# Reserved words and characters

Several words and characters should be avoided in Phocas because, in software development, these words or characters typically have a specific meaning that might affect results. 

### Unsupported characters <a href="#reservedwordsandcharacters-unsupportedcharacters" id="reservedwordsandcharacters-unsupportedcharacters"></a>

**\\** (backslash mark) and **/** (forward slash mark) are reserved characters because they are common programming characters.

**;** (semi-colon) is a reserved character because it defines multiples when used in searches. For example, in an *equal to* search, it splits codes.

**\*** (asterisk) is a reserved character for wildcard searches, so it shouldn't be used in raw data.

### Reserved words in measures <a href="#reservedwordsandcharacters-reservedwordsinmeasures" id="reservedwordsandcharacters-reservedwordsinmeasures"></a>

**Count** is a reserved word because when it’s used as a scalar, it depicts the count of rows in the transactions.

**Trans** is reserved for internal usage.

### Reserved words in properties <a href="#reservedwordsandcharacters-reservedwordsinproperties" id="reservedwordsandcharacters-reservedwordsinproperties"></a>

**Date** is a technical term used across databases, so you cannot precede a property title with the word *Date*, as it will cause issues. For example, do not use *Date ordered*, *Date created* and so on.

### Reserved words in Analytics Custom mode

**Code** can't be used as a name for custom mode columns or custom property names.

### Reserved characters and words in Designer <a href="#reservedwordsandcharacters-reservedcharactersandwordsindesigner" id="reservedwordsandcharacters-reservedcharactersandwordsindesigner"></a>

#### Unsupported characters <a href="#reservedwordsandcharacters-unsupportedcharacters.1" id="reservedwordsandcharacters-unsupportedcharacters.1"></a>

The following characters should not be used in the names of measures, streams, properties, or dimensions:

**\\** (backslash mark)

**/** (forward slash mark)

**@** (at sign)

**!** (exclamation mark)

**?** (question mark)

**\~** (tilde mark)

**|** (vertical bar)

#### Reserved words <a href="#reservedwordsandcharacters-reservedwords" id="reservedwordsandcharacters-reservedwords"></a>

**Code**

**Date**

**Trial Balance** (for streams only)

**Cash Flow** (for streams only)

### Reserved characters in Sync <a href="#reservedwordsandcharacters-reservedcharactersinsync" id="reservedwordsandcharacters-reservedcharactersinsync"></a>

**.** (period, full stop, or full point) is a reserved character because when it’s used in a file name, it can cause an application (such as Sync) to unexpectantly recognize the file with an unsupported file-type suffix.  For example, a file named *example\_filename.txt* might be correctly recognized as a text file. But a file named *example.filename.txt* could result in an unsupported file-type error if the application doesn’t support a file type of *.filename*.

**\_** (underscore) is a reserved character for source names but not for data items.