Using the Revision Line

The revision attributes can be set and assigned values using the revision line.

What’s the revision line?

The revision line is the line directly after the author line in the document header. When the content on this line is structured correctly, the processor assigns the content to the built-in revnumber, revdate and revremark attributes.

When can I use the revision line?

In order for the processor to properly detect the revision line and assign the content to the correct attributes, all of the following criteria must be met:

  1. The document header must contain a document title and an author line.

  2. The revision information must be entered on the line directly beneath the author line.

  3. The revision line must start with the revision number.

  4. The revision number must contain at least one number, but a number doesn’t have to be the first character in the version.

  5. The values in the revision line must be placed in a specific order and separated with the correct syntax.

Example 1. Revision line structure
= Document Title
author <email>
revision number, revision date: revision remark

When using the revision line, the revision date and remark are optional.

  • v7.5 When the revision line only contains a revision number, prefix the number with a v.

  • 7.5, 1-29-2020 When the revision line contains a version and a date, separate the version number from the date with a comma (,). A v prefix before the version number is optional.

  • 7.5: A new analysis When the revision line contains a version and a remark, separate the version number from the remark with a colon (:). A v prefix before the version number is optional.

  • 7.5, 1-29-2020: A new analysis When the revision line contains a version, date, and a remark, separate the version number from the date with a comma (,) and separate the date from the remark with a colon (:). A v prefix before the version number is optional.

Assign revision information using the revision line

The revision line in Example 2 contains a revision number, date, and remark.

Example 2. Revision line with a version, date and remark
= The Intrepid Chronicles
Kismet Lee (1)
2.9, October 31, 2021: Fall incarnation (2) (3) (4)
1 The author line must be directly above the revision line.
2 The revision line must begin with the revision number.
3 The date is separated from the version by a comma (,). The date can contain letters, numbers, symbols, and attribute references.
4 The remark is separated from the date by a colon (:).

When the default stylesheet is applied, the revision information is displayed on the same line as the author information. Note that the revision number is preceded with the word Version. This label is automatically added by the processor. It can be changed or turned off with the version-label attribute.

Byline with a version number, revision date, and revision remark

Let’s look at another revision line. In Example 3, the version starts with a letter, the date is a reference to the attribute docdate, and there’s a Unicode glyph in the remark.

Example 3. Revision line with a version prefix, attribute reference and Unicode glyph
= The Intrepid Chronicles
Kismet Lee
LPR55, {docdate}: A Special ⚄ Edition

The result of Example 3 is displayed below.

Byline with the date derived from docdate and a remark with a Unicode glyph

LPR was removed from the version because any letters or symbols that precede the revision number in the revision line are dropped. To display the letters or symbols in front of a revision number, set revnumber using an attribute entry.