domain name system - How to format and where to put the SPF TXT record?

EDIT I think I more or less understand the syntax and, anyway, Google is giving, in the link below, the syntax needed.

My question is really where to put that stuff. Should I quote every field? The whole line? :)

I've set up Google apps for my domain: I've registered the domain with Google by adding the CNAME Google asked and I've apparently succesfully setup the MX Google mail servers.

So far I haven't yet a dedicated server: I'm just having a domain at a registrar.

Now I want to activate SPF and I'm confused. In the following short webpage:

http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=178723

it is written that I must add a TXT record containing:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all 

Where should I enter this? Should this go in the zone (?) file, like I did for the CNAME and the MX records?

So far I have something like this:

@ 10800 IN A 217.42.42.42
@ 10800 IN MX 5 ASPMX3.GOOGLEMAIL.COM. 
@ 10800 IN MX 5 ASPMX2.GOOGLEMAIL.COM. 
@ 10800 IN MX 3 ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. 
@ 10800 IN MX 3 ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. 

@ 10800 IN MX 1 ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. 
google8a70835987f31e34 10800 IN CNAME google.com. 

Does adding the SPF TXT record mean I should literally have something like that:

@ 10800 IN A 217.42.42.42
@ 10800 IN MX 5 ASPMX3.GOOGLEMAIL.COM. 
@ 10800 IN MX 5 ASPMX2.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
@ 3600 IN TXT "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all" 

@ 10800 IN MX 3 ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. 
@ 10800 IN MX 3 ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. 
@ 10800 IN MX 1 ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. 
google8a70835987f31e34 10800 IN CNAME google.com.

I made that one up and included right in the middle to show how confused I am. What I'd like to know is the exact syntax and where/how I should put this TXT record.

Answer

Our SPF records look like this:

@ 1800 IN TXT "v=spf1" "a" "mx" "ip4:x.x.x.x" "ptr:example2.org.au" "mx.example.org.au" "ip4:x.x.x.x" "ip4:y.y.y.y" "a:example2.org.au" "+all"

The equivalent text is:

v=spf1 a mx ip4:x.x.x.x ptr:example2.org.au mx.example.org.au ip4:x.x.x.x ip4:y.y.y.y a:example2.org.au +all

So your guestimate record is very close.