Text Elements

Text elements are the primary content building blocks. They include headings (h1–h6), paragraphs (text), and secondary text (text2).

Headings (h1–h6)

Six heading levels for document structure. Headings are used for table of contents generation, heading numbering, and internal references.

{ "type": "h1", "text": "Chapter 1: Introduction" }
{ "type": "h2", "text": "1.1 Background", "color": "#333333" }
{ "type": "h3", "text": "1.1.1 History", "fontWeight": "normal" }

Paragraphs (text, text2)

Normal paragraphs use type: "text". Secondary/smaller text uses type: "text2" — useful for footnotes, captions, or fine print.

{ "type": "text", "text": "This is a normal paragraph with body text." }
{ "type": "text2", "text": "This is secondary text, typically rendered smaller." }

Properties

All text element types (h1–h6, text, text2) share the same properties:

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`type`	string	Yes	—	Element type: `"h1"`, `"h2"`, `"h3"`, `"h4"`, `"h5"`, `"h6"`, `"text"`, or `"text2"`
`id`	string	No	auto	Unique identifier. Auto-generated if not provided. Max: 100 chars.
`text`	string	Yes	—	Text content. Supports inline formatting (see below). 1–5000 chars.
`fontFamily`	string	No	`"Arial"`	Font family override. Max: 100 chars.
`fontSize`	number	No	`11`	Font size in pt (6–72).
`fontWeight`	string	No	`"normal"`	`"normal"` or `"bold"`
`align`	string	No	`"left"`	Alignment: `"left"`, `"center"`, `"right"`, `"justify"`
`color`	string	No	`"#000000"`	Text color in hex (`#RGB` or `#RRGGBB`).
`anchor`	string	No	—	Anchor ID for internal references (headings only, ignored on `text`/`text2`). Pattern: `^[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_-]*$`. Max: 100 chars.
`spacing`	object	No	—	Spacing override with `before` and `after` in pt (0–100).

The defaults shown above ("Arial", 11, "left", etc.) are the built-in fallbacks. In practice, values are resolved with a three-level cascade: element property → element style (from defaults.styles.h1, defaults.styles.text, etc.) → global defaults (defaults.fontFamily, defaults.fontSize, defaults.color) → built-in fallback.

Inline formatting

The text property supports inline formatting using an extended Markdown-like syntax. This is not standard Markdown — some syntax elements are Autype-specific.

Text formatting

Syntax	Result	Example
`text`	Bold	`"This is important."`
`text` or `_text_`	Italic	`"This is emphasized."`
`++text++`	Underline	`"This is ++underlined++."`
`~~text~~`	~~Strikethrough~~	`"This is ~~deleted~~."`
`==text==`	Highlight	`"This is ==highlighted==."`
`==text=={#FF0}`	Colored highlight	`"This is ==important=={#FFCC00}."`
`code`	Inline code	"Use the `render()` function."

Inline code (`...`) preserves its content as-is — no further formatting is parsed inside backticks.

Links and references

Syntax	Description	Example
`[text](url)`	External hyperlink	`"Visit [Autype](https://autype.com)."`
`[text](url "title")`	Hyperlink with title	`"See [docs](https://docs.autype.com \"API docs\")."`
`[text](#anchor)`	Internal reference (custom text)	`"See [Chapter 1](#intro)."`
`[](#anchor)`	Internal reference (auto)	`"See [](#fig-arch) for details."`
`[Text {num}](#anchor)`	Internal reference (template)	`"Refer to [Figure {num}](#fig-arch)."`

Abbreviations, citations, and variables

Syntax	Description	Example
`~ABK~`	Abbreviation reference	`"The ~API~ uses ~REST~."`
`@[citeKey]`	Citation	`"As shown by @[smith2023]."`
`@[citeKey, p. 42]`	Citation with page	`"See @[smith2023, p. 42]."`
`@[citeKey, pp. 10-15]`	Citation with page range	`"Discussed in @[smith2023, pp. 10-15]."`
`@[-citeKey]`	Citation (suppress author)	`"As shown @[-smith2023]."` → `(2023)`
`@[citeKey!]`	Citation (author only)	`"@[smith2023!] argues that..."` → `Smith`
`{{varName}}`	Variable substitution	`"Hello {{companyName}}!"`

