v31 commands

The original Amigaguide, containing 31 tags and commands, was never properly documented by Commodore.
Escape codes

Because of their special meaning in Amigaguide, the chracters @ and \ have to be escaped.

\@
    Escape code for @
\\
    Escape code for \

Global tags and commands

These can be placed outside of a node, on their own lines.

@$VER:
    The version information for the AmigaDOS version command. Example: @$VER: safalra.guide 1.0 (18/12/2003) 
@(c)
    The copyright information. This information is not currently used by Amigaguide. Example: @(c) 2003 Safalra (Stephen Morley) 
@author
    The name of the author or authors. This information is not currently used by Amigaguide. Example: @author Safalra (Stephen Morley) 
@database
    Identifies the file as an Amigaguide document (this allows Multiview to display it using the Amigaguide datatype). This must be the first line of the file. Example: @database 
@dnode
    Indicates a dynamic node. This was never implemented and should not be used. 
@endnode
    The end of a node. Example: @endnode 
@font
    Specifies the font to use, specified by name and size. Example: @font safalra.font 12 
@height
    Specifies the height (in rows) of the largest node. This information is not currently used by Amigaguide. Example: @height 42 
@help
    Specifies the node to be displayed when the user clicks the ‘Help’ button. Example: @help "A helpful node" 
@index
    Specifies the node to be displayed when the user clicks the ‘Index’ button. Example: @index "The index node" 
@master
    The name of the master copy of this amigaguide document. This information is not currently used by Amigaguide. Example: @master "Documents:Amigaguide/safalra.guide" 
@node
    The start of a node, followe by a name and title. The title is displayed in Amigaguide’s title bar, and the name is used to identify the node. Example: @node "Node name" "Node title" 
@rem
    A comment that is not displayed. Example: @rem Amigaguide won't display this 
@remark
    A comment that is not displayed. Example: @remark Amigaguide won't display this 
@width
    Specifies the width (in columns) of the largest node. This information is not currently used by Amigaguide. Example: @width 78 

Node-level tags and commands

These are placed inside a node, on their own lines, and effect the whole node.

@font
    The same as the global font command, but only effects this node. Example: @font safalra.font 12 
@help
    The same as the global help command, but only effects this node. Example: @help "A helpful node" 
@index
    The same as the global index command, but only effects this node. Example: @index "The index node" 
@keywords
    The keywords for this node. This information is not currently used by Amigaguide. Example: @keywords Torquay "English Riviera" Devon "Fawlty Towers" 
@next
    The next node, displayed when the user clicks the ‘Browser >’ button. This defaults to the next node in the document source. Example: @next "The next node" 
@prev
    The previous node, displayed when the user clicks the ‘< Browser’ button. This defaults to the previous node in the document source. Example: @prev "The previous node" 
@title
    Specifies the title of this node. This overrides the title specified in the @node tag. Example: @title "Node title" 
@toc
    The contents page, displayed when the user clicks the ‘Contents’ button. This defaults to the main node. Example: @toc "A contents node" 

Local tags and commands

These can be placed anywhere within a node.

@{alink}
    Specifies a hypertext link to open in a new window. Non-local links are specifed using the path to the amigaguide file, followed by / and the node name. A line number can also be specified. Example: @{"Link text" alink "local node" 7} 
@{bg}
    Specifies the background colour to use from the next character onwards. Valid values are ‘back’, ‘background’, ‘fill’, ‘filltext’, ‘highlight’, ‘shadow’, ‘shine’ and ‘text’. Example: @{bg background} 
@{close}
    Closes this window. This is used in combination with @{alink}. Example: @{"Back to previous node" close} 
@{fg}
    Specifies the text colour to use from the next character onwards. Valid values are ‘back’, ‘background’, ‘fill’, ‘filltext’, ‘highlight’, ‘shadow’, ‘shine’ and ‘text’. Example: @{fg text} 
@{link}
    Specifies a hypertext link to another node. Non-local links are specifed using the path to the amigaguide file, followed by / and the node name. A line number can also be specified. Example: @{"Link text" link "Documents:Amigaguide/safalra.guide/non local node name" 12} 
@{rx}
    Specifies a hypertext link that executes an ARexx script. Example: @{"Execute a script" rx "script.rexx"} 
@{rxs}
    Specifies a hypertext link that executes an ARexx string. Example: @{"Execute a string" rxs "Say 'hello'"} 
@{system}
    Specifies a hypertext link that executes an AmigaDOS command. Example: @{"Format DF0: now" system "Format DF0:"} 
@{quit}
    Specifies a hypertext link that closes Amigaguide. Example: @{"Close Amigaguide" quit} 

 

v39 commands

Changes

With the release of Workbench 3.0, and the creation of the datatypes system, many changes were made to Amigaguide. With the creation of the datatypes system, a hyperlink can now point to any file (though it will only be displayed if a datatype is available for that filetype). The @{alink} tag now behaves the same as the @{link} tag, as it was considered bad practice to open new windows without the user's permission. As a result, the @{close} and @{quit} tags no longer work.
New global tags and commands

These can be placed outside of a node, on their own lines.

