To mark breakpoints in element texts for use when those texts are used to form column headings, use the characters ! or |.

When you have a long element text in a column axis, Quantum will normally fit as much text as possible in the column width. If the text is wider than the column, Quantum goes back to the previous space character and breaks the line there. If there are no spaces, Quantum breaks the line in the middle of words.

Sometimes this method produces satisfactory column headings and other times not. One way round this is to define breakpoints for use only when the axis is used as the columns of a table. Quantum then splits the text at the breakpoints. The characters you use to mark breakpoints are ! (exclamation mark) and | (bar).

For example:

would create at most a four-line heading when the axis is used as a column axis:

! and | are only applicable to column axes. If the axis is used as the rows of a table the ! and | are replaced by a space and nothing respectively.

To print either of these characters as part of the element text you must switch off their special meanings using either the qtform file or the QTFORM environment variable. Any changes you make in this way apply to the whole run, not just the axis in which you want to print these characters. If you need to print ! as part of the element text but still want to define breakpoints, remove the special meaning from ! and use | to mark the breakpoints. For more information, see Column headings.