DocBook: The Definitive Guide
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Prompt

Name

Prompt -- A character or string indicating the start of an input field in a computer display

Synopsis

Mixed Content Model

Prompt ::=
((#PCDATA|Replaceable|InlineGraphic|InlineMediaObject|IndexTerm)+)

Attributes

Common attributes

Name

Type

Default

MoreInfo

Enumeration:

None
RefEntry

"None"

Tag Minimization

Both the start- and end-tags are required for this element.

Parameter Entities

%cptr.char.mix;%ndxterm.char.mix;%para.char.mix;
%programlisting.content;%refinline.char.mix;%refname.char.mix;
%screen.content;%tbl.entry.mdl;%tech.char.class;
%title.char.mix;

Description

A Prompt is a character or character string marking the beginning of an input field. Prompts are generally associated with command-line interfaces and not graphical user interfaces (GUIs). In GUIs, GUILabel is usually more appropriate.

Processing expectations

Formatted inline. The MoreInfo attribute can help generate a link or query to retrieve additional information.

(4.0) Future Changes

Prompt was added in DocBook V3.0. It duplicates the semantics of <systemitem class="prompt">. The prompt attribute will be removed from SystemItem in the future.

Parents

These elements contain Prompt: Action, Application, Attribution, BiblioMisc, BridgeHead, Citation, CiteTitle, Command, Comment, ComputerOutput, Database, Emphasis, entry, Filename, ForeignPhrase, FuncParams, FuncSynopsisInfo, Function, GlossSee, GlossSeeAlso, GlossTerm, Hardware, Interface, InterfaceDefinition, KeyCap, LineAnnotation, Link, Literal, LiteralLayout, LoTentry, Member, MsgAud, OLink, Option, Optional, Para, Parameter, Phrase, Primary, PrimaryIE, ProductName, ProgramListing, Property, Quote, RefDescriptor, RefEntryTitle, RefName, RefPurpose, Screen, ScreenInfo, Secondary, SecondaryIE, See, SeeAlso, SeeAlsoIE, SeeIE, Seg, SegTitle, SimPara, Subtitle, Synopsis, SystemItem, Term, Tertiary, TertiaryIE, Title, TitleAbbrev, ToCback, ToCentry, ToCfront, Trademark, ULink, UserInput.

Children

The following elements occur in Prompt: IndexTerm, InlineGraphic, InlineMediaObject, Replaceable.

In some contexts, the following elements are allowed anywhere: BeginPage, IndexTerm.

In some contexts, the following elements are excluded: IndexTerm.

Attributes

MoreInfo

If MoreInfo is set to RefEntry, it implies that a RefEntry exists which further describes the Prompt.

See Also

ComputerOutput, Constant, EnVar, Filename, Literal, Markup, Option, Optional, Parameter, Replaceable, SGMLTag, SystemItem, UserInput, VarName

Examples

<!DOCTYPE para PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook V3.1//EN">
<para>
Enter your user name when the system presents the 
<prompt>login:</prompt> prompt.
</para>

Enter your user name when the system presents the login: prompt.

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