HL7 Style Guide, Release 1.0


ANSI/HL7 V3.0-2001
January, 2001

HL7 V3 Standard:
Style Guide, Release 1.0, March 2001

Editors: Karen Van Hentenryck
HL7 Headquarters
Kathy Blyler
Siemens

Charlie McCay
UK

Helen Stevens
McKessonHBOC

Copyright© 2001 by Health Level Seven,® Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The reproduction of this material in any form is strictly forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Health Level Seven and HL7 are trademarks of Health Level Seven, Inc.

Table of Contents

1.1 Purpose......

1.2 General Rules......

1.2.1 Identifying Document Ballot Status......

1.2.2General Specifications and Settings......

1.2.2.1 Page Setup......

1.2.3Headers and Footers......

1.2.3.1Footers......

1.3Title Page......

1.4Table of Contents......

1.5Headings......

1.6Non-Heading Text......

1.7Tables......

1.8Linking Conventions......

1.9Graphics......

1.10Indexing......

1.1Purpose

This document describes the formatting practices and preferences for HL7 Version 3 documents. This document is formatted according to this style sheet and thus serves as an example.

1.2General Rules

To reduce the amount of formatting effort no direct formatting should be applied. All formatting should be applied using the HL7-supplied template and styles. This Style Guide assumes the use of MS Word 97 SR-2 or a later version of MS word (Office 2000, etc.). All documents composed in Microsoft Word should be saved as RTF files. Those files can then be converted to PDF, XML or HTML format. In the future, HL7 will provide the domain editors with an XML style sheet that can be used with off-the shelf XML tools to generate the documents.

1.2.1Identifying Document Ballot Status

The HL7 ballot package for the initial release of V3 will include multiple documents. Some of these documents, such as the Message Development Framework (MDF) are included for reference only; others, like the Version 3 Data Types Document, have already been balloted as an HL7 Normative document but are part of the final product and therefore included in the ballot package. All documents included in a V3 ballot package will assume one of the five statuses noted in the table below. The status of each document is identified in the Version 3 backbone document by placing the appropriate icon next to the document title as it appears in the backbone document. The status icon tells readers whether they can ballot a particular document and, if so, which ballot rules—informative or normative—apply. For one ballot package there may be multiple documents being balloted using the HL7 procedures for balloting normative documents as well as one or more documents being balloted using the HL7 procedures for balloting informative documents.

Document Status

Status / Description / Icon
Reference / Documents that contain information that clarifies concepts or otherwise provides additional information to aid understanding and comprehension. This material is not balloted. Readers may comment, identify typographical errors, or provide suggestions for improving the document but those comments in no way affect a ballot. The Message Development Framework (MDF) is an example of a Reference document.
Informative, Previously Balloted / Document that have already been successfully balloted as HL7 Informative Documents at the time of the current ballot package release. For example, for the initial release of Version 3, the Version 3 Data Types Specification will have been previously balloted as an HL7 Informative document. Since these documents have previously been balloted, you cannot cast a ballot for them in the current ballot package.
Normative, Previously Balloted / Document that have already been successfully balloted as HL7 Normative Documents (submitted for ANSI approval) at the time of the current ballot package release. For example, for the initial release of Version 3, the Version 3 Data Types Document and the Clinical Document Architecture will have been previously balloted as an HL7 Normative document. Since these documents have previously been balloted, you cannot cast a ballot for them in the current ballot package.
Informative Ballot Document / Document that is part of the current ballot package and which HL7 members shall cast a ballot following the HL7 procedures for Balloting Informative Documents. HL7 Informative document are not submitted to ANSI for approval. No documents are expected to have this status in the initial V3 ballot package.
Normative Ballot Document / Document that is part of the current ballot package and which HL7 members shall cast a ballot following the HL7 procedures for Balloting Normative Documents. HL7 Normative document are subject to both successful committee and membership votes and are submitted to ANSI for approval. For the initial V3 ballot package, HL7 users will be balloting the domain documents as informative document.

