6. The method of claim 1, and further comprising: in response to an output request, obtaining said format parameters of said variable data area from said at least one comment statement within said data set defining said base document; and outputting said base document and said format parameters such that selected variable data can subsequently be presented within said variable data area of said base document in a format indicated by said format parameters.
7. The method of claim 6, and further comprising the step of presenting a composite document including said base document and said selected variable data, wherein said selected variable data are presented within said variable data area of said base document in a format specified by said format parameters.