Paragraph Formatting
Paragraphs wrap content inside the body of a document or frame. They are
the fundamental container for free flowing text in your documents. A
paragraph inherits the properties of a Span formatter, and adds borders, tabs
and indenting.
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Blocks
Let's review some basics. A
Block
contains Paragraph or Table elements. If those elements are not
already Paragraphs, they will be automatically placed inside a Paragraph. A Block can have
formatting properties, which will serve as the default properties of the child elements.
SimpleBlock
=
Block
{
// Explicit paragraph
Paragraph
{
"Paragraph One"
;
};
// Non-paragraph elements turned into a paragraphs
"Paragraph Two"
;
Span
{
Bold
;
Math
.
Sqrt
(2)
+
1};
};
Paragraph One
Paragraph Two
2.414213562373095
Nested Blocks
A Block can be included inside another Block, but this does not create a nested structure. Instead,
the parent Block will simply include the child Block's formatted content.
NestedBlock
=
Block
{
TextColor
:
Colors
.
Red
;
Block
{
"Line 1"
;
};
"Line 2"
;
Block
{
TextColor
:
Colors
.
Blue
;
"Line 3"
;
};
};
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Default block format
Overridden format
Paragraphs
A
Paragraph
is a formatter that puts its child elements end-to-end into horizontal lines. The text
will wrap at the edge of the available space, and may continue onto the next page of the
document.
Success
=
Paragraph
{
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. "
;
"I've lost almost 300 games. "
;
"26 times I've been trusted "
;
"to take the game winning shot and missed. "
;
"I've failed over and over and over again in my life. "
;
"And that is why I succeed. "
;
"–Michael Jordan"
;
};
I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've
been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and
over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. –Michael Jordan
Indenting
Use the
LeftIndent
,
RightIndent
, and
FirstIndent
properties to control the margins of the
paragraph. Notice that you may revise an existing paragraph with new properties, without
changing the original.
Greatness
=
Paragraph
{
"Be not afraid of greatness. "
;
"Some are born great, "
;
"some achieve greatness, "
;
"and others have greatness thrust upon them. "
;
};
Quote
=
Block
{
Greatness
{
RightIndent
:
10pt;
LeftIndent
:
16pt;
FirstIndent
:
-
8pt
;
// Relative to LeftIndent
TextHeight
:
120%;
};
Italic
"― William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night"
;
};
Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some
achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon
them.
― William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Alignment
Alignment of the text can be controlled with the
ParAlignment
property.
SmallBlock
=
Block
{
Paragraph
{
ParAlignment
:
Left
;
"Left"
};
Paragraph
{
ParAlignment
:
Center
;
"Center"
};
Paragraph
{
ParAlignment
:
Right
;
"Right"
};
};
Left
Center
Right
Justify Alignment
The Justify alignment stretches the spaces in the line so that it fits evenly on the right.
JustifiedBlock
=
Paragraph
{
ParAlignment
:
Justify
;
"As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red again, "
;
"I sat there thinking about life. "
;
"Was it nothing more than a bunch of honking and yelling? "
;
"Sometimes it seemed that way. "
;
Tex
.
EmDash
;
" Jack Handey"
;
};
As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to
red again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing more
than a bunch of honking and yelling? Sometimes it seemed
that way. — Jack Handey
Tab stops
The tabstops argument is an array of TabStop objects that determine how the tab character is
interpreted inside a paragraph.
TabStop
[]
TabList
=
[
5%,
// Left align (default)
new
(20%,
TabTypes
.
Bar
),
// Place vertical bar (no stop)
new
(30%,
TabTypes
.
Center
),
// Center text around tab
new
(60%,
TabTypes
.
Decimal
),
// Line up decimal point at tab
new
(95%,
TabTypes
.
Right
,
TabLeaders
.
Dot
),
// Right align at tab
];
TabStopExample
=
Block
{
Paragraph
(
null
,
TabList
) {
Tab
;
"Left"
;
Tab
;
"Center"
;
Tab
;
"3.1415"
;
Tab
;
"Right"
;
};
Paragraph
(
null
,
TabList
) {
Tab
;
"Left Align"
;
Tab
;
"Center Align"
;
Tab
;
"527.10"
;
Tab
;
"Right Align"
;
};
};
Left
Center
3.1415
.....................................................
Right
Left Align
Center Align
527.10
.................................................
Right Align
Frames
A
Frame
is a rectangular box that can contain Paragraphs and Tables, but it acts like a large
character when placed inside a Paragraph.
FrameExample
=
Paragraph
{
"Quote "
;
// Acts like a big single character
Frame
(30%,
null
,
new
Edge
(1, 4pt)) {
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
;
"—Seneca "
;
};
" of the day. "
;
};
Quote
Luck is what happens when
preparation meets opportunity.
