Placeholder variables are non‑translatable text strings that stand in for a term or phrase that is used multiple times, or represents a term that shouldn't be translated, such as an official product name. Placeholder variables are often used in loops to stand in for the text that does not change for each question, for example:

and

A placeholder variable is usually delimited by non-letter characters, such as \+ and \- . The actual characters used to delimit placeholder variables might vary, depending on the product that produced the original .mdd file.

Placeholder variables should not be translated, even if the text within the delimiters appears to be a properly spelled word, such as \+display\-. Placeholder variables should be copied and pasted as is (including the delimiters) into the appropriate location in the translated text.