Angle brackets ( < and > )

Wrap the variables you want a user to enter in angle brackets. Use the <varname> semantic tag when writing placeholder variables. See the Formatting reference for more formatting guidance.

The following table shows an example of placeholder variables rendered in angle brackets:

Do this	Don't do this
Enter your user-specified domain in this format: https://<user-specified domain>.splunkcloud.com.	Enter your user-specified domain in this format: https://{user-specified domain}.splunkcloud.com. Enter your user-specified domain in this format: https://(user-specified domain).splunkcloud.com. Enter your user-specified domain in this format: https://[user-specified domain].splunkcloud.com.

Don't use the right-pointing angle bracket ( > ) to indicate navigation through a series of menu item selections. Use the <menucascade> semantic tag. Otherwise, if you are hard-code formatting a navigational path for a user, spell out the sentence using a word like "then". See the Formatting reference.

The following example shows a menu path navigation without using a semantic tag:

Do this	Don't do this
Select Start, then Administrative Tools, then Computer Management.	Select Start > Administrative Tools > Computer Management.

In order for an action to qualify as a step in a menu path, the action must be accessible within that menu. If completing a step in the path takes the user to a new page or menu where they complete another action, describe that action in a new task step instead of combining it in the same step.

Do this	Don't do this
In Splunk Web, select Settings, then Advanced Search. On the Advanced search page, select Search commands.	In Splunk Web, select Settings > Advanced Search > Search commands.

Curly braces ( { and } )

Square brackets ( [ and ] )

Use square brackets around a .conf file stanza name or within code. See the following examples:

• Edit the [splunktcp] stanza.
• Specify a subsearch that starts with this search command: tag=dns query [search tag=malware].