Full citation locator options

Citations support the following locator options after the cite key, separated by commas:

Locator	Syntax	Example
Page	`p. 42` or `page 42`	`@[smith2023, p. 42]`
Pages	`pp. 42-45` or `pages 42-45`	`@[smith2023, pp. 42-45]`
Chapter	`ch. 3` or `chapter 3`	`@[smith2023, ch. 3]`
Section	`sec. 2.1` or `section 2.1`	`@[smith2023, sec. 2.1]`
Volume	`vol. 2` or `volume 2`	`@[smith2023, vol. 2]`
Note	`note="emphasis added"`	`@[smith2023, p. 42, note="emphasis added"]`

Prefix - suppresses the author name, suffix ! shows only the author name (narrative citation).

Combining formatting

Formatting marks can be nested. Abbreviations and citations work inside formatted text:

{
  "type": "text",
  "text": "This is **bold with ~API~ reference** and *italic with @[smith2023] citation*."
}

{
  "type": "text",
  "text": "Use ==highlighted text=={#FFCC00} and `` `inline code` `` together with ++underlined++ content."
}

Anchors and internal references

Headings can define an anchor ID that other elements can reference. Images, charts, and tables can also define anchors (see their respective pages).

{
  "sections": [{
    "type": "flow",
    "content": [
      { "type": "h1", "text": "Introduction", "anchor": "intro" },
      { "type": "text", "text": "Some introductory text." },
      { "type": "image", "src": "https://example.com/arch.png", "caption": "Architecture", "anchor": "fig-arch" },
      { "type": "text", "text": "For background, see [Introduction](#intro)." }
    ]
  }]
}

Internal reference display modes

There are three ways to reference an anchor:

Syntax	Mode	Rendered as
`[](#fig-arch)`	Auto	Automatically shows the target’s caption with numbering (e.g., “Figure 1: Architecture”)
`[Figure {num}](#fig-arch)`	Template	Replaces `{num}` with the target’s number (e.g., “Figure 1”)
`[see here](#fig-arch)`	Custom	Shows the provided text as a clickable link (“see here”)

Anchor IDs must be unique across the entire document. Duplicate anchors always cause a validation error. Broken references (pointing to non-existent anchors) cause errors only in strict mode (?strict=true).

Defaults

Configure default styles for text elements via defaults.styles:

{
  "defaults": {
    "fontFamily": "Noto Sans",
    "fontSize": 11,
    "color": "#333333",
    "styles": {
      "h1": { "fontSize": 24, "fontWeight": "bold", "color": "#111111", "pageBreakBefore": true },
      "h2": { "fontSize": 18, "fontWeight": "bold" },
      "h3": { "fontSize": 14, "fontWeight": "bold" },
      "h4": { "fontSize": 12, "fontWeight": "bold" },
      "text": { "fontSize": 11, "align": "justify" },
      "text2": { "fontSize": 9, "color": "#666666" }
    }
  }
}

The pageBreakBefore property in a heading style forces a page break before every instance of that heading level — useful for starting each chapter on a new page.

Supported fonts

The following fonts are guaranteed to be available in the rendering engine. Use these font family names in fontFamily properties.

Using a font that is not installed in the render container will cause a silent fallback to the default font (Arial). Always use one of the listed fonts to ensure consistent output.

