DITA Author Mode Actions
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A variety of actions are available for the DITA framework that can be found on the toolbar, the contextual menu, or the DITA menu.

DITA Toolbar Actions

The following default actions are readily available on the DITA (Author Custom Actions) toolbar when editing in Author mode (by default, most of them are also available in the DITA menu and in various submenus of the contextual menu):

Bold

Surrounds the selected text with a b tag. You can use this action on multiple non-contiguous selections.

Italic

Surrounds the selected text with an i tag. You can use this action on multiple non-contiguous selections.

Underline

Surrounds the selected text with a u tag. You can use this action on multiple non-contiguous selections.

Link Actions Drop-Down Menu

The following link actions are available from this menu:

Cross Reference: Opens the Cross Reference (xref) dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target DITA resource at the current location within a document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. Once the target resource has been selected, you can also target specific elements within that resource. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
File Reference: Opens the File Reference dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target non-DITA file resource at the current location within a document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Web Link: Opens the Web Link dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target web-related resource at the current location within a document. The target resource can be a URL or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Related Link to Topic: Opens the Cross Reference (xref) dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target DITA resource in a related links section at the bottom of the current document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. Once the target resource has been selected, you can also target specific elements within that resource. If a related links section does not already exist, this action creates one. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Related Link to File: Opens the File Reference dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target non-DITA file resource in a related links section at the bottom of the current document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. If a related links section does not already exist, this action creates one. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Related Link to Web Page: Opens the Web Link dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target web-related resource in a related links section at the bottom of the current document. The target resource can be a URL or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. If a related links section does not already exist, this action creates one. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.

Insert Image

Opens the Insert Image dialog box that allows you to configure the properties of an image to be inserted into a DITA document at the cursor position.

Insert Media Resource

Opens the Insert Media dialog box that allows you to select and configure the properties of a media object to be inserted into a DITA document at the cursor position. The result will be that a reference to the specified video, audio, or embedded HTML frame is inserted in an object element and it is rendered in Author mode so that it can be played directly from there.

Insert Section Drop-Down Menu

The following insert actions are available from this menu:

Insert Section: Inserts a new section element in the document, depending on the current context.
Insert Concept: Inserts a new concept element, depending on the current context. Concepts provide background information that users must know before they can successfully work with a product or interface.
Insert Task: Inserts a new task element, depending on the current context. Tasks are the main building blocks for task-oriented user assistance. They generally provide step-by-step instructions that will help a user to perform a task.
Insert Topic: Inserts a new topic element, depending on the current context. Topics are the basic units of DITA content and are usually organized around a single subject.
Insert Reference: Inserts a new reference element, depending on the current context. A reference is a top-level container for a reference topic.

Insert Paragraph

Inserts a new paragraph at current cursor position.

Reuse Content

This action provides a mechanism for reusing content fragments. It opens the Reuse Content dialog box that allows you to insert several types of references to reusable content at the cursor position. The types of references that you can insert using this dialog box include content references (conref), content key references (conkeyref), or key references to metadata (keyref).

Insert step or list item

Inserts a new list or step item in the current list type.

Insert Unordered List

Inserts an unordered list at the cursor position. A child list item is also automatically inserted by default. You can also use this action to convert selected paragraphs or other types of lists to an unordered list.

Insert Ordered List

Inserts an ordered list at the cursor position. A child list item is also automatically inserted by default. You can also use this action to convert selected paragraphs or other types of lists to an ordered list.

Sort

Sorts cells or list items in a table.

Insert Table

Opens a dialog box that allows you to configure and insert a table. You can generate a header and footer, set the number of rows and columns of the table and decide how the table is framed. You can also use this action to convert selected paragraphs, lists, and inline content (mixed content — text + markup — that is rendered inside a block element) into a table, with the selected content inserted in the first column, starting from the first row after the header (if a header is inserted).

Note: If the selection contains a mixture of elements that cannot be converted, you will receive an error message saying that Only lists, paragraphs, or inline content can be converted to tables.

