Horizontal Line

Horizontal lines (also called horizontal rules or dividers) create visual separation between sections of content.

Basic Horizontal Line

Use three to nine hyphens on a line by themselves:

---

---------

Valid Syntax

The parser accepts 3 to 9 consecutive hyphens:

---       // 3 hyphens (minimum)
----      // 4 hyphens
-----     // 5 hyphens
------    // 6 hyphens
-------   // 7 hyphens
--------  // 8 hyphens
--------- // 9 hyphens (maximum)

Usage Examples

Section Separator

# Chapter 1

Content of chapter 1...

---

# Chapter 2

Content of chapter 2...

Thematic Break

Main article content here.

Multiple paragraphs of text.

---

Footer or related information below.

Content Grouping

## Features

- Feature 1
- Feature 2
- Feature 3

---

## Installation

Step-by-step installation guide...

Horizontal Lines in Documents

Breaking Up Long Content

# Documentation

## Introduction

Long introduction text...

---

## Getting Started

Tutorial content...

---

## Advanced Topics

Advanced material...

Separating List Groups

{{{#list #1
[[Task group 1 item 1]]
[[Task group 1 item 2]]
}}}

---

{{{#list #1
[[Task group 2 item 1]]
[[Task group 2 item 2]]
}}}

Visual Dividers in Tables

{{{#table
[[[[Section 1]] [[Data]]]]
[[[[Item A]] [[Value 1]]]]
}}}

---

{{{#table
[[[[Section 2]] [[Data]]]]
[[[[Item B]] [[Value 2]]]]
}}}

Important Notes

Must Be On Own Line

Horizontal lines must appear on their own line:

<!-- Valid -->
Text above
---
Text below

<!-- Invalid -->
Text---More text

Hyphen Count

• Minimum: 3 hyphens (---)
• Maximum: 9 hyphens (---------)
• Outside range: Not recognized as horizontal line

--        // Too few - not a horizontal line
---       // Valid
---------  // Valid
---------- // Too many - not a horizontal line

Line Ending Required

The horizontal line must be followed by a line ending or end of file:

---

or

---
[end of file]

Styling

Horizontal lines do not support styling parameters. They are semantic elements rendered according to the output format's default styling.

Use Cases

Document Structure

 Good uses:

• Separating major sections
• Creating visual breaks in long content
• Dividing thematically different content
• Ending sections before new topics

L Avoid:

• Overusing (too many dividers clutter the page)
• Between closely related paragraphs
• As decorative elements (use styled elements instead)
• Within lists or tables (use proper structure instead)

Best Practices

<!-- Good: Clear section separation -->
# Introduction
Content...

---

# Main Content
More content...

<!-- Less ideal: Too many dividers -->
Paragraph 1
---
Paragraph 2
---
Paragraph 3
---

Comparison with Other Dividers

Element	Purpose	Syntax
Horizontal Line	Semantic section break	---
Styled Elements	Custom visual divider	{{{ #style="..." }}}
Headers	Section titles	#, ##, etc.
Whitespace	Soft separation	Empty lines

When to Use Each

• Horizontal Line: For semantic breaks between content sections
• Styled Elements: When you need custom styling or decorative dividers
• Headers: When the new section needs a title
• Whitespace: For subtle separation within related content

Technical Notes

• Horizontal lines use Markdown-style syntax: ---
• Parser accepts 3-9 consecutive hyphens
• Must be on their own line with a line ending
• No parameters or styling options supported
• Semantically represents a thematic break in content
• Implementation: src/sevenmark/parser/markdown/markdown_hline.rs