.. index::
   single: Conventions

Conventions
===========

This section describes conventions used in the *G7* command reference, and in specifying dates in *G7*.

In command descriptions, angle brackets <> enclose items which must be specified but which vary each time the command is used. The sign | separates arguments or parameters of which one must be chosen. Arguments that are optional and may be omitted are shown in square brackets [].  Command abbreviations are shown in parentheses.

When *G7* commands are referred to in the text they are in italic, and abbreviation of commands are enclosed in parenthesis.  File names and extensions are capitalized.  For example: "Many features of the *G7* environment are defined in the G.CFG file."  Names of keystrokes or key combinations are enclosed in single quotes.  For example: "At the end of a *G7* command, hit the 'Enter' key for the command line to be processed." or "Since *G7* is a standard Windows program, it can be minimized with 'Alt-Spacebar'."  

Examples in the text that should be typed verbatim by the user, or snippets of files, are shown in highlighted boxes with Courier font.

In describing menu items, X | Y means first select menu X and then from it select item Y. Where available, accelerator keys are underlined.  For example: "To change the appearance of the graph, used the Graph | Settings menu." 

If you don't know which command does what you want, it may be helpful to search for keywords using the Help files. Open the Help files from the *G7* menu, and then click the Search tab or navigate to the Index page to find the keyword.