DITA "Depends On" Properties


Prerequisites:

The asset item schema type must be DITA Content. The Depends On tab displays for only DITA items.


The Depends On tab provides dependency information about DITA and non-DITA content that the currently selected DITA item references.

For example, let's say the currently selected DITA content contains a cross reference to another DITA topic and a reference to an image asset. Both dependency links display within the Depends On tab list entries. Also, let's say the referenced DITA topic contains dependency links. The currently selected asset will include these links in the Depends On tab list entries, as the links correlate to the asset's hierarchical relationship structure.

Note
If users make and save changes to an asset item's dependencies via the Edit tab, the Depends On list entries update to reflect the new changes, no matter if the asset is checked in or out.

See Dependencies Overview for additional details about DITA dependency linking.

To review dependencies referenced within other DITA content:

  1. Navigate to Assets > Assets Tree.
  2. Select the DITA item, and select the DITA Properties > Depends On tab.

    The Depends On tab displays the list of dependencies associated with the currently selected DITA item.

  3. Choose one of the following filter options.
    OptionDescription

    Direct Dependencies

    Displays only direct child dependencies (i.e., distance 1 dependencies) that the currently selected DITA map references.

    All Dependents

    Displays all descendant dependencies associated with the currently selected DITA map. This data includes child dependencies, grandchild dependencies, etc.

    If the currently selected DITA content contains zero dependencies, this filter option displays as inactive.

    DITA Properties > Depends On Tab

  4. Select or clear the Show Errors Only checkbox.

    If selected, this option displays only dependencies that have errors.

  5. Optional: Enter keywords in the Search field to search for individual dependencies.
  6. Review the dependencies within the list.

    Data includes:

    Data Type

    Description

    NameThe name, file extension, and ID of the asset item referenced.
    Tip
    Select the column entry to navigate to the referenced asset item.

    Distance

    The hierarchical relationship distance between the currently selected DITA item and the dependency.

    For example, if the distance is 1, then the current DITA item directly references the dependency within its content.

    If the distance is 2, then a direct child dependency of the current DITA item references the dependency in question (i.e., dependencies with a relationship distance of 2 are grandchildren of the current DITA asset).

    Note
    Select the All Descendents filter option to display dependencies with distances greater than 1.

    Dependency Route

    The hierarchical relationship structure of the dependency stemming from the current DITA asset. This route indicates where the DITA assets reference the dependency within the hierarchy.

    For example, let's say the asset item rinsingthecar.dita is a dependency entry with the following dependency route:

    garage-1.ditamap/washingthecar.dita/rinsingthecar.dita

    In this example, the file garage-1.ditamap is the currently selected DITA item. This content contains a dependency reference to washingthecar.dita, which contains the reference to rinsingthecar.dita.

    Tip
    Keep in the following in mind.
    • Select the All Descendents filter option to display dependency routes.
    • Select the individual asset items within the dependency route to navigate to that asset.
    Type

    The type of dependency. The Type value represents the DITA element that references the dependency.

    Confirmed

    The Dependency Confirmed for Publish check mark indicates the system has registered the dependency within the DITA content and will include the dependency in the next publish.

    The pipeline requires the confirmation of all dependencies before publishing the DITA collection.

    Note
    Users can only publish DITA content at the map level. See Publishing DITA Assets for details.

    Keep the following in mind:

    • Publishes do not include unconfirmed dependencies. However, if the Show all pages preview option is selected at the time of preview generation, then DITA Preview includes the unconfirmed dependencies.
    • All dependencies of newly created assets remain unconfirmed until you check in those new assets.
    • If you or other users add dependencies to checked-out assets, the new dependencies remain unconfirmed until checked in.
    • If you or other users remove dependencies from checked-out assets, the removed dependencies remain confirmed until checked in.
    ValidityIf the dependency has conflicts, the error details display within this column entry.
  7. Optional: Select Download CSV to download a .csv file of this data to your local machine.
    Note
    Clear the Show Errors Only checkbox and Search filters to use the Download CSV tool.