—Seneca
of the day.
Large 'character' in the text
Inline lists
A
ListSpan
formatter can be used to create a numbered list inside a paragraph with a variety of
numbering styles. Notice that the "Topics" array variable is automatically expanded inside the
revision to become a part of the numbered list.
Topics
=
[
"Point one"
,
"Point two"
,
"Point three"
];
NumberedSpan
=
Paragraph
{
"Main discussion points: "
;
ListSpan
(
@
Enumerators
.
NumberParens
) {
Separator
:
"; "
;
End
:
DotSpace
;
Topics
;
};
};
Main discussion points:
(1)
Point one;
(2)
Point two;
(3)
Point three.
Background Color
Paragraphs have an optional background color which can be set with the
ParBackground
property.
HeaderPar
=
Paragraph
{
ParBackground
:
Colors
.
Blue
;
TextColor
:
Colors
.
White
;
ParAlignment
:
Center
;
Bold
;
"Header"
;
};
Header
Space Before
Add extra space before the start of a paragraph using the
SpaceBefore
property.
ParSpaceBefore
=
Block
{
Bold
"Header"
;
Paragraph
{
"First line"
;
SpaceBefore
:
200%
;
};
};
Header
First line
Space before the paragraph
Space After
Add extra space after the end of a paragraph using the
SpaceAfter
property.
ParSpaceAfter
=
Block
{
Paragraph
{
SpaceAfter
:
200%
;
TextHeight
:
120%;
Bold
;
"Title"
;
};
"Body text"
;
};
Title
Body text
Space after the paragraph
Borders
Set the border argument for a Paragraph to display a border on any combination of sides.
BorderPar
(
Border
border
)
=
Paragraph
(
border
) {
ParAlignment
:
Center
;
ParBackground
:
95%;
};
BorderExamples
=
Block
{
Separator
:
Paragraph
;
BorderPar
(4pt) {
"all sides"
};
BorderPar
(
BorderTB
(4pt)) {
"top - bottom"
};
BorderPar
(
BorderLR
(4pt)) {
"left - right"
};
};
all sides
top - bottom
left - right
Border color and padding
Paragraph borders can also have different colors and padding
ColorBorder
=
Paragraph
(
new
Edge
(3pt, 5pt,
Colors
.
Red
)) {
ParAlignment
:
Center
;
ParBackground
:
#FCFCF4#
;
LeftIndent
:
16pt;
RightIndent
:
15pt;
Bold
;
"Very Important Notice"
;
};
Very Important Notice
Line Height
Change the default line height using the
LineHeight
property.
LegalText
=
Block
{
LineHeight
:
200%
;
TextFace
:
Mono
;
Paragraph
{
Bold
;
TextCase
:
AllUpper
;
Underline
;
"Memorandum of Points"
;
};
"Statement of Relevant Facts"
;
};
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS
Statement of Relevant Facts
Double-spaced lines
Create Named Styles
Use global variables to create styles with familiar names. You can even use a named style to serve
as the root template for another style, as show below.
Normal
=
Paragraph
{
TextFamily
:
TextFamilies
.
CMUSerif
};
Heading1
=
Normal
{
ParAlignment
:
Center
;
TextFace
:
Serif
;
TextHeight
:
140%;
Bold
};
Heading2
=
Normal
{
TextHeight
:
110%;
Underline
};
Body
=
Normal
{
FirstIndent
:
8pt;
TextFamily
:
ParAlignment
:
Justify
};
Chapter1
=
Block
{
Heading1
{
"Chapter 1"
};
Heading2
{
"Introduction"
};
Body
{
"Consider the curious case of Dr. Jeckle. "
};
};
Chapter 1
Introduction
Consider the curious case of Dr. Jeckle.
Style Sheets
Once you have a set of styles, you can use them consistently throughout your content. Now, all of
your style information is in one place, separated from your content.
Emphasis
=
Span
{
Italic
;
TextColor
:
Colors
.
Red
};
Chapter2
=
Block
{
Heading1
{
"Chapter 2"
};
Heading2
{
"Introduction"
};
Body
{
"I would like to "
;
Emphasis
{
"emphasize"
};
" the following points. "
};
};
Chapter 2
Introduction
I would like to
emphasize
the following points.
Combine Content
You can also build manageable blocks of content in the same way, for reuse in different
documents, limited only by your imagination. A global style change, across all content and all
documents is now almost instant.
Book
=
Block
{
Chapter1
;
Chapter2
;
};
Chapter 1
Introduction
Consider the curious case of Dr. Jeckle.
Chapter 2
Introduction
I would like to
emphasize
the following points.