1.2.2General Specifications and Settings

When composing documents using Word, please observe the following standard settings:

  • The language is American English
  • Hyphenation is enabled.
  • Paper orientation is portrait
  • “Fast saves” are disabled (keeps the documents to a minimum size)
  • “Templates and Add-Ins  automatic updates” is disabled.
1.2.2.1Page Setup

Please observe the following setup parameters:

  • Top margin: 1.0
  • Bottom margin: 1.0
  • Left margin: 1.25
  • Right margin: 1.25
  • Gutter (for binding): 0
  • Header: 0.5
  • Footer: 0.5

1.2.3Headers and Footers

No headers are provided on the first page of any document. Thereafter, headers are Arial, 10 pt bold. The headers on this document are formatted using the Header style. The header is comprised of the following:

  • The name of the document in initial caps. This is flush right on odd numbered pages and Left on even numbered pages.
  • A ¾ pt rule line that runs from margin to margin and separates the header from the page text

Header Styles

Style Element / Value
Font / Arial
Style / Bold
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / .14
Right indent / 0
Special / ¾ pt line applied below the paragraph
Tabs / 3 (centered), 5.5 (right)
Spacing before / 0 pt
Spacing after / 0 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
1.2.2.2Footers

Footers are Arial, 10 pt bold, right justified on odd numbered pages and left justified on even numbered pages. The footer is comprised of two lines. The first line consists of:

  • A ¾ pt rule line, which runs from margin to margin, above the first line of text. This serves to separate the footer from the page text.
  • The formal name of the document (e.g., Version 3 Standard: Data Type Specification, Release 1, November 2000). This is left aligned for odd pages, right aligned for even pages
  • The word Page following by the page number. This is right aligned for odd numbered pages, left aligned for even numbered pages

The second line consists of:

  • The word Draft # or Final Standard (left aligned for odd numbered pages, right aligned for even numbered pages)

Footer Style

Style Element / Value
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Bold
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / .14
Right indent / 0
Special / ¾ pt line applied above the paragraph
Tabs / 3 (centered), 5.5 (right)
Spacing before / 0 pt
Spacing after / 0 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No

1.3Title Page

Each document that is submitted to ANSI for approval shall contain a title page. For the initial release of Version 3, the three subjects may be rolled up into single document that will be submitted to ANSI for approval. Should that be the case, there will be one title page under which will fall the three subjects. The title page shall not contain headers or footers. The title of the document shall appear on line 20 of the title page, formatted using the Title style Heading 1 style discussed below. The editors should be included on the title page, two spaces below the title document (use the table text style noted below) and using the Editor list style.. The following copyright notice shall be provided on the title page, on the final lines of the document page:

  • Copyright © 200X by Health Level Seven®, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The reproduction of this material in any form is strictly forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
  • Health Level Seven and HL7 are trademarks of Health Level Seven, Inc.
  • If the document is ANSI-approved the ANSI logo (available from HL7-HQ) shall appear the upper right-hand corner of the 10th line and the ANSI designation should appear two lines below the ANSI logo.

Title Page Styles

Style Element / Value
Title – used for the Board approved title of the document begins on line 20 of the document’s first page.
Font / Arial
Style / Bold
Size / 36
Alignment / Right
Caps / All caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 12 pt
Spacing after / 6 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbering / Not numbered
ANSI Designation – used for ANSI designation of the document once approved by ANSI
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Bold
Size / 12
Alignment / Right
Caps / ANSI/HL7 is all caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 12 pt
Spacing after / 6 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbering / Not numbered
Editor list – used to list the document editors.
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Right
Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 6 pt
Spacing after / 6 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbering / Not numbered

1.4Table of Contents

A Table of Contents shall follow the title page. The Table of Contents shall display entries for Headings 2-4, using the conventions provided below. Each entry in the table of contents shall be linked to the corresponding heading within the document, using the TOC link style provided below.

