> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.autype.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Abbreviations

> Define abbreviation short forms and generate automatic abbreviation lists

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.

```json theme={null}
{
  "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.

```json theme={null}
{
  "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).

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

<Warning>
  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.
</Warning>

## List of Abbreviations element

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

```json theme={null}
{
  "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`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "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

```json theme={null}
{
  "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." }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```