`<pre>`

Preformatted text is text that contains line breaks and spaces that are intended to be preserved at publication time.

Usage information

The <pre> element is often used for ASCII diagrams and code samples. It is the specialization base for the @codeblock element in the Technical Content edition.

Rendering expectations

Processors SHOULD preserve the line breaks and spaces that are present in the content of a <pre> element.

The contents of the <codeblock> element is typically rendered in a monospaced font.

Content model

Contained by

<abstract>, <body>, <bodydiv>, <dd>, <desc>, <div>, <draft-comment>, <entry>, <example>, <fallback>, <fig>, <figgroup>, <fn>, <li>, <linkinfo>, <lq>, <note>, <p>, <section>, <stentry>

Zero or more of the following

Contained by

Inheritance

- topic/pre

The <pre> element is a base element type. It is defined in the topic module.

Attributes

The following attributes are available on this element: display attributes, universal attributes, and @xml:space.

The following attributes are available on this element: universal attributes and the attributes defined below.

@expanse (display attributes)

Specifies the horizontal placement of the element. The following values are valid:

column: Indicates that the element is aligned with the current column margin.
page: Indicates that the element is placed on the left page margin for left-to-right presentation or the right page margin for right-to-left presentation.
spread: Indicates that the object is rendered across a multi-page spread. If the output format does not have anything that corresponds to spreads, then spread has the same meaning as page.
textline: Indicates that the element is aligned with the left (for left-to-right presentation) or right (for right-to-left presentation) margin of the current text line and takes indentation into account.
-dita-use-conref-target: See Using the -dita-use-conref-target value for more information.

For <table>, in place of the @expanse attribute that is used by other DITA elements, the @pgwide attribute is used in order to conform to the OASIS Exchange Table Model.

Some processors or output formats might not support all values.

@frame (display attributes)

Specifies which portion of a border surrounds the element. The following values are valid:

all: Indicates that a line is rendered at the top, bottom, left, and right of the containing element.

bottom: Indicates that a line is rendered at the bottom of the containing element.

none: Indicates that no lines are rendered.

sides: Indicates that a line is rendered at the left and right of the containing element.

top: Indicates that a line is rendered at the top of the containing element.
topbot: Indicates that a line is rendered at the top and bottom of the containing element.
-dita-use-conref-target: See Using the -dita-use-conref-target value for more information.

Some processors or output formats might not support all values.

@scale (display attributes)

Specifies the percentage by which fonts are resized in relation to the normal text size. The value of this attribute is a positive integer. When used on <table> or <simpletable>, the following values are valid: 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, and -dita-use-conref-target.

This attribute is primarily useful for print-oriented display. Some processors might not support all values.

If the @scale attribute is specified on an element that contains an image, the image is not scaled. The image is scaled only if a scaling property is explicitly specified for the <image> element.

@xml:space

Specifies how to handle white space in the current element. This attribute is provided on <pre>, <lines>, and on elements specialized from those. It ensures that parsers respect white space that is part of the data in those elements, including line-end characters. When defined, it has a fixed value of preserve, making it a default property of the element that cannot be changed or deleted by authors.

Example

This section is non-normative.

The following code sample shows preformatted text that contains white space and line breaks. When the following code sample is published, the white space and line breaks are preserved.

<pre>
          MEMO: programming team fun day
Remember to bring a kite, softball glove, or other favorite
outdoor accessory to tomorrow's fun day outing at Zilker Park.
Volunteers needed for the dunking booth.
</pre>