reST (ReStructured Text) Markup

Depending upon your source, this document may have been created by the Moin2 reST parser (Docutils) or the Sphinx reST parser. These parsers have slight differences in the rendering of reST markup, some of those differences are noted below.

The purpose of this document is to define the features of the Moin2 reST (Docutils) parser. The Sphinx extensions to reST markup that are not supported by the Docutils parser are not included here.

See the the Docutils Restructured Text documentation for more information.

Headings

Rather than imposing a fixed number and order of section title adornment styles, the order enforced will be the order as encountered. The first style encountered will be an outermost title (like HTML H1), the second style will be a subtitle, the third will be a subsubtitle, and so on.

The underline below the title must at least be equal to the length of the title itself. Failure to comply results in messages on the server log. Skipping a heading (e.g. putting an H5 heading directly under an H3) results in a rendering error and an error message will be displayed instead of the expected page.

If any markup appears before the first heading on a page, then the first heading will be an H2 and all subsequent headings will be demoted by 1 level.

Markup:

=======
Level 1
=======

Level 2
=======

# levels 1 and 2 are not shown below, see top of page and this section heading.

Level 3
-------

Level 4
*******

Level 5
:::::::

Level 6
+++++++

Result:

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5
Level 6

Table of Contents

Markup:

.. contents::

Result:

The table of contents may appear above or floated to the right side due to CSS styling.

Text formatting

The following is a table of inline markup that can be used to format text in Moin.

Markup

Result

**Bold Text**

Bold text

*Italic*

Italic

``Inline Literals``

Inline Literals

***nested markup is not supported***

*nested markup is not supported*

Images

Images may be positioned by using the align parameter with a value of left, center, or right. There is no facility to embed an image within a paragraph. There must be a blank line before and after the image declaration. Images are not enclosed within a block level element so several images declared successively without any positioning will display in a horizontal row.

Markup:

Before text.

.. image:: png
   :height: 100
   :width: 200
   :scale: 50
   :alt: alternate text png
   :align: center

After text.

Result:

Before text.

alternate text png

After text.

Notes:

  • The Sphinx parser does not have an image named “png” so the alternate text will be displayed.

Figures

Figures display graphics like images, but have the added feature of supporting captions and explanatory text. Figures are block elements, so figures declared successively will display in a column.

Markup:

Before text.

.. figure:: png
   :height: 100
   :width: 200
   :scale: 50
   :alt: alternate text png

   Moin Logo

   This logo replaced the "MoinMoin Man"
   logo long ago.

After text.

Result:

Before text.

alternate text png

Moin Logo

This logo replaced the “MoinMoin Man” logo long ago.

After text.

Notes:

  • The Sphinx parser does not have an image named “png” so the alternate text will be displayed.

  • The Sphinx parser does not support figures so the caption and explanatory text will not display correctly.

Blockquotes and Indentations

To create a blockquote, indent all lines of a paragraph or paragraphs with an equal number of spaces. To add an attribution, begin the last indented paragraph with “– “.

Markup:

Text introducing a blockquote:

 If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both.

Result:

Text introducing a blockquote:

If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both.

Markup:

This is an ordinary paragraph, introducing a block quote.

  "It is my business to know things.  That is my trade."

  -- Sherlock Holmes

Result:

This is an ordinary paragraph, introducing a block quote.

“It is my business to know things. That is my trade.”

—Sherlock Holmes

Lists

Unordered Lists

Markup:

- item 1
- item 2

  - item 2.1
  - item 2.2

    - item 2.2.1
    - item 2.2.2

- item 3

Result:

  • item 1

  • item 2

    • item 2.1

    • item 2.2

      • item 2.2.1

      • item 2.2.2

  • item 3

Ordered Lists

Markup:

1. item 1
#. item 2

   (A) item 2.1
   (#) item 2.2

       i) item 2.2.1
       #) item 2.2.2

#. item 3

Result:

  1. item 1

  2. item 2

    1. item 2.1

    2. item 2.2

      1. item 2.2.1

      2. item 2.2.2

  3. item 3

Notes:

  • Ordered lists can be automatically enumerated using the # character as demonstrated above. Note that the first item of an ordered list auto-enumerated in this fashion must use explicit numbering notation (e.g. 1.) in order to select the enumeration sequence type (e.g. Roman numerals, Arabic numerals, etc.), initial number (for lists which do not start at “1”) and formatting type (e.g. 1. or (1) or 1)). More information on enumerated lists can be found in the reStructuredText documentation.

  • One or more blank lines are required before and after reStructuredText lists.

  • The Moin2 parser requires a blank line between items when changing indentation levels.

  • Formatting types (A) and i) are rendered as A. and A. by Sphinx and as A. and i. by Moin2.

Definition Lists

Definition lists are formed by an unindented one line term followed by an indented definition.

Markup:

term 1
 Definition 1.

term 2 : classifier
 Definition 2.

term 3 : classifier one : classifier two
 Definition 3.

Result:

term 1

Definition 1.

term 2classifier

Definition 2.

term 3classifier oneclassifier two

Definition 3.

Field Lists

Field lists are part of an extension syntax for directives usually intended for further processing.

