dl

A definition list (<dl>) is a list of terms and corresponding definitions. The term (<dt>) is usually flush left. The description or definition (<dd>) is usually either indented and on the next line, or on the same line to the right of the term.

You can also provide an optional heading for the terms and definitions, using the <dlhead> element, which contains header elements for those columns. The default formatting for the <dlhead> looks like a table with a heading row.

Examples

Simple:

<dl>
<dlentry>
<dt>Bytes returned</dt>
<dd>The number of bytes of data returned.</dd>
</dlentry>
<dlentry>
<dt>Bytes available</dt>
<dd>The number of bytes of data available to be returned.</dd>
</dlentry>
<dlentry><dt>Handle</dt>
<dd>The returned handle value</dd>
</dlentry>
</dl>

With heading:

<dl>
 <dlhead>
  <dthd>Image File View Selection</dthd>
  <ddhd>Resulting Information</ddhd>
 </dlhead>
 <dlentry>
  <dt>File Type</dt>
  <dd>Image's file extension</dd>
 </dlentry>
 <dlentry>
  <dt>Image Class</dt>
  <dd>Image is raster, vector, metafile or 3D</dd>
 </dlentry>
 <dlentry>
  <dt>Number of pages</dt>
  <dd>Number of pages in the image</dd>
 </dlentry>
 <dlentry>
  <dt>Fonts</dt>
  <dd>Names of the fonts contained within a vector image</dd>
 </dlentry>
</dl>

Contains

Doctype	Content model
ditabase, topic, task, reference, concept, glossary, map, bookmap	( ( dlhead) (optional) then ( dlentry) (one or more) )

Contained by

Doctype	Parents
ditabase	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, section, example, linkinfo, conbody, prereq, context, info, tutorialinfo, stepxmp, choice, choptionhd, chdeschd, choption, chdesc, stepresult, result, postreq, refsyn, proptypehd, propvaluehd, propdeschd, propdesc, glossdef, pd
topic	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, section, example, linkinfo, pd
task	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, section, example, linkinfo, prereq, context, info, tutorialinfo, stepxmp, choice, choptionhd, chdeschd, choption, chdesc, stepresult, result, postreq, pd
concept	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, section, example, linkinfo, conbody, pd
reference	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, section, example, linkinfo, refsyn, proptypehd, propvaluehd, propdeschd, propdesc, pd
map, bookmap	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry

Inheritance:

- topic/dl

Attributes

Name	Description	Data Type	Default Value	Required?
compact	Indicates close vertical spacing between the list items. Expanded spacing is the default value. The output result of compact spacing depends on the processor or browser. Allowed values are: yes Indicates compact spacing. no Indicates expanded spacing. -dita-use-conref-target See Using the -dita-use-conref-target value for more information.	(yes \| no \| -dita-use-conref-target)	#IMPLIED	No
spectitle	The specialized title attribute allows architects of specialized types to define a fixed or default title for a specialized element. Not intended for direct use by authors.	CDATA	#IMPLIED	No
%univ-atts; (%select-atts;, %id-atts;, %localization-atts;)	A set of related attributes, described at %univ-atts;	parameter entity	PE not applicable	Not applicable
%global-atts; (xtrf, xtrc)	A set of related attributes, described at %global-atts;	parameter entity	PE not applicable	Not applicable
class, outputclass	Common attributes described in Other common DITA attributes.