Insert Row Below

Inserts a new table row with empty cells below the current row. This action is available when the cursor is positioned inside a table.

Delete Row(s)

Deletes the table row located at cursor position or multiple rows in a selection.

Insert Column After

Inserts a new table column with empty cells after the current column. This action is available when the cursor is positioned inside a table.

Delete Column(s)

Deletes the table column located at cursor position or multiple columns in a selection.

Table Properties

Opens the Table properties dialog box that allows you to configure properties of a table (such as frame borders).

Join Cells

Joins the content of the selected cells (both horizontally and vertically).

Split Cell

Splits the cell at the cursor location. If Oxygen XML Editor plugin detects more than one option to split the cell, a dialog box will be displayed that allows you to select the number of rows or columns to split the cell into.

DITA Contextual Menu Actions

In addition to many of the DITA toolbar actions and the general Author mode contextual menu actions, there are numerous DITA-specific actions that are available in the contextual menu when editing DITA documents in Author mode (most of them are also available in the DITA menu at the top of the interface):

Edit Attributes

Displays an in-place attributes editor that allows you to manage the attributes of an element.

Edit Profiling Attributes

Allows you to change the profiling attributes defined on all selected elements.

Cut (Ctrl + X (Command + X on OS X))

Removes the current selected content from the document and places it in the clipboard.

Copy (Ctrl + C (Command + C on OS X))

Places a copy of the current selected content in the clipboard.

Paste (Ctrl + V (Command + V on OS X))

Inserts the current clipboard content into the document at the cursor position.

Paste special submenu

This submenu includes the following special paste actions that are specific to the DITA framework:

Paste as content reference

Inserts a content reference (a DITA element with a conref attribute) to the DITA XML element from the clipboard. An entire DITA XML element with an ID attribute must be present in the clipboard when the action is invoked. The conref attribute will point to this ID value.

Paste as content key reference

Allows you to indirectly reference content using the conkeyref attribute. When the DITA content is processed, the key references are resolved using key definitions from DITA maps. To use this action, you must first do the following:

Make sure the DITA element that contains the copied content has an ID attribute assigned to it.
In the DITA Maps Manager view, make sure that the Root map combo box points to the correct map that stores the keys.
Make sure the topic that contains the content you want to reference has a key assigned to it. To assign a key, right-click the topic with its parent map opened in the DITA Maps Manager, select Edit Properties, and enter a value in the Keys field.

Paste as link

Looks for the first element with an ID value in the clipboard and inserts an xref that points to that element. If no elements with an ID value are found, a message will appear that informs you that to use this action, the clipboard contents must include at least one element with a declared ID.

Paste as link (keyref)

Inserts a link to the element that you want to reference. To use this action, you must first do the following:

Make sure the DITA element that contains the copied content has an ID attribute assigned to it.
In the DITA Maps Manager view, make sure that the Root map combo box points to the correct map that stores the keys.
Make sure the topic that contains the content you want to reference has a key assigned to it. To assign a key, right-click the topic with its parent map opened in the DITA Maps Manager, select Edit Properties, and enter a value in the Keys field.

Insert submenu

This submenu includes the following insert actions that are specific to the DITA framework:

Insert Table

Note: If the selection contains a mixture of elements that cannot be converted, you will receive an error message saying that Only lists, paragraphs, or inline content can be converted to tables.

Insert Image

Inserts an image reference at the cursor position. Depending on the current location, an image-type element is inserted.

Insert Media Resource

Opens a Choose Media dialog box that allows you to select the URL of a media object to be inserted into a document at the cursor position. The result will be that a reference to the specified video, audio, or embedded HTML frame is inserted and rendered in Author mode so that it can be played directly from there.

Insert Equation

Opens the XML Fragment Editor that allows you to insert and edit MathML notations.

Insert Paragraph

Inserts a new paragraph at current cursor position.

Insert Section

Inserts a new section element in the document, depending on the current context.

Insert Topic

Inserts a new topic element, depending on the current context. Topics are the basic units of DITA content and are usually organized around a single subject.

