dita-line-break

Line break removal skill

Remove hard line breaks from AsciiDoc files for DITA compatibility.

Overview

This skill uses the line_break.rb Ruby script to find and remove hard line breaks that are not supported in DITA. Hard line breaks in AsciiDoc can be created using:

1. A space followed by + at the end of a line ( +)
2. The :hardbreaks-option: document attribute
3. The %hardbreaks option on blocks
4. The options=hardbreaks attribute

What it removes

Line continuation markers

Before:

This is the first line +
and this continues on a new line.

After:

This is the first line and this continues on a new line.

Document-level hardbreaks attribute

Before:

:hardbreaks-option:

This text has
forced line breaks
everywhere.

After:

This text has forced line breaks everywhere.

Block-level hardbreaks option

Before:

[%hardbreaks]
First line
Second line
Third line

After:

First line
Second line
Third line

Why this matters

Hard line breaks cannot be mapped to DITA output. The AsciiDocDITA Vale rule LineBreak.yml warns:

Hard line breaks are not supported in DITA.

Usage

When the user asks to fix line breaks:

1. Identify the target folder or file containing AsciiDoc content
2. Find all .adoc files in the target location
3. Run the Ruby script against each file:

   ruby scripts/line_break.rb <file>
   

4. Report the number of line breaks removed

Dry run mode

To preview changes without modifying files:

ruby scripts/line_break.rb <file> --dry-run

Output to different file

ruby scripts/line_break.rb <file> -o <output.adoc>

Process all files in a directory

find <folder> -name "*.adoc" -exec ruby scripts/line_break.rb {} \;

Example invocations

• "Fix line breaks in modules/"
• "Remove hard line breaks from the getting_started folder"
• "Remove all + line continuations"
• "Preview line break changes in modules/ --dry-run"

Behavior notes

• Joins lines: When removing + at end of line, the following line is joined with a space
• Removes attribute: The :hardbreaks-option: attribute line is removed entirely
• Removes block option: The %hardbreaks option is removed from block attribute lists
• Skips code blocks: Line breaks inside code blocks (---- or ....) are not modified
• Skips comments: Line breaks inside comment blocks (////) are not modified

Output format

<file>: Removed N hard line break(s)

Or:

<file>: No hard line breaks found

Extension location

The Ruby script is located at: scripts/line_break.rb

Related Vale rule

This skill addresses the warning from: .vale/styles/AsciiDocDITA/LineBreak.yml