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§4.2

Choices Made Once Per Document

Two renderings conform—may one document use both?

✅ NormativeSettled. The requirement holds as written.📚 Document ruleNeeds other pages of the same document; decided once and applied on every page.Read §4.2 in the RFC ↗

The requirement

Where the protocol accepts two renderings of a situation, the rendering chosen at the first page that forces the choice MUST be used on every later page of the same document. A document MUST NOT mix the accepted renderings of one situation.

When it applies

An ⚖️ rule accepts either of two renderings. Accepting either does not mean switching between them: a document whose units rows are header rows on page 3 and folded into labels on page 7 is non-conforming, even though each page on its own conforms.

Reading the examples. Each one pairs a source page with the output the rule expects. ✅ Sample: the rule applies. ❌ Counter-sample: it looks like it applies and does not, or a rendering got it wrong. A non-conforming output, in red, is shown only for contrast. … marks content left out of an excerpt.

The point, in a small example

Both displayed encodings conform for this genuinely blank spacer row. Pick one treatment and apply it consistently wherever the same situation recurs in the document. These pages are made up to isolate the rule.

01

✅ SampleConstructedThe rule applies

A real blank row admits two encodings

The empty ruled row is a purely decorative spacer, not the only boundary between groups. Keeping it (shown here) and omitting it both conform. Once chosen, use the same treatment for this situation throughout the document. The second snippet is the alternative output, not extra document content.

Source page
Choices Made Once Per Document — A real blank row admits two encodings. Source page.
Expected output
Markdown
<table>
<tr><th>Item</th><th>Count</th></tr>
<tr><td>Pencils</td><td>12</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Pens</td><td>7</td></tr>
</table>
Expected output
Markdown
<table>
<tr><th>Item</th><th>Count</th></tr>
<tr><td>Pencils</td><td>12</td></tr>
<tr><td>Pens</td><td>7</td></tr>
</table>
Choices Made Once Per Document · Source page

A real blank row admits two encodings

Choices Made Once Per Document — A real blank row admits two encodings. Source page.

The choices

Choice The two renderings Rule
Units line under a header second header row · folded into the label above Units Row (§9.3.5)
Printed blank row kept · left out Blank and Spacer Rows (§9.5.1)
Full-width band inside a grid spanning header cell · spanning body cell Bands Inside the Grid (§9.2.1)
Section-divider row bold <td> · <th> Titles Banners Captions (§9.7.3)
Totals block with no frame either way footer rows · its own key-value table Bottom Edge Totals and Islands (§9.7.1)
Gantt bar edge on a period tick last period filled · tick reached Gantt and Sankey Charts (§11.2.3)
  • Where a rule names a default rendering, the output SHOULD use the default, unless an earlier page of the same document already used the other rendering; in that case the output MUST keep the earlier one.
  • The choice holds for the situation, not for the page: two pages that both print a units line MUST render it the same way, however far apart they are.

A single page

Where only one page of a document is available, the output SHOULD use the rule's default, and MUST be consistent within that page. Consistency with the rest of the document cannot be judged until the other pages are available.

More

Rule id document-choices-made-once-per-document · rule document either