Insert Entity

Allows you to insert a predefined entity or character entity. Surrogate character entities (range #x10000 to #x10FFFF) are also accepted. Character entities can be entered in one of the following forms:

#<decimal value> - e. g. #65
&#<decimal value>; - e. g. &#65
#x<hexadecimal value> - e. g. #x41
&#x<hexadecimal value>; - e. g. &#x41

Image Map Editor

This action is available in the contextual menu when it is invoked on an image. This action applies an image map to the current image (if one does not already exist) and opens the Image Map Editor dialog box. This feature allows you to create hyperlinks in specific areas of an image that will link to various destinations.

Table Actions

The following table editing actions are available in the contextual menu when it is invoked on a table:

Insert Rows: Opens a dialog box that allows you to insert any number of rows and specify the position where they will be inserted (Above or Below the current row).
Delete Row(s): Deletes the table row located at cursor position or multiple rows in a selection.
Insert Columns: Opens a dialog box that allows you to insert any number of columns and specify the position where they will be inserted (Above or Below the current column).
Delete Column(s): Deletes the table column located at cursor position or multiple columns in a selection.
Join Cells: Joins the content of the selected cells (both horizontally and vertically).
Split Cell: Splits the cell at the cursor location. If Oxygen XML Editor plugin detects more than one option to split the cell, a dialog box will be displayed that allows you to select the number of rows or columns to split the cell into.
Sort: Sorts cells or list items in a table.
Table Properties: Opens the Table properties dialog box that allows you to configure properties of a table (such as frame borders).
Other Actions submenu: This submenu give you access to all the usual contextual menu actions.

Link submenu

The following link actions are available from this submenu:

Cross Reference: Opens the Cross Reference (xref) dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target DITA resource at the current location within a document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. Once the target resource has been selected, you can also target specific elements within that resource. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
File Reference: Opens the File Reference dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target non-DITA file resource at the current location within a document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Web Link: Opens the Web Link dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target web-related resource at the current location within a document. The target resource can be a URL or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Related Link to Topic: Opens the Cross Reference (xref) dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target DITA resource in a related links section at the bottom of the current document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. Once the target resource has been selected, you can also target specific elements within that resource. If a related links section does not already exist, this action creates one. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Related Link to File: Opens the File Reference dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target non-DITA file resource in a related links section at the bottom of the current document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. If a related links section does not already exist, this action creates one. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Related Link to Web Page: Opens the Web Link dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target web-related resource in a related links section at the bottom of the current document. The target resource can be a URL or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. If a related links section does not already exist, this action creates one. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.

Sort

Available when invoked on a list, it opens a dialog box where you can configure a sorting operation for an entire list or a selection of list items.

Generate IDs

Oxygen XML Editor plugin generates unique IDs for the current element (or elements), depending on how the action is invoked:

When invoked on a single selection, an ID is generated for the selected element at the cursor position.
When invoked on a block of selected content, IDs are generated for all top-level elements and elements from the list in the ID Options dialog box that are found in the current selection.

Note: The Generate IDs action does not overwrite existing ID values. It only affects elements that do not already have an id attribute.

Reuse submenu

This submenu includes the following actions regarding reusing content in DITA:

Reuse Content

Push Current Element

Opens the Push current element dialog box that allows content from a source topic to be inserted into another topic without any special coding in the topic where the content will be re-used.

Edit Content Reference

This action is available for elements with a conref or conkeyref attribute. it opens the Edit Content Reference dialog box that allows you to edit the source location (or key) and source element of a content reference (or content key reference), and the reference details (conref/conkeyref and conrefend attributes). For more information, see Reuse Content Dialog Box.

Replace Reference with Content

Replaces the referenced fragment (conref or conkeyref) at the cursor position with its content from it source. This action is useful if you want to make changes to the content in the currently edited document without changing the referenced fragment in its source location. If the source content includes references to other topics/resources (hrefs), the operation also resolves those references relative to the new location. Attributes are preserved according to the following priority:

Attributes from the elements in the current document that reference other content are preserved except for attributes with a -dita-use-conref-target value.
Attributes from the referenced content are brought into the replaced elements in the current document except for id attributes.

