Marks in layouts

A marker means the same answer everywhere (see The six answers). What a layout adds is the words: a roadmap says shipped where a pricing table says included. This page lists which layouts read markers, the words each one uses, and the three switches that change how marks look.

Which layouts read markers

The inline form, `[x]` in inline code, works on every slide. The bare form, a marker at the start of an item or cell, is read by these layouts:

Layout	Where the marker goes	What it draws
checklist	Start of each list item	A disc beside the row
verdict-grid	Start of each criterion under an option	A badge beside the criterion
pricing	Start of each feature under a tier	A badge beside the feature
obligation-matrix	Start of a table cell	A disc in the cell, plus a key
roadmap	Start of a table cell, before the item	A state on the item, plus a key (except the status variant)
Any table, with state-cells	Start of a table cell	A disc in the cell

On any other slide a bare [!] at the start of a bullet stays as typed. Use the inline form there.

Tables: turn on state-cells

A plain table does not read markers, so a comparison table typed with ✓ and ✗ characters is a common sight. Add state-cells to the slide’s class and every cell that starts with a marker draws a disc:

<!-- _class: table state-cells -->

| Criterion | Atlas | Borealis |
|-----------|-------|----------|
| SSO       | [x]   | [!]      |

obligation-matrix and roadmap read cell markers without it.

Each layout’s words

The answer is fixed; the word is the layout’s. These are the words a reader sees in a key, and hears when the deck is narrated. checklist, verdict-grid, pricing and state-cells tables draw no key, so for them the words are spoken only; your own text beside the mark is what a reader sees. The Universal row is what an inline mark and a state-cells table say.

Layout	[x]	[-]	[!]	[?]	[ ]	[/]
Universal	yes	partly	no	unknown	open	does not apply
checklist	done	partial	failed	unknown	to do	skipped
verdict-grid	yes	partial	no	unknown	not assessed	not applicable
pricing	included	limited	missing	ask sales	coming	not included
obligation-matrix	Applies	Partial	Not required	Unclear	Undetermined	Exempt
roadmap	Shipped	In flight	Missed	Uncertain	Planned	Out of scope

Two readings deserve a second look:

• Pricing: [/] or [!]? [/] “not included” is the calm answer for a tier that does not offer a feature by design. [!] “missing” is the red cross, meant for a competitor’s column, not your own tiers.
• obligation-matrix: [/] or [!]? [/] “Exempt” means the obligation does not reach this regime. [!] “Not required” means it reaches it, but asks nothing.

Rename the words with a label set

The default words suit the common case, and sometimes they are wrong: a legislative roadmap has no shipped, and a licensing grid has no applies. obligation-matrix and roadmap draw a key under the grid, and you can rename any entry in it with a label set: one inline-code span, alone in its own paragraph, above the grid.

`[{[x], In force}, {[/], Not subject}]`

Each pair is {marker, word}. Name only the entries you want to change; the rest keep their defaults. On roadmap the new word reaches the key, the cells and the narration. On obligation-matrix it renames the key only: the cells have no words, and narration still uses the default words.

Renaming an obligation-matrix key

ResetDark

Try this. Add {[?], Under review} to the label set. The key's entry for [?] changes; the ring in the US row does not. The answer is the same — only its name moved.

Three things to get right:

• The key is the marker, brackets included. {[x], In force} works. {applies, In force} names nothing, and the entry is dropped.
• The key lists only the answers the slide uses. Naming [?] on a grid with no [?] cell adds nothing.
• The rename is the author’s word, not a new answer. Renaming [!] to “Pending” puts a red cross beside the word “Pending”. Pick the marker for the answer first, then the word.

lint:deck and the Studio check every label set against the layout’s markers and warn about a key that names nothing, a key named twice, or a label set on a layout that draws no key.

Other label sets use the same brackets for something else. matrix-grid, journey and heatmap also take a label set, but they rename a scale or a position, not an answer. Each component’s reference page covers its own.

Changing how marks look

Three switches change the drawing, and none of them changes an answer.

checks-* — the disc style

Five styles for the disc, per slide (<!-- _class: checklist checks-outline -->) or for the whole deck (class: checks-bold in front matter):

Class	Looks like	Reach for it when
(default), checks-ringed	Solid disc with a thin darker ring	Almost always
checks-knockout	Flat solid disc	You want the cleanest, classic look
checks-bold	Larger disc, heavier mark	The deck is read across a room
checks-outline	Ring and colored mark, no fill	You want a light, editorial look
checks-tonal	Soft tinted fill, ring and colored mark	The background is plain, not tinted

They reach checklist rows, verdict-grid and pricing badges, table cells and inline marks. roadmap keeps its own drawing. The two hollow answers stay hollow in every style.

heat — when yes is the alarm

On a compliance grid, applies is the risk. heat flips the colors so the reader’s eye goes to exposure:

Answer	Normally	Under heat
[x]	Green	Red — exposure
[!]	Red	Green — relief
[-]	Amber	Amber
[/], [?], [ ]	Gray	Gray, unchanged

obligation-matrix read as exposure

ResetDark

Try this. Delete 'heat' from the class line. Every shape stays where it is; only the colors swap back. That is why heat is safe: the shape still says the answer.

The shapes do not change, so a grayscale print still reads correctly. heat is made for obligation-matrix and roadmap. On a verdict-grid or a pricing table it makes a red check, which reads as a contradiction; leave it off there.

state-cells — marks in any table

Covered above: it turns a table’s leading cell markers into discs.

One layout reads the same brackets differently

matrix-grid uses [x], [-] and [ ] as positions, not answers: filled (this row’s position), reachable, and not applicable. It colors them by the row’s category rather than by pass or fail, and it does not read [!], [?] or [/]. Everywhere else, a marker is an answer.

In the Studio

• Compose has a Cell state picker when the cursor is in an obligation-matrix or roadmap table cell: six buttons, one per answer. On a narrow pane it moves into the table’s actions menu.
• A slide whose list items start with a marker opens in Compose marked Edit in Markdown, because the rich editor cannot keep [!] and [?] intact. Edit that slide in the Markdown pane.

Next

Marks say an answer. For a label, a category or a free-form status, use a pill: Pills you place.