Abbreviations

Abbreviations let you define short forms (e.g., “API”) and their full text (e.g., “Application Programming Interface”). They can be automatically collected into a List of Abbreviations in your document.

Defining abbreviations

The top-level abbreviations object is a key-value map where each key is the short form and the value is the full text.

{
  "abbreviations": {
    "API": "Application Programming Interface",
    "HTML": "Hypertext Markup Language",
    "CSS": "Cascading Style Sheets",
    "R&D": "Research and Development",
    "REST": "Representational State Transfer"
  }
}

Key format

Abbreviation keys (short forms) must:

Start with a letter (including Unicode letters like Ä, ö, Ü)
Contain only letters, digits, spaces, and the characters & _ - . , ( ) / ' "
Be 1–20 characters long

Value format

Property	Type	Constraints
(value)	string	Full text of the abbreviation. 1–200 characters.

Using abbreviations in sections

To mark an abbreviation in your text content, wrap the abbreviation key with tildes: ~ABK~. The abbreviation must be defined in the top-level abbreviations object.

{
  "sections": [{
    "type": "flow",
    "content": [
      { "type": "text", "text": "The ~API~ uses ~JSON~ over ~HTTP~ for all requests." },
      { "type": "text", "text": "Our ~REST~ endpoints follow standard conventions." }
    ]
  }]
}

When rendered, ~API~ will display the abbreviation with a tooltip or annotation showing the full text “Application Programming Interface” (depending on the output format).

The ~ABK~ syntax works in all text content within sections: headings, paragraphs (text, text2), list items, and table cells.

When using ?strict=true on the render endpoint, any ~ABK~ reference to an abbreviation that is not defined in the abbreviations object will cause a validation error. Without strict mode, undefined abbreviations produce warnings but do not block rendering.

List of Abbreviations element

To render an automatic list of all defined abbreviations, add a listOfAbbreviations element to a section:

{
  "type": "listOfAbbreviations",
  "title": "List of Abbreviations",
  "sortOrder": "alphabetical",
  "fontFamily": "Arial",
  "fontSize": 18
}

Properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`type`	string	Yes	—	Must be `"listOfAbbreviations"`
`id`	string	No	—	Optional unique identifier. Max: 100 chars.
`title`	string	No	—	Title displayed above the list (e.g., `"List of Abbreviations"`). Max: 200 chars.
`sortOrder`	string	No	`"alphabetical"`	Sort order: `"alphabetical"` (by abbreviation key) or `"document"` (order of first appearance in document).
`fontFamily`	string	No	—	Font family for the title. Max: 100 chars.
`fontSize`	number	No	—	Font size for the title in pt (6–72).
`spacing`	object	No	—	Spacing override with `before` and `after` in pt (0–100).

Defaults for abbreviations

You can customize the appearance of the abbreviation list globally via defaults.styles.listOfAbbreviations:

{
  "defaults": {
    "styles": {
      "listOfAbbreviations": {
        "fontFamily": "Arial",
        "fontSize": 11,
        "fontWeight": "normal",
        "color": "#333333",
        "sortOrder": "alphabetical",
        "separator": " - "
      }
    }
  }
}

List of Abbreviations style properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
`fontFamily`	string	—	Font family for list entries. Max: 100 chars.
`fontSize`	number	—	Font size in pt (6–72).
`fontWeight`	string	—	Font weight: `"normal"` or `"bold"`
`color`	string	—	Text color in hex format (`#RGB` or `#RRGGBB`).
`sortOrder`	string	`"alphabetical"`	Default sort order: `"alphabetical"` or `"appearance"` (order of first use).
`separator`	string	`" - "`	Separator between abbreviation and full text (e.g., `" - "`, `": "`, `" = "`). Max: 10 chars.

Complete example

{
  "document": { "type": "pdf", "size": "A4" },
  "abbreviations": {
    "API": "Application Programming Interface",
    "REST": "Representational State Transfer",
    "JSON": "JavaScript Object Notation",
    "HTTP": "Hypertext Transfer Protocol"
  },
  "defaults": {
    "styles": {
      "listOfAbbreviations": {
        "fontSize": 10,
        "separator": ": ",
        "sortOrder": "alphabetical"
      }
    }
  },
  "sections": [
    {
      "type": "flow",
      "content": [
        { "type": "listOfAbbreviations", "title": "Abbreviations" },
        { "type": "pageBreak" },
        { "type": "h1", "text": "Introduction" },
        { "type": "text", "text": "This document describes a ~REST~ ~API~ that uses ~JSON~ over ~HTTP~ for all communication." },
        { "type": "text", "text": "The ~API~ supports multiple output formats including PDF and DOCX." }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

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Defining abbreviations

Key format

Value format

Using abbreviations in sections

List of Abbreviations element

Properties

Defaults for abbreviations

List of Abbreviations style properties

Complete example

​Defining abbreviations

​Key format

​Value format

​Using abbreviations in sections

​List of Abbreviations element

​Properties

​Defaults for abbreviations

​List of Abbreviations style properties

​Complete example

Defining abbreviations

Key format

Value format

Using abbreviations in sections

List of Abbreviations element

Properties

Defaults for abbreviations

List of Abbreviations style properties

Complete example