Replace All References with Content

Replaces all referenced fragments (keyref, conref, or conkeyref) in the current document with the content. Attributes are preserved according to the following priority:

Attributes from the elements in the current document that reference other content are preserved except for attributes with a -dita-use-conref-target value.
Attributes from the referenced content are brought into the replaced elements in the current document except for id attributes.

For keyrefs inside xref or link elements, the keyref attribute is changed to an href attribute, while the rest of the content for the keyref is replaced with its source content.

If the source content includes references to other topics/resources (hrefs), the operation also resolves those references relative to the new location.

Remove Content Reference

Removes the content reference (conref or conkeyref) inside the element at the cursor position.

Create Reusable Component

Creates a reusable component from the selected fragment of text. For more information, see Creating a Reusable Content Component.

Insert Reusable Component

Inserts a reusable component at cursor location. For more information, see Inserting a Reusable Content Component.

Search References (Ctrl + Shift + G)

Finds the references to the id attribute value for the element at the current cursor position, in all the topics contained in the current DITA map (opened in the DITA Maps Manager view). If no references are found for the current element, a dialog box will be displayed that offers you the option of searching for references to its ancestor elements.

Figure: Search References to Ancestors Dialog Box

Show Key Definition

Available for elements that have a conkeyref or keyref attribute set (or elements with an ancestor element that has a conkeyref or keyref attribute). It computes the key name and opens the DITA map that contains the definition of the key with the element that defines that key selected.

About Element submenu

This submenu includes the following actions:

Style Guide: Opens the DITA Style Guide Best Practices for Authors in your browser and displays a topic that is relevant to the element at the cursor position. When editing DITA documents, this action is available in the contextual menu of the editing area (under the About Element sub-menu), in the DITA menu, and in some of the documentation tips that are displayed by the Content Completion Assistant.
Browse reference manual: Opens a reference to the documentation of the XML element closest to the cursor position in a web browser.
Go to Definition: Moves the cursor to the definition of the current element.

Select submenu

This submenu allows you to select the following:

Element: Selects the entire element at the current cursor position.
Content: Selects the entire content of the element at the current cursor position, excluding the start and end tag. Performing this action repeatedly will result in the selection of the content of the ancestor of the currently selected element content.
Parent: Selects the entire parent element at the current cursor position.

Text submenu

This submenu contains the following actions:

To Lower Case

Converts the selected content to lower case characters.

To Upper Case

Converts the selected content to upper case characters.

Capitalize Sentences

Converts to upper case the first character of every selected sentence.

Capitalize Words

Converts to upper case the first character of every selected word. 0034

Count Words

Counts the number of words and characters (no spaces) in the entire document or in the selection for regular content and read-only content.

Note: The content marked as deleted with change tracking is ignored when counting words.

Convert Hexadecimal Sequence to Character (Ctrl + Shift + H (Command + Shift + H on OS X))

Converts a sequence of hexadecimal characters to the corresponding Unicode character. The action can be invoked if there is a selection containing a valid hexadecimal sequence or if the cursor is placed at the right side of a valid hexadecimal sequence. A valid hexadecimal sequence can be composed of 2 to 4 hexadecimal characters and may or may not be preceded by the 0x or 0X prefix. Examples of valid sequences and the characters they will be converted to:

0x0045 will be converted to E
0X0125 to ĥ
265 to ɥ
2190 to ←
Note: For more information about finding the hexadecimal value of a character, see Finding the Decimal, Hexadecimal, or Character Entity Equivalent.

Refactoring submenu

Contains a series of actions designed to alter the XML structure of the document:

Toggle Comment

Encloses the currently selected text in an XML comment, or removes the comment if it is commented.

Move Up (Alt + UpArrow)

Moves the current node or selected nodes in front of the previous node.