Markup:

:Date: 2001-08-16
:Version: 1
:Authors: Joe Doe

Result:

Date:

2001-08-16

Version:

1

Authors:

Joe Doe

Option lists

Option lists are intended to document Unix or DOS command line options.

Markup:

-a      command definition
--a     another command definition
/S      dos command definition

Result:

-a

command definition

--a

another command definition

/S

dos command definition

Transitions

Transitions, or horizontal rules, separate other body elements. A transition should not begin or end a section or document, nor should two transitions be immediately adjacent. The syntax for a transition marker is a horizontal line of 4 or more repeated punctuation characters. The syntax is the same as section title underlines without title text. Transition markers require blank lines before and after.

Markup:

Text

----

Text

Result:

Text

Text

Backslash Escapes

Sometimes there is a need to use special characters as literal characters, but reST’s syntax gets in the way. Use the backslash character as an escape.

Markup:

*hot*

333. is a float, 333 is an integer.

\*hot\*

333\. is a float, 333 is an integer.

Result:

hot

  1. is a float, 333 is an integer.

*hot*

333. is a float, 333 is an integer.

Notes:

  • The Moin2 reST parser changes the 333. to a 1. and inserts an error message into the document.

  • The Sphinx reST parser begins an ordered list with 333. The visual effect is a dedented line.

Tables

Simple Tables

Easy markup for tables consisting of two rows. This syntax can have no more than two rows.

Markup:

======= ======= =======
 A       B       C
======= ======= =======
 1       2       3
======= ======= =======

Result:

A

B

C

1

2

3

Markup:

======= ======= =======
      foo         Bar
--------------- -------
 A       B       C
======= ======= =======
 1       2       3
======= ======= =======

Result:

foo

Bar

A

B

C

1

2

3

Grid Tables

Complex tables can have any number of rows or columns. They are made by |, +, - and =.

Markup:

+----------------+---------------+
| A              |               |
+----------------+ D             |
| B              |               |
+================+===============+
| C                              |
+--------------------------------+

Result:

A

D

B

C

One difference between the Sphinx and Moin reST parsers is demonstrated below. With the Spinx parser, grid table column widths can be expanded by adding spaces.

Markup:

+---------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| minimal width | maximal width (will take the maximum screen space)                                                                                                           |
+---------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Result:

minimal width

maximal width (will take the maximum screen space)
Notes:

  • The Moin2 reST parser does not add the <colgroup><col width=”9%”><col width=”91%”> HTML markup added by the Sphinx parser (the width attribute generates an HTML validation error), nor does it use Javascript to adjust the width of tables.

  • Under Moin2, tables and table cells will be of minimal width (unless there is CSS styling to set tables larger).

Admonitions

Admonitions are used to draw the reader’s attention to an important paragraph. There are nine admonition types: attention, caution, danger, error, hint, important, note, tip, and warning.

The reST parser uses “error” admonitions to highlight some reST syntax errors.

Markup:

.. caution:: Be careful!
.. danger:: Watch out!
.. note:: Phone home.

Result:

Caution

Be careful!

Danger

Watch out!

Note

Phone home.

Comments

Comments are not shown on the page. Some parsers may create HTML comments (<!-- -->). The Sphinx parser suppresses comments in the HTML output. Within the Moin2 wiki, comments may be made visible/invisible by clicking the Comments link within item views.

Markup:

.. This is a comment
..
 _so: is this!
..
 [and] this!
..
 this:: too!
..
 |even| this:: !

Result:

Literal Blocks

Literal blocks are used to show text as-it-is. i.e no markup processing is done within a literal block. A minimum (1) indentation is required for the text block to be recognized as a literal block.

Markup:

Paragraph with a space before two colons ::

 Literal block

Paragraph with no space before two colons::

 Literal block

Result:

Paragraph with a space between preceding two colons

Literal block

Paragraph with no space between text and two colons:

Literal block

Line Blocks

Line blocks are useful for address blocks, verse (poetry, song lyrics), and unadorned lists, where the structure of lines is significant. Line blocks are groups of lines beginning with vertical bar (“|”) prefixes. Each vertical bar prefix indicates a new line, so line breaks are preserved. Initial indents are also significant, resulting in a nested structure. Inline markup is supported. Continuation lines are wrapped portions of long lines; they begin with a space in place of the vertical bar. The left edge of a continuation line must be indented, but need not be aligned with the left edge of the text above it. A line block ends with a blank line.

Markup:

Take it away, Eric the Orchestra Leader!

   | A one, two, a one two three four
   |
   | Half a bee, philosophically,
   |     must, *ipso facto*, half not be.
   | But half the bee has got to be,
   |     *vis a vis* its entity.  D'you see?
   |
   | But can a bee be said to be
   |     or not to be an entire bee,
   |         when half the bee is not a bee,
   |             due to some ancient injury?
   |
   | Singing...

Result:

Take it away, Eric the Orchestra Leader!

A one, two, a one two three four

Half a bee, philosophically,
must, ipso facto, half not be.
But half the bee has got to be,
vis a vis its entity. D’you see?

But can a bee be said to be
or not to be an entire bee,
when half the bee is not a bee,
due to some ancient injury?

Singing…