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If you are creating an APA file in a text file or in the Raw APA File view of the APA Editor, the syntax must confirm to some basic rules.

APA syntax in text files

When creating an APA file:

Start the file with the header !APA 1.0.
Use exclamation marks to add comments to the file. APA ignores the entire contents of any line that begins with an exclamation mark.
In each statement, do the following:
- Separate the identifier (ASSIGN= or GEOM=) and the first parameter with tabs and spaces.
- Use double quotes to enclose parameters contain blanks. (Parameters are listed below.) Even if you do not use blanks, we recommend that you enclose most parameters in double quotes.
- Separate parameters with tabs and spaces.
- End the line with CR-LF (DOS), CR (Mac OS), or LF (UNIX). You can use a mixture of these characters in the same APA file.

ASSIGN statement

The ASSIGN statement contains instructions for assigning pages to page positions. You can use either page set name or page set prefix in the ASSIGN statement.
!APA 1.0
! This is a comment line.
ASSIGN= page_name page_set_name position_number layer_number

The following table describes the parameters in the ASSIGN statement.

Parameters	Description
page_name	Name of the refined file, for example, "Book.p1.pdf" . Either name the page explicitly or use wild cards and pattern matching.
page_set_name Or page_set_prefix	You can use either the name or the prefix. Name of a page set in the job for example, "Book-8up" or "pageset1". Name of a page set prefix in the job for example "p", "q", "r". You can: Name the prefix explicitly. Use an * (asterisk) as a wild card to assign the page to the designated position in all page sets. Name a pattern in the page name then use it as a back reference to the page set name or page set prefix.
position_number	Position to which the page should be assigned in the page set for example, 1, 2, 3. You can: Name the position number explicitly. Name a pattern in the page name then use it as a back reference to the position number. You can enter simple addition and subtraction expressions for the position number. For example: ASSIGN= "Page.p[#PgPos]" "p" [#PgPos]+25 1
layer_number	Number of the layer to which the page should be assigned for example, 1, 2, 3. The base layer is 1. This value is relevant only in versioning jobs. For non-versioning jobs, use 1.

GEOM statement

The GEOM statement assigns geometry settings to pages.
!APA 1.0
! This is a comment line.
GEOM= page_name offsetX offsetY trimX trimY scaleX scaleY orientation
The following table describes the parameters in the GEOM statement.

Parameters	Description
page_name	Name of the refined file, for example, "Book.p1.pdf" . You can name it explicitly or use wild cards and pattern matching.
offsetX	Positions the content horizontally in relation to the lower-left corner of the trim box for the position. A negative number repositions the content to the left of the lower-left corner. The offset is measured in points.
offsetY	Positions the content vertically in relation to the lower-left corner of the trim box for the position. A negative value repositions the content down from the lower-left corner. The offset is measured in points.
trimX	X (horizontal) trim size in points
trimY	Y (vertical) trim size in points
scaleX	Horizontal scaling relative to 1.0. 1.0 = 100%, .5 = 50%, ...
scaleY	Vertical scaling relative to 1.0. 1.0 = 100%, .5 = 50%, ...
orientation	Number of degrees that the image should be rotated. Must be 0 (no rotation), 90 CW (clockwise), 180, 90 CCW (counter-clockwise), or mixed (retain the original orientation from the PDF).