Name: formattedText

Type: property

Syntax: set the formattedText of [<chunk> of] <field> to <string> 

Syntax: get the formattedText of [<chunk> of] <field> 

Summary: Unwraps hard-wrapped <lines>, or provides the hard-wrapped contents of a <field>.

Associations: field

Introduced: 1.0

OS: mac,windows,linux,ios,android

Platforms: desktop,server,web,mobile

Example:
write the formattedText of field 1 to file myTextFile

Example:
get the formattedText of field "Field"
answer it with "okay"

Example:
put the formattedText of word 13 of field "list"

Value: The <formattedText> of a <field> is a string.

Description:
Use the <formattedText> <property> to convert between unwrapped text (suitable for use in most programs) and wrapped text (suitable for use in programs that require fixed line lengths, such as some email systems).

When you get a <field(keyword)|field's> <formattedText>, the <field(object)|field's> text is converted to hard-wrapped text: An end-of-line <character> is inserted at the end of each screen line, and wherever a <return> <character> occurs in the <field(keyword)>, two end-of-line <characters> are substituted. (If the <field(object)|field's> <dontWrap> is true, each screen line ends in an end-of-line <character>, so two end-of-line characters are substituted for each <return> <character> in the field.)

When you set a field's <formattedText> <property>, the <string> is unwrapped before being put in the <field(keyword)>. Double end-of-line <characters> are converted to a single end-of-line <character>, and single end-of-line characters are converted to spaces.

The engine will interpret a numToChar(11) character in a field paragraph as an explicit linebreak when the (effective) dontWrap of the paragraph is false. This allows multiple &lsquo;lines&rsquo; to be displayed within a single paragraph. The <formattedText> property maps any explicit line breaks to newlines. 
>*Note:* that since the vGrid property turns dontWrap on for the paragraph, using the line-break char in table paragraphs will have no effect.

Any paragraphs with listStyle set are prefixed by an appropriate plain-text form of the bullet or index.
>*Note:* The listStyle property is experimental. Please refer to the release notes for further information on this feature.

References: dontWrap (property), unicodePlainText (property), unicodeFormattedText (property), plainText (property), character (keyword), characters (keyword), field (keyword), lines (keyword), return (constant), field (object), property (glossary)

Tags: text processing
