Format and Display Conventions

In general, the name of a resource links you directly to that resource. The exceptions are mailing lists (the links go to the descriptions here in RFE) and sections of this guide (which link you to "index pages").

"Index pages" are the organizing theme of this format. Each lists a number of similar resources. See U.S. Macro and Regional Data for an example. In it, you will find the name of a resource (clicking on it takes you directly to that resource), optional short descriptions to the right of each name, links to extended descriptions on their own pages here in RFE marked with "[more]," and optional sub-sections of resources in RFE (these links are in italics).

The Complete Table of Contents page is a summary of index pages, but there are no short descriptions. It lists all resources described in RFE. Again, each name links you to the resource, and "[more]" leads you to an extended description here in RFE. As it is a fairly large file, there is also an Abridged Table of Contents that leads to RFE's different sections.

A navigation panel is at the top left of every index page and extended description. It show your current location in the guide, links to the Title Page, both Table of Contents, and the higher-level sections of resources. If you are in an extended description, there are links for the previous and next extended descriptions, as well as the current index page.

Each extended description is a detailed description of that resource. At the bottom of each you will find a link or links to the resource, and some have e-mail contacts.

Entirely new resources are marked with a "new" icon, and significantly updated resources are marked with an "updated" icon.