@wordwrap
    Wraps paragraphs without linefeeds. Example: @wordwrap 
@xref
    Specifies other amigaguide documents to refer to. Example: @xref "Documents:Amigaguide/safalra.guide" 

New node-level tags and commands

These are placed inside a node, on their own lines, and effect the whole node.

@embed
    Embeds a text document withing this node. Example: @embed "Documents:Text/speech.txt" 
@proportional
    Specifies that a proportional font is used for this node. Example: @proportional 
@wordwrap
    The same as the global @wordwrap command, but only effects this node. Example: @wordwrap 

New local tags and commands

These can be placed anywhere within a node.

@{b}
    Turns on bold text. Example: @{b} 
@{beep}
    Specifies a hypertext link that makes a ‘beep’ sound when clicked. Example: @{"Click me to beep" beep} 
@{guide}
    Specifies a hypertext link to another amigaguide document. Example: @{"Another amigaguide document" guide "Document:Amigaguides/safalra.guide"} 
@{i}
    Turns on italic text. Example: @{i} 
@{u}
    Turns on underlined text. Example: @{u} 
@{ub}
    Turns off bold text. Example: @{ub} 
@{ui}
    Turns off italic text. Example: @{ui} 
@{uu}
    Turns off underlined text. Example: @{uu} 


v40 commands

With the release of Workbench 3.1, many new tags and commands were added to Amigaguide, giving it formatting capabilities more advanced than the HTML of the time.
New global tags and commands

These can be placed outside of a node, on their own lines.

@macro
    Defines a macro. A macro consists of a name, and a string to substitute for it in the document. This string may contain arguments, refered to as $1, $2 and so on. A macro can override the built-in tags and commands. Example: @macro bulletlink @{" " link $2} $1 
@onclose
    Specifies an ARexx script to execute when the document is closed. The return value of the script is ignored. Example: @onclose "script.rexx" 
@onopen
    Specifies an ARexx script to execute when the document is opened. If the script returns an error code, the document is not opened. Example: @onopen "script.rexx" 
@smartwrap
    Wraps text in the same way as HTML. Paragraphs are separated by two linefeeds, or using the @{par} tag. Example: @smartwrap 
@tab
    Specifies the number of spaces in a tab. The default value is 8. Example: @tab 3 

New node-level tags and commands

These are placed inside a node, on their own lines, and effect the whole node.

@macro
    The same as the global @macro command, but only effects this node. Example: @macro bulletlink @{" " link $2} $1 
@onclose
    The same as the global @onclose command, but only effects this node. Example: @onclose "script.rexx" 
@onopen
    The same as the global @onpen command, but only effects this node. Example: @onopen "script.rexx" 
@smartwrap
    The same as the global @smartwrap command, but only effects this node. Example: @smartwrap 
@tab
    The same as the global @tab command, but only effects this node. Example: @tab 3 

New local tags and commands

These can be placed anywhere within a node.

@{amigaguide}
    Displays “Amigaguide(R)” in bold. Authors of other amigaguide viewers should change this to display their own information. Example: @{amigaguide} 
@{apen}
    Sets the pen number used for the text colour. The default value is 1. Example: @{apen 2} 
@{body}
    Use default formatting from the next character onwards. Example: @{body} 
@{bpen}
    Sets the pen number used for the background colour. The default value is 0. Example: @{bpen 3} 
@{cleartabs}
    Use the default tab stops from the next character onwards. Example: @{cleartabs} 
@{code}
    Turns off wordwrapping. Only linefeeds will cause new lines. Example: @{code} 
@{jcenter}
    Turns on centred text. Example: @{jcenter} 
@{jleft}
    Turns on left-aligned text. Example: @{jleft} 
@{jright}
    Turns on right-aligned text. Example: @{jright} 
@{lindent}
    Sets the indent, in spaces, to be used for lines of text. The default value is 0. Example: @{lindent 3} 
@{line}
    A linefeed that does not start a new paragraph. Example: @{line} 
@{par}
    Starts a new paragraph (equivalent to two linefeeds). Example: @{par} 
@{pard}
    Use default paragraph settings. Example: @{pard} 
@{pari}
    Sets the indent, in spaces, to be used for the first line of a paragraph. Example: @{pari 3} 
@{plain}
    Turns off bold, italics and underlining. Example: @{plain} 
@{settabs}
    Sets the tab stops, in characters. Example: @{settabs 4 8 12} 
@{tab}
    Inserts a tab character. Example: @{tab} 
