In text attributes, you can format text by using either tags or an editor. You can enable the editor by selecting the Formatting check box in the settings of a text attribute.

All text tags are surrounded by brackets: []. Most of the tags require both a start and an end tag, but a few do not require an end tag. For more details, see the table below.

If you integrate with other applications, text formatting is important. Depending on the application that displays the text, the tags might be translated to another markup language, such as HTML, or removed to display unformatted text. If you want the text formatting that is applied in Focal Point^® to be used in other applications, those applications must interpret the Focal Point^® tags.

Tags can be nested, and a tag starting inside another tag can end before or after the first tag ends.

The URL tag has an alternative format, which you can use to display a link title instead of the link value. You can use the alternative format if you want to display a short title instead of a long HTTP link. The normal URL tag looks as follows:

The alternative format looks as follows:

In the example, the alternative format specifies that the link title “UNICOM” must be displayed instead of the link itself. If the tool that renders the text cannot display a clickable link, do not use the alternative format; display the link itself.

Some clients remove the tags and render unformatted text; this practice is fine. If the text is sent between Focal Point^® and another tool, both tools must handle the tags in the same way for formatting to be retained.