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Process documentationStructure TLINE of the Lines Table Locate this document in the navigation structure

 

The lines table contains the lines of a text module. Its structure is determined by the structure TLINE. All text lines which are passed to the function module interface of SAPscript must have the line structure defined.

SAPscript has its own format for the structure of text lines. This format is called ITF format. A text line in this format comprises 2 fields, the format field and the actual line contents. The structure TLINE consists of these two fields. The ITF format also defines the meaning and syntax of the control information allowed in the format field or line field.

Texts can be managed in SAPscript which are not available in ITF format. The information on the text format is stored in the text header. Texts in another format than ITF must also be passed via the structure TLINE to the SAPscript function modules. SAPscript does not interpret the contents of the text lines but forwards them, unchanged, to the function modules which implement the interface to the external word processor.

Process

TDFORMAT: Format Field

The tag column contains format keys which define the output formatting of the text or initiate control commands. A format key defines the beginning of a new paragraph and its formatting. All text lines directly after it which have blanks in this field belong to this paragraph. These lines are handled as continuous text lines and are always formatted by the SAPscript editor so that as many words as possible fit into an editor line. Blanks between words are taken into account.

The editor formatting is not the same as the output formatting. The output formatting of a text is not visible until the text is output to a printer or displayed on the screen. Here, the format definitions of the paragraph format are evaluated. The format keys possible and their respective meanings are defined in styles or forms.

If a style or form is assigned to a text module you can use the paragraph formats defined there to format your text. Format keys which can be defined by the user can consist of one or two characters. Only the letters A to Z and the numbers 0 to 9 are allowed. The paragraph format must always begin with a letter. If a format key is not contained in the assigned style or form, the default paragraph defined there is used instead

Some format keys are predefined by SAPscript. They have a predefined meaning and can be used in all texts:

  • * default paragraph

    The format definitions which are specified for the paragraph defined in the assigned style or form as the default paragraph are used for the output formatting of the paragraph involved.

  • / new line

    The subsequent text is written to a new line during output formatting. The formatting specifications of the last paragraph format apply.

  • /: Command line

    The characters contained in the actual text line are not output as text but are regarded as a control command. They are not interpreted or executed until output formatting of the text. Control commands must always fit into a line fully. It is not allowed to spread them over subsequent lines. The SAPscript editor does not format control statement lines.

  • /* Comment line

    When formatting a text for output, the system does not output this line.

  • = long line

    This line is not subject to the line formatting in the SAPscript editor. The text contained in this line is also appended directly to the character of the preceding text line which was output last. If this is not required, there must be at least one blank at the beginning of the extended line.

  • /= long line with line feed

    This line is treated just as = (long line), but when formatting for output, the subsequent text appears in a new line.

  • ( raw line

    The SAPscript composer does not interpret the subsequent line when formatting the text for output. This means that character formats, symbols, tab characters, masking characters, or hypertext links which may be contained in this line are not evaluated and are therefore passed unchanged to the output device. The text contained in this line is also appended directly to the character of the preceding text line which was output last. If this is not required, there must be at least one blank at the beginning of the extended line.

  • /( raw line with line feed

    This line is treated just as ( (raw line), but when formatting for output, the subsequent text appears on a new line.

  • >x fix line

    The line is not ready for input in the SAPscript editor. It can also not be deleted or separated. You can only create fixed lines with a program . You can therefore give a text a fixed structure, for example, which cannot be changed by the user. You can use any number or letter for the 'x'. You can therefore separate different sub-headings, for example.

    If several fixed lines occur consecutively with the same indicator, they are regarded as a unit by the SAPscript editor. It is not possible to insert anything between these lines in the editor. In the case of fixed lines, SAPscript print formatting interprets the first two characters of the line as a paragraph format for formatting. You therefore need to enter the required paragraph format or blank here.

TDLINE: Text line

The actual text is stored in the field TDLINE. Depending on the format field of the respective line, the line contents are interpreted as

  • Text

  • Control command

  • Comment

All control information which can be contained in a SAPscript text line must be represented with readable characters. Hex codes which cannot be displayed on the screen should not be used. If this is the case however, the results of SAPscript functions may not be ideal.

Beside the actual text, text lines can contain character formats and variables.

Character formats define the formatting of individual characters or character strings within a paragraph. They are preceded by the escape symbol <z> and concluded by the character </>. If the end sequence is missing, the character format applies up to the end of the paragraph. Character formats can be nested.

‘z’ is the name of the character format, which is defined either in the allocated style or form. Character formats defined by the user consist of one or two characters. Allowed are the letters from A to Z and the numbers from 0 to 9. The name must start with a letter. If a character format appears in the text that is defined neither in the style nor in the form, SAPscript ignores it.

Apart from the character formats the user can define, there are some formats predefined by SAPscript, which can be used in all texts:

  • <(>... <)> raw character

    The characters located between these character formats are output unchanged. Character strings themselves and SAPscript symbols can therefore be included in the output. This character format corresponds to the paragraph format 'raw line'.

  • <x> special character

    A character which cannot be entered using the keyboard can therefore be output. 'x' is the number of an SAP character. All characters which can be used in the SAP System have a unique number. The character can only be printed or displayed on the screen if it is also defined in the system character set and is contained in the appropriate character set of the output device.

Symbols are placeholders for values which are not inserted until output formatting. Symbols must have a specific structure so that they can be recognized:

  • Symbols must be preceded and followed by & characters.

  • Blanks are not allowed in symbol names.

  • The symbol must fit fully in the field TDLINE.