How to use 'Line Description' Field and HTML Characters
- Harriete Arnold
Overview
Users in regularly utilize the "Line description" field for entering comments on items to be displayed on PDF. However, a recurring problem arises when certain characters, such as "<" or ">", do not display correctly in the Line description. This Wiki page addresses this issue and provides a solution for our users.
Problem Description
Current Situation
The "Line description" field is a valuable resource for our users to input comments on various items. However, when they use characters like "<" or ">", these characters are not displayed correctly in the Line description. This happens because these characters have special significance in HTML, causing them to be interpreted as HTML tags rather than plain text.
Impact
Misinterpretation of special characters, leading to formatting issues in Line descriptions.
Potential miscommunication due to incorrect display of text.
Solution
To address this issue and ensure that special characters like "<" or ">" are displayed correctly in the Line description, users are advised to follow these steps:
Use HTML Entities: Instead of using the less-than symbol ("<") directly in the Line description field, utilize the HTML entity "<" instead of the less-than symbol (<) when entering text into the Line description field.
See the example below:
Explanation
The Line description field is enabled to show HTML, and the less-than symbol is an HTML symbol. When you enter a less-than symbol into this field, it will be interpreted as an HTML tag and will not be displayed as text.
To avoid this, please use the HTML entity "<" instead. The HTML entity is a special character that represents the less-than symbol. When you enter an HTML entity into an HTML field, it will be displayed as text.
Conclusion
Addressing the issue of special character display in the Line description field is crucial for ensuring clear and accurate communication within our organization. By using HTML entities like "<" instead of the less-than symbol ("<"), users can ensure that all comments and important information are correctly displayed in Line descriptions.