Table of Contents Styles

Style Element / Value
TOC1 - used for first level of Table of Contents. Reflects all Heading 2 text.
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps / All Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 6 pt
Spacing after / 6 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
TOC2 - used for second level of Table of Contents. Reflects all Heading 3 text
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps / Initial caps
Left indent / .14
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 0 pt
Spacing after / 0 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
TOC3 - used for third level of Table of Contents. Reflects all Heading 4 text
Allowed Formatting For: / Any document containing a table of contents
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Italics
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / .28
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 0 pt
Spacing after / 0 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No

1.5Headings

Headings are used to divide a document into logical section. This style sheet provides four levels of numbered headings. Heading 1 would be applied to the three subjects – Health and Clinical Care Management, Administrative Management and Infrastructure Management. The non-numbered headings will be applied to the backbone document for sections other than Sections, Subsections and Domains and to the Literary expression.

Heading Styles

Style Element / Value
Heading 1 – used for each of the three Sections (e.g., Health and Clinical Care Management, Administrative Management, and Infrastructure Management).
Font / Arial
Style / Bold
Size / 14
Alignment / Left
Caps / ALL Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs
Spacing before / 12 pt
Spacing after / 6 pt
Line spacing / single
Numbered / 1., 2. Etc.
Heading 2 - Applied to each Subsection below a particular Subject (e.g., for the Administrative Management Section the level 2 heading would applied to the three Subsections of Practice, Financial, and Personnel)
Font / Arial
Style / Bold
Size / 14
Alignment / Left
Caps / Initial Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs
Spacing before / 18 pt
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / 1.1, 1.2, etc.
Heading 3 – Applied to each of the domains beneath a particular Subsection
Font / Arial
Style / Bold
Size / 12
Alignment / Left
Caps / Initial caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs
Spacing before / 12
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / 1.1.1, 1.1.2, etc.
Heading 4 – Applied to application roles, MIMs and Interactions beneath a particular domain.
Font / Arial
Style / Normal
Size / 11
Alignment / Left
Caps / Initial caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs
Spacing before / 6
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / 1.1.1.1, 1.1.2.1, etc.
Heading 5 – applied to triggers and story board diagrams, Interactions, and RMIMs
Font / Arial
Style / Bold
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps / Initial caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs
Spacing before / 6
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / 1.1.1.1.1, 1.1.1.1.2, etc.
Heading 6 – Applied to the HMDs
Font / Arial
Style / Normal
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps / Initial caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs
Spacing before / 6
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / 1.1.1.1.1.1, 1.1.1.1.1.2, etc.
Heading 7 – Applied to the Message Types
Font / Arial Narrow
Style / italic
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps / Initial caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs
Spacing before / 6
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / 1.1.1.1.1.1.1, 1.1.1.1.1.1.2., etc.
NNHeading 1 – Non-numbered headings used for sections off the backbone, such as Introduction, Welcome, etc, that should not be numbered. Other than numbering, this style is identical to the Heading 1 style. This style should also be applied to the model name in the RIM
Font / Arial
Style / Bold
Size / 14
Alignment / Left
Caps / ALL Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs
Spacing before / 12 pt
Spacing after / 6 pt
Line spacing / single
Numbered / None
NNHeading 2 – Secondary non-numbered headings used for sections off the backbone, such as Introduction, Welcome, etc, that should not be numbered. Other than numbering, this style is identical to the Heading 2 style. This style is also applied to second headings (Subject Areas, Class Level, etc) in the Literary Expression.
Font / Arial
Style / Bold
Size / 14
Alignment / Left
Caps / Initial Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs
Spacing before / 18 pt
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / None
NNHeading 3 –Third level of non-numbered headings used for sections off the backbone, such as Introduction, Welcome, etc, that should not be numbered. Other than numbering, this style is identical to the Heading 3 style. This style is also applied to the third level of headings in the literary expression (Subject Areas, Classes, etc)
Font / Arial
Style / Bold
Size / 12
Alignment / Left
Caps / Initial caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs
Spacing before / 12
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / None
NNHeading 4 – Applied to application roles, MIMs and Interactions beneath a particular domain. Also applied to attribute labels in the Literary Expression. Other than numbering, this is identical to the Heading 4 style.
Font / Arial
Style / Normal
Size / 11
Alignment / Left
Caps / Initial caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs
Spacing before / 6
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / 1.1.1.1, 1.1.2.1, etc.

