Introduce a symbol as a noun in a sentence

When you want to introduce a symbol as a noun in a sentence, write the spelled-out form of the symbol first, and then refer to the symbol in parentheses with nonbreaking spaces.

Review the following table for examples of how to correctly show symbols as nouns in text:

Do this	Don't do this
Begin the line with a forward slash ( / ).	Begin the line with a forward slash, /.
Enter your search after the pipe ( | ).	Enter your search after the | character.

Avoid using symbols as abbreviated words

Avoid substituting symbols for words in sentences or tables in an attempt to reduce character count.

Spell out words like "and", "plus", "minus", and "about" instead of using a corresponding symbol. Rather than using the right-pointing angle bracket to describe menu paths, use an equivalent word like "then" or a semantic tag like menucascade. See more in Brackets.

Review the following table for examples of writing out text equivalents instead of relying on symbols:

Do this	Don't do this
Apps and add-ons	Apps & add-ons
Begin your time offset with a plus ( + ) or minus ( - ) to indicate the offset from the current time.	Begin your time offset with +/- to indicate the offset from the current time.
It can take about 5 minutes for your host to appear.	It can take ~5 minutes for your host to appear.
In Splunk Web, select Settings > Advanced Search.	In Splunk Web, select Settings > Advanced Search.

If you're writing UI text and you don't have space to write out the name of the symbol, use hidden text such as the aria-label attribute to define the symbol.

Exceptions to spelling out symbols

In some cases, it's acceptable to use symbols without first spelling out the text equivalent. The following table includes some scenarios:

What to call symbols

Use the following terms when referring to a symbol as a noun in Splunk documentation: