DITA "Used By" Properties


The Used By tab provides details about DITA content that reference the currently selected DITA or non-DITA item.

For example, let's say a DITA topic references the currently select image asset. The topic that references the image displays as a usage reference dependency within the Used By tab list entries. Also, the image asset's Used By tab list entries will include the DITA map that references the DITA topic, as the linking relationship correlates to the image asset's hierarchical relationship structure.

Note

The Used By tab displays on every asset item. If users make and save changes to an asset item's dependencies via the Edit tab, the Used By 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 > Used By tab.

    The Used By tab displays DITA content that references the currently selected item within their content.

  3. Choose one of the following filter options.
    OptionDescription
    Direct Usage ReferencesDisplays only direct parent usage references (i.e., distance 1 dependencies) that link to the currently selected item.
    All Usage ReferencesDisplays all ancestor usage references associated with the currently selected item. This data includes parent dependencies, grandparent dependencies, etc.
    Note
    Select this filter option to see the dependency route of each entry.

    If the currently selected item contains zero usage references, this filter option displays as inactive.

    DITA Properties > Used By Tab

  4. Select or clear the Show Errors Only checkbox.

    If selected, this option displays only usage references that have errors.

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

    Data includes:

    Data Type

    Description

    Name

    The name, file extension, and ID of the DITA content that references (directly or indirectly) the current asset.

    Tip
    Select the column entry to navigate to the referencing DITA item.
    DistanceThe hierarchical relationship distance between the current asset item and the referencing DITA item.

    For example, if the distance is 1, then the usage reference entry links directly to current asset item.

    If the distance is 2, then the usage reference entry is a grandparent within the dependency structure. In other words, the usage reference entry links to another DITA item that, in turn, directly references the currently selected asset item (the grandchild dependency).

    Note
    Select the All Usage References filter option to display dependencies with distances greater than 1.
    Dependency Route

    The hierarchical relationship structure of the current DITA item. This route indicates the dependency chain of DITA items that ultimately links to the current item.

    For example, let's say the DITA item garage-1.ditamap is a usage reference entry with the following dependency route:

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

    In this example, the file rinsingthecar.dita is the currently selected DITA item. The DITA map garage-1.ditamap references washingthecar.dita, which references rinsingthecar.dita.

    Tip
    Keep in the following in mind.
    • Select the All Descendents filter option to display dependency routes.

    • Select the individual items within the dependency route to navigate to that item.

    TypeThe type of usage reference. The Type value represents the DITA element that references the dependency.
    ConfirmedThe 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 items remain unconfirmed until you check in those new assets.
    • If you or other users add dependencies to checked-out items, the new dependencies remain unconfirmed until checked in.
    • If you or other users remove dependencies from checked-out items, the removed dependencies remain confirmed until checked in.
    ValidityIf the usage reference 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.