Move Down (Alt + DownArrow)

Moves the current node or selected nodes after the subsequent node.

Split Element

Splits the content of the closest element that contains the position of the cursor. Thus, if the cursor is positioned at the beginning or at the end of the element, the newly created sibling will be empty.

Join Elements

Joins two adjacent block elements that have the same name. The action is available only when the cursor position is between the two adjacent block elements. Also, joining two block elements can be done by pressing the Delete or Backspace keys and the cursor is positioned between the boundaries of these two elements.

Surround with Tags (Alt + Shift + E )

Allows you to choose a tag to enclose a selected portion of content. If there is no selection, the start and end tags are inserted at the cursor position.

If the Position cursor between tags option is selected in the Content Completion preferences page, the cursor is placed between the start and end tag.
If the Position cursor between tags option is not selected in the Content Completion preferences page, the cursor is placed at the end of the start tag, in an insert-attribute position.

Surround with '[tag]' (Alt + Shift + ForwardSlash)

Surround the selected content with the last tag used.

Rename Element

The element from the cursor position, and any elements with the same name, can be renamed according with the options from the Rename dialog box.

Delete Element Tags

Deletes the tags of the closest element that contains the position of the cursor. This operation is also executed if the start or end tags of an element are deleted by pressing the Delete or Backspace keys.

Remove All Markup

Removes all the XML markup inside the selected block of content and keeps only the text content.

Remove Text

Removes the text content of the selected block of content and keeps the markup intact with empty elements.

DITA Refactoring Actions

A variety of built-in XML refactoring operations that pertain to DITA documents with some of the information preconfigured based upon the current context.

Change Topic ID to File Name: Use this operation to change the ID of a topic to be the same as its file name.
Convert CALS Tables to Simple Tables: Use this operation to convert DITA CALS tables to simple tables. If you invoke this operation from a nested table (a table inside a table), only the nested table will be affected. If it is invoked on a parent table that contains nested tables, all of the contained tables will be converted.
Convert conrefs to conkeyrefs: Use this operation to convert conref attributes to conkeyref attributes.
Convert Simple Tables to CALS Tables: Use this operation to convert DITA simple tables to CALS tables. If you invoke this operation from a nested table (a table inside a table), only the nested table will be affected. If it is invoked on a parent table that contains nested tables, all of the contained tables will be converted.
Convert to Concept: Use this operation to convert a DITA topic (of any type) to a DITA Concept topic type (for example, Topic to Concept).
Convert to General Task: Use this operation to convert a DITA topic (of any type) to a DITA General Task topic type (for example, Task to General Task). A DITA General Task is a less restrictive alternative to the Strict Task information type.
Convert to Reference: Use this operation to convert a DITA topic (of any type) to a DITA Reference topic type (for example, Topic to Reference).
Convert to Task: Use this operation to convert a DITA topic (of any type) to a DITA Task topic type (for example, Topic to Task).
Convert to Topic: Use this operation to convert a DITA topic (of any type) to a DITA Topic (for example, Task to Topic).
Convert to Troubleshooting: Use this operation to convert a DITA topic (of any type) to a DITA Troubleshooting topic type (for example, Topic to Troubleshooting).
Rename Key: Available when invoked on a key, and can be used to quickly rename a key. It also updates all references to it. Note that it does not work on DITA 1.3 key scopes.

Attributes Refactoring Actions

Contains built-in XML refactoring operations that pertain to attributes with some of the information preconfigured based upon the current context.

Add/Change attribute: Allows you to change the value of an attribute or insert a new one.
Convert attribute to element: Allows you to change an attribute into an element.
Delete attribute: Allows you to remove one or more attributes.
Rename attribute: Allows you to rename an attribute.
Replace in attribute value: Allows you to search for a text fragment inside an attribute value and change the fragment to a new value.

Comments Refactoring Actions

Contains built-in XML refactoring operations that pertain to comments with some of the information preconfigured based upon the current context.

Delete comments: Allows you to delete comments found inside one or more elements.

