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Mark fields and span punctuation

Any span can be punctuated by adding the keyword
Punctuation
 to the Business Rule followed by double quoted text which contains the punctuation symbols.
Punctuation {Mark} fields can be placed anywhere within the span and will be replaced by one of the punctuation symbols.

Punctuation symbols

There are 4 punctuation symbols referred to as the first and following symbol, the penultimate symbol, the last symbol and the symbol for two members only. If there are fewer than 4 punctuation symbols in the double-quoted format text then the missing symbols are inferred.
Format Text
First and Following Symbol
Penultimate Symbol
Last Symbol
Symbol for Two Members
", |, and |.| and "
", "
", and "
"."
" and "
", |, and |."
", "
", and "
"."
""
", |, and "
", "
"; and "
""
""
", "
","
""
""
""
""
""
""
""
""
In addition, certain escaped characters (not case sensitive) in the punctuation symbol are interpreted as MS Word controls:
Escaped Character
MS Word Control
^T
tab
^L
paragraph (Return) or manual line-break (Shift-Return)
^M
manual page-break
^N
manual column-break
^|
vertical bar character
^^
hat character (^)

Punctuation algorithm

The punctuation algorithm depends upon the number of {Mark} fields that remain after the contents of the span have been evaluated.
Number of Marks
Punctuation
0
No punctuation
1
The only {Mark} is replaced by the last symbol
2
The first {Mark} is replaced by the penultimate symbol and the second {Mark} is replaced by the last symbol
3+
The last {Mark} is replaced by the last symbol, the last-but-one {Mark} is replaced by the penultimate symbol and all other {Mark}s are replaced by the first and following symbol

Example 1

In this example there are several termination clauses, some of which are compulsory (C and D) and some of which are optional (A, B, E and F). Note that each termination clause, whether compulsory or optional, has its own {Mark} to indicate where the punctuation symbol is inserted.
[
Punctuation " ;| ; and|."
[
TCA
Termination Clause A{Mark}]
[
TCB
Termination Clause B{Mark}]
Termination Clause C{Mark}
Termination Clause D{Mark}
[
TCE
Termination Clause E{Mark}]
[
TCF
Termination Clause F{Mark}]]
If TCA=false, TCB=false, TCE=false and TCF=false then the evaluated span will be:
Termination Clause C {Mark}
Termination Clause D {Mark}
and the punctuated clauses will be:
Termination Clause C ; and
Termination Clause D.
If TCA=true, TCB=true, TCE=true and TCF=true then the evaluated span will be:
Termination Clause A {Mark}
Termination Clause B {Mark}
Termination Clause C {Mark}
Termination Clause D {Mark}
Termination Clause E{Mark}
Termination Clause F {Mark}
and the punctuated clauses will be:
Termination Clause A ;
Termination Clause B ;
Termination Clause C ;
Termination Clause D ;
Termination Clause E ; and
Termination Clause F.

Example 2

In this example the span is repeated. There is only one {Mark} which will itself be repeated.
The company [
NumberDirectors Is 1
director is][
NumberDirectors IsMoreThan 1
directors are] [
Repeat NumberDirectors Punctuation ", | and |"
{DirectorName}{Mark}].
If the only director is John then the punctuated paragraph will be:
The company director is John.
If the directors are John and Mary then the punctuated paragraph will be:
The company directors are John and Mary.
If the directors are John, Mary, Paul and David then the punctuated paragraph will be:
The company directors are John, Mary, Paul and David.

This article applies to:

  • Product: Contract Express