User guide > Text > Text delimiters

In addition to the quotes which surround the text, there are five delimiter characters that can be used. Delimiter characters are set by formats CDL, CDI, CDH, CDO and CDS.

For compatibility with early versions of CL whatever character is set by CDL (the standard is asterisk) may be used in multiples, so that two asterisks are equivalent to a CDI, three are equivalent to a CDH, four to a CDO and five to a CDS.

Please see special characters in text for all symbols which have special meanings.

The delimiters are interpreted as follows:

* CDL Character Delimited Line. Start a new line.

; CDI Character Delimited response. This is the end of the label for this row or column of the table.

\ CDH Character Delimiting Header. This is the end of the label header for the responses following until a new header

appears.

^ CDO Character Delimited Overheader. This is the end of the overheader for the text following until a new overheader

appears.

| CDS Character Delimiting Superheader. This is the end of the superheader for the text following until a new

superheader appears.

The final CDI is normally omitted from a text. If the last response is followed by CDI this must be immediately followed by the terminating quote character.

Examples of text:

v = 'Header\first row;second row',

h = "Overheader^

First header\

First col-*umn;

Sec-*ond col-*umn;

Second header\

Third col-*umn;

Fourth col-*umn",