When you have finished writing and tagging, information is ready to be compiled. The IPF compiler interprets the tags in your source file and converts the information into the appropriate format. The compiler is able to distinguish between tags and text because each tag starts with a colon (:), is immediately followed by the tag name, and then ends with a period (.). For example, the tag that indicates a new paragraph is the :p. tag. When the compiler encounters this tag, it interprets it as, "Insert a blank line before the paragraph tag and start the text that follows the paragraph tag."

At compile time, you specify what format you want. For online documents, you direct IPF to generate a file with an INF extension. For help information, you specify a file with an HLP extension. For information about compiler commands and options, see Starting the IPF Compiler.