AmVerse FAQs #1: The placement of page breaks (<PB> tags).

Rule 1: "The page breaks at the top."

That is, regardless of where the page number appears on the printed page, the page-break "event" should be thought of as occurring at the top of the page.

Rule 2: "Divisions begin at page breaks; they don't end there."

That is, if a structural break of some kind coincides with the page break (e.g., a new stanza, poem, chapter, etc. begins at the head of the new page), the <PB> tag should be tucked inside the opening tag for the new division, NOT inside the closing tag for the old division. Like this:

</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="chapter" N="2">
<PB>
<HEAD>Bill Comes Home</HEAD>
<P>After the war, Bill headed home . . .

NOT like this:

<PB></DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="chapter" N="2">
<HEAD>Bill Comes Home</HEAD>
<P>After the war, Bill headed home . . .

Rule 3: "Words cannot break at page breaks."

If a hyphenated word straddles a page break, finish the word and any attached punctuation, then put the <PB> tag. E.g., if this appears at the bottom of p.5:

Paul only added to the con-

and this appears at the top of p.6:

fusion.

then the tagging should look like this:

Paul only added to the confusion.<PB N="6">

NOT like this:

Paul only added to the con<PB N="6">fusion.

Rule 4: "Place the <PB> tag within the first new structural element on the new page, as long as the dtd allows it."

This refers to the frequent occasions when a structural division of some kind coincides with a page break: when a new chapter, poem, paragraph, stanza, line, etc., begins at the top of the new page.
Note 1

If you follow Rules 1-3 religiously, I wouldn't worry too much about Rule 4; we've been very inconsistent in the past, especially between these two:

<L>Mary had a little lamb.</L>
<L><PB>Its fleece was white as snow.</L>

OR:

<L>Mary had a little lamb.</L>
<PB>
<L>Its fleece was white as snow.</L>

TEI-lite in fact allows <PB>s practically anywhere, so the dtd will not help you decide where to put them. In practice, in situations covered by Rule 4, it will usually be easiest to leave them where you find them.

Note 2

Rule 4 is a simplification of the old rule, which read as follows:

Old Rule 4: "Page breaks occur only in content-bearing elements."

This meant that when a page-break coincided with some structural division, the insertion of the <PB> tag was deferred until one reached an element that contained text (not just other elements). In most of the files that we've been receiving, for example, when the page break occurs in the middle of a poem, we find the <PB> tag inserted inside the first line of verse on the new page, not before the first line.

Similarly, if a new poem started on the new page, this rule meant that the insertion of the <PB> tag would be deferred until the beginning of the heading (<HEAD>) or epigraph, one of which is usually the first element containing text, like this:

</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="poem">
<HEAD><PB>Mary Had a Little Lamb</HEAD>
<LG>
<L>

Our new major departure from the old rule arises When <PB> coincides with a new DIV-level element (that is, an element that is basically a container for other elements), we'll now tuck it into the beginning of the new element, without deferring its insertion till reaching a content-bearing element:

<DIV><PB> is now allowed.
<BODY><PB> is now allowed.
<LG><PB> is now allowed.

<DIV><HEAD><PB> is old hat.
<DIV><ARGUMENT><PB> is old hat.
<DIV><EPIGRAPH><Q><PB> is old hat.
<BODY><HEAD><PB> is old hat.
<LG><L><PB> is old hat.
<LG><HEAD><PB> is old hat.

When <PB> occurs between paragraphs or lines or other content-bearing elements, stick with the old rule: leave it inside the first such element on the new page:

</L><L><PB> not </L><PB><L>
</P><P><PB> not </P><PB><P>

Index