Sans-serif

Font	Notes
`Arial`	Classic Microsoft sans-serif, widely used
`Arial Black`	Heavy weight display font
`Verdana`	Highly readable, designed for screens
`Trebuchet MS`	Humanist sans-serif
`Carlito`	Metrically compatible with Calibri
`Roboto`	Google’s modern sans-serif
`Open Sans`	Humanist sans-serif, great for body text
`Lato`	Warm, friendly sans-serif
`Noto Sans`	Extensive language support (CJK, Arabic, Hebrew, etc.)
`DejaVu Sans`	Extended Unicode coverage

Serif

Font	Notes
`Times New Roman`	Standard for academic documents
`Georgia`	Elegant serif for screen readability
`Caladea`	Metrically compatible with Cambria
`Roboto Slab`	Slab serif companion to Roboto
`Noto Serif`	Extensive language support
`DejaVu Serif`	Extended Unicode coverage

Monospace

Font	Notes
`Courier New`	Classic monospace
`Andale Mono`	Clean monospace
`Noto Sans Mono`	Monospace with language support
`DejaVu Sans Mono`	Extended Unicode monospace

Display

Font	Notes
`Comic Sans MS`	Casual, comic-style
`Impact`	Bold condensed for headlines

MS Office compatibility: Calibri documents render correctly using Carlito (metrically identical). Cambria documents render correctly using Caladea (metrically identical). The render engine also has hundreds of Noto language-specific variants (e.g., Noto Sans CJK JP, Noto Sans Arabic, Noto Serif Bengali) installed for international document support.

Complete example

{
  "document": { "type": "pdf", "size": "A4" },
  "abbreviations": { "API": "Application Programming Interface" },
  "citations": [
    { "id": "smith2023", "type": "book", "title": "Document Automation", "author": [{ "family": "Smith", "given": "John" }], "issued": { "date-parts": [[2023]] } }
  ],
  "variables": { "companyName": "Acme Inc" },
  "defaults": {
    "fontFamily": "Noto Sans",
    "fontSize": 11,
    "styles": {
      "h1": { "fontSize": 22, "fontWeight": "bold" },
      "h2": { "fontSize": 16, "fontWeight": "bold" }
    }
  },
  "sections": [
    {
      "type": "flow",
      "content": [
        { "type": "h1", "text": "Welcome to {{companyName}}", "anchor": "welcome" },
        { "type": "text", "text": "This document was created by **{{companyName}}** using the ~API~." },
        { "type": "h2", "text": "Background", "anchor": "background" },
        { "type": "text", "text": "As described by @[smith2023, pp. 10-15], automation is key. See [Welcome](#welcome) for an overview." },
        { "type": "text", "text": "The ==key insight== is that the `render()` function processes documents efficiently." },
        { "type": "text", "text": "@[smith2023!] also argues that ++underlined++ and ~~deprecated~~ syntax should be supported." },
        { "type": "text2", "text": "Note: This is secondary text with smaller font size." },
        { "type": "h3", "text": "Sub-section" },
        { "type": "text", "text": "Content with *italic*, **bold with ~API~ inside**, and ++underlined++ formatting." }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Overview

Document JSON Syntax

Tools Guides

Images

Rendering

Bulk Rendering

Projects & Documents

Tools File Management

Tools PDF Actions

Tools Document Actions

Lens (AI)

Tools Jobs

Headings (h1–h6)

Paragraphs (text, text2)

Properties

Inline formatting

Text formatting

Links and references

Abbreviations, citations, and variables

Combining formatting

Anchors and internal references

Internal reference display modes

Defaults

Supported fonts

Sans-serif

Serif

Monospace

Display

Complete example

​Headings (h1–h6)

​Paragraphs (text, text2)

​Properties

​Inline formatting

​Text formatting

​Links and references

​Abbreviations, citations, and variables

​Combining formatting

​Anchors and internal references

​Internal reference display modes

​Defaults

​Supported fonts

​Sans-serif

​Serif

​Monospace

​Display

​Complete example

Headings (h1–h6)

Paragraphs (text, text2)

Properties

Inline formatting

Text formatting

Links and references

Abbreviations, citations, and variables

Combining formatting

Anchors and internal references

Internal reference display modes

Defaults

Supported fonts

Sans-serif

Serif

Monospace

Display

Complete example