Elements Refactoring Actions

Contains built-in XML refactoring operations that pertain to elements with some of the information preconfigured based upon the current context.

Delete element: Allows you to delete elements.
Delete element content: Allows you to delete the content of elements.
Insert element: Allows you to insert new elements.
Rename element: Allows you to rename elements.
Unwrap element: Allows you to remove the surrounding tags of elements, while keeping the content unchanged.
Wrap element: Allows you to surround elements with element tags.
Wrap element content: Allows you to surround the content of elements with element tags.

Fragments Refactoring Actions

Contains built-in XML refactoring operations that pertain to XML fragments with some of the information preconfigured based upon the current context.

Insert XML fragment: Allows you to insert an XML fragment.
Replace element content with XML fragment: Allows you to replace the content of elements with an XML fragment.
Replace element with XML fragment: Allows you to replace elements with an XML fragment.

Review submenu

This submenu includes the following actions:

Track Changes: Enables or disables the Track Changes support for the current document.
Accept Change(s) and Move to Next: Accepts the Tracked Change located at the cursor position or all of the changes in a selection and then moves to the next change. If you select a part of a deletion or insertion change, only the selected content is accepted.
Accept All Changes: Accepts all Tracked Changes in the current document.
Reject Change(s) and Move to Next: Rejects the Tracked Change located at the cursor position or all of the changes in a selection and then moves to the next change. If you select a part of a deletion or insertion change, only the selected content is rejected.
Reject All Changes: Rejects all Tracked Changes in the current document.
Comment Change: Opens a dialog box that allows you to add a comment to an existing Tracked Change. The comment will appear in a callout and a tooltip when hovering over the change. If the action is selected on an existing commented change, the dialog box will allow you to edit the comment.
Highlight: Enables the highlighting tool that allows you to mark text in your document.
Colors: Allows you to select the color for highlighting text.
Stop highlighting: Use this action to deactivate the highlighting tool.
Remove highlight(s): Use this action to remove highlighting from the document.
Add Comment: Inserts a comment at the cursor position. The comment appears in a callout box and a tooltip (when hovering over the change).
Show/Edit Comment: Opens a dialog box that displays the discussion thread and allows the current user to edit comments that do not have replies. If you are not the author who inserted the original comment, the dialog box just displays the comment without the possibility of editing it.
Remove Comment: Removes a selected comment. If you remove a comment that contains replies, all of the replies will also be removed.
Manage Reviews: Opens the Review view.

Folding submenu

This submenu includes the following actions:

Toggle Fold: Toggles the state of the current fold.
Collapse Other Folds (Ctrl + NumPad/ (Command + NumPad/ on OS X)): Folds all the elements except the current element.
Collapse Child Folds (Ctrl + NumPad- (Command + NumPad- on OS X)): Folds the elements indented with one level inside the current element.
Expand Child Folds (Ctrl + NumPad+ (Command + NumPad+ on OS X)): Unfolds all child elements of the currently selected element.
Expand All (Ctrl + NumPad* (Command + NumPad* on OS X)): Unfolds all elements in the current document.

Inspect Styles

Opens the CSS Inspector view that allows you to examine the CSS rules that match the currently selected element.

Options

Opens the Author mode options page.

DITA Drag/Drop (or Copy/Paste) Actions

Dragging a file from the Navigator view or DITA Maps Manager view and dropping it into a DITA document that is edited in Author mode, creates a link to the dragged file (the xref DITA element with the href attribute) at the drop location. Copy and paste actions work the same.

You can also drag images or media files from your system explorer or the Navigator view and drop them into a DITA document (or copy and paste). This will insert the appropriate element at the drop or paste location (for example, dropping/pasting an image will insert the DITA image element with an href attribute).

Tip: For information about customizing Author mode actions for a particular framework (document type), see the Configuring Actions, Menus, Toolbars, Content Completion for a Framework section.

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DITA Toolbar Actions

DITA Contextual Menu Actions

DITA Drag/Drop (or Copy/Paste) Actions

DITA Author Mode Actions
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