01352: Upper case Q and A (but no other letters) disappear when used as page text variables

Summary: Upper case Q and A (but no other letters) disappear when used as page text variables
Created: 2014-09-14 12:12
Status: Closed - not a bug, replied
Category: Bug
From: RandyB
Assigned:
Priority: 2
Version: 2.2.68
OS:

Description:
For a number of PmWiki versions, when a page text variable is named "Q" or "A" (capital letters only), the Q and the A disappear.

For example:

(:linebreaks:)
Q: Why do Q and A disappear?
A: You tell me!
X: X is not a problem.
q: Nor is lower case Q or A.

Q: Why do Q and A disappear?
A: You tell me!
X: X is not a problem.
q: Nor is lower case Q or A.

RandyB September 14, 2014, at 12:16 PM

Maybe this is a deliberate feature to create FAQ lists? I've seen this markup in many pages on pmwiki.org, e.g. FAQCandidate (source). Apparently there is also a corresponding >>faq<< wiki style:

>>faq<<
Q: Does the [@>>faq<<@] wiki style affect "Q" and "A" page text variables in a particular way?
A: Looks like that.
>><<

Q: Does the >>faq<< wiki style affect "Q" and "A" page text variables in a particular way?
A: Looks like that.

Haven't found it documented anywhere though.

StefCT September 14, 2014, at 12:57 PM

I like the faq feature, but I was baffled until you pointed out that it requires a corresponding >>faq<< style. I think beginners will just give up, and think PmWiki is buggy.

If it's possible to do, I suggest the Q and A disappear only when the faq style is in effect. After all, in other contexts it's not what the user wants or expects (principal of least surprise).

Q: Shouldn't a different Q and A format, like this one, be easy to achieve without having special knowledge?
A: Yes. Beginning a line with "Q:" or "A:" is intuitive for a beginner. Beginners won't know the workaround.

Plus, there are other uses of "Q:" and "A:" at the beginning of a line besides questions and answers.

RandyB September 14, 2014, at 01:35 PM

The Q: and A: markup rules can be disabled with such a line in a config file:

  DisableMarkup('^Q:', '^A:');

It is now disabled for this page here. If it is disabled for the whole wiki, the FAQ sections at the bottom of the documentation pages will not be styled correctly, as well as the PmWiki.FAQ automatically generated page. I'll think about a way to only hide the letters inside a >>faq<< block; btw it is probably not a problem if the letters are visible inside a FAQ section. --Petko September 14, 2014, at 03:02 PM