Localized Rendering Schemas

The rendering schema for DITA content is the page type applied to the published, normalized DITA output. This schema and its corresponding view will be used to render DITA content on the DSS and in DITA Preview, similar to a site page.

In previous CMS 10.6 versions, you can only set one page type as the default DSS rendering schema for DITA content. The content wrapper only returns components and other data for the default locale. For other localized DITA content, the wrapper does not return lingually cloned content versions based on locale.

In CMS 10.6.378, you can specify rendering schemas for localized DITA content in addition to the default rendering schema for all DITA content. This feature provides the option to set a DITA rendering schema based on each locale, ensuring the content wrapper will align with the locale of the DITA content being displayed.

For each locale, you can create a copy of the default rendering schema, then modify the copy and associated view as needed. For example, your navigation elements may need to be modified for the locale-specific schema. Alternatively, you can use completely different schema. When creating these schemas, be sure to use a distinct and recognizable name (e.g., DITA Detail fr-ca) to help identify which schema will be used for each locale.

Requirements

To render localized DITA content on the DSS and in DITA preview, ensure you have the following set up:

1. CMS 10.6.378 must be installed per prerequisites.
2. Configure WorldView. Add the locales you plan use as available languages. See WorldView Configuration for details.
3. Ensure the appropriate locales are applied to your DITA content.

   To specify the locale of your DITA content, you can modify WorldView settings for either a single DITA asset or a folder that contains multiple DITA assets. See Asset WorldView Properties for details to specify the DITA content's locale.

   When assigning a locale to DITA content, you might consider creating a copy of your DITA assets to a second asset folder and then setting that folder as the clone locale.

   Troubleshooting

   If you assign a locale to a single DITA asset, the asset's dependencies will not inherit the locale. The locale will only apply to the individual asset. If you assign a locale to an asset folder, the contained assets will inherit the locale.

4. Optional: Consider using DITA translation/localization elements and attributes for multilingual content if you do not already use them. This standard DITA feature will help you refine and prepare your content for DITA post-publish processing. See the OASIS DITA Version 1.3 Specification: Translation and Localization for details.
   Note

   You can use CMS translation and localization features in conjunction with these DITA features to enhance your normalized lingual content output. Remember, the CMS expanded XML @locale and localized rendering schemas do not rely on these DITA elements and attributes. They rely on your DSS rendering schema settings and the CMS WorldView properties applied to your DITA assets.
5. Create the rendering page schemas and views that will correspond with each locale. If you have locale-specific requirements for schema elements and views, modify the schema to ensure the content and metadata will render as expected.
   • To copy an existing schema, see Copying Schemas for details.
   • To create a new schema, see Creating Page Schemas
   • To develop schema views, see Schema Designer PrerequisitesSchema Designer Developing Views for details.
6. Specify the localized rendering schemas in Administration > DITA > Output Formats. See Configuring DITA Open Toolkit Output Formats for details.
   Note

   If a rendering schema is not specified for localized DITA content, the CMS will fallback to using the default rendering schema for that content.
7. If you plan to use the alias management system, ensure aliases are created for your localized DITA content. Remember, aliases reflect the locales of their corresponding DITA content and not the locale of their parent Site Tree content item/folder.

   See DITA Aliases for details.

Expanded XML Output

When running DITA Preview or DITA publishing pipeline processing, the CMS will apply the rendering schema that corresponds with the DITA asset's locale.

In the expanded XML, the top-level element will include the rendering schema's root name and the @locale value of the DITA asset. For example, if the root name of the rendering schema is DITADetailfrca for the fr-ca locale, then the top-level element will be <DITADetailfrca> and will contain the @locale="fr-ca" attribute value in the expanded XML