Brackets
There are 3 kinds of brackets: angle brackets, curly braces, and square brackets.
Angle brackets ( < and > )
Wrap placeholder variables you want a user to enter in angle brackets. If you are hard-code formatting placeholder variables, use angle brackets. Otherwise, use the <varname> semantic tag. See the Formatting reference for more formatting guidance.
The following table shows an example of placeholder variables rendered in angle brackets:
| Do this | Don't do this |
|---|---|
| Enter your user-specified domain in this format: https://<user-specified domain>.splunkcloud.com. |
|
Don't use the right-pointing angle bracket ( > ) to indicate navigation through a series of menu item selections. If you are hard-code formatting a navigational path for a user, spell out the sentence using a word like "then". Otherwise, use the <menucascade> semantic tag. See the Formatting reference.
The following example shows a menu path navigation without using a semantic tag:
| Do this | Don't do this |
|---|---|
|
|
In order for an action to qualify as a step in a menu path, the action must be accessible within that menu. If completing a step in the path takes the user to a new page or menu where they complete another action, describe that action in a new task step instead of combining it in the same step.
| Do this | Don't do this |
|---|---|
|
|
Curly braces ( { and } )
Use curly braces only when they are part of a code sample or other string literal.
Square brackets ( [ and ] )
Use square brackets around a .conf file stanza name or within code. See the following examples:
- Edit the
[splunktcp]stanza. - Specify a subsearch that starts with this search command:
tag=dns query [search tag=malware].
| Apostrophe | Colon |
This documentation applies to the following versions of Splunk® Style Guide: current
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