpHeadline link="on"><br> </dpQuery>	Recently in this column:
<b>Recently in this column:</b><br> <dpQuery column="danehy"> <dpHeadline link="on"><br> <dpFail> No matches found<br> </dpQuery>	Recently in this column: No matches found