1.6Non-Heading Text

This style sheet provides for a limited number of non-heading text styles.

HL7 Version 3 Standard: HL7 Style Guide, Release 1.0, March 2001. All rights reserved. Page 1

Draft #1

HL7 Style Guide, Release 1.0

Normal - non-indented text. This is the style used most often for text throughout documents
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 6
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
Indented Normal - used where indenting is required.
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / .5
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 6
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
Bulleted List 1 - primary style when bulleted text is desired
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / .25
Right indent / 0
Special / Hanging .25
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 6
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
Numbered List 1 - style used most often when a numbered list is desired.
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / Hanging .25
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 6
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / 1) 2) 3), etc
Bulleted List 2 - this style is similar to Bulleted List 1 but is indented .5
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / Hanging .5
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 6
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
Numbered List 2 - this style is similar to Numbered l\List 1 but is indented .5
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / Hanging .5
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 6 pt
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / 1) 2) 3), etc
Table Caption
Font / Arial
Style / Bold/italics
Size / 10
Alignment / Centered
Caps / Initial caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special
Tabs
Spacing before / 6 pt
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered
Table Text - for text within tables
Font / Arial
Style / Regular
Size / 8
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 3 pt
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
Table Heading
Font / Arial
Style / Bold
Size / 10
Alignment / Centered
Caps / Initial caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 3 pt
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
Note
Allowed Formatting For: / For any non-tabled text within any document
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular. The word Note is following by a colon and is bolded: Note:
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / Hanging .5. Text is boxed.
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 6
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
Example
Allowed Formatting For: / Any document
Font / Line printer
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / .25
Right indent / 0
Special / Boxed text
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 2 pt
Spacing after / 2 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
Footnote Text
Allowed Formatting For: / Footnote for any document
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / Hanging .25
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 5 pt
Spacing after / 0 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
TOC1 - used for first level of Table of Contents. TOC1 reflects all Heading 2 text in the document
Allowed Formatting For: / Any document containing a table of contents
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps / All Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 6 pt
Spacing after / 6 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
TOC2 - used for first level of Table of Contents. TOC2 reflects all Heading 3 text in the document
Allowed Formatting For: / Any document containing a table of contents
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Regular
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps / Initial caps
Left indent / .14
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 0 pt
Spacing after / 0 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
TOC3 - used for first level of Table of Contents. TOC3 reflects all Heading 4 text in the document
Allowed Formatting For: / Any document containing a table of contents
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Italics
Size / 10
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / .28
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 0 pt
Spacing after / 0 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
Term - used in the glossary for the term being defined
Allowed Formatting For: / The glossary
Font / Times New Roman
Style / Bold
Size / 12
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 6 pt
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No
LiteraryTable - for tabled text within the Literary Expression. For example – contains classes, Supertype of, Is art of, Associated with can also be formatted with the Literary Table style. This type of table has no caption and no heading.
Font / Arial
Style / Regular
Size / 8
Alignment / Left
Caps
Left indent / 0
Right indent / 0
Special / None
Tabs / None
Spacing before / 3 pt
Spacing after / 3 pt
Line spacing / Single
Numbered / No

1.7Tables

Tables are generally centered and bordered (single line), including borders between columns and row. A table can be inserted almost any where except within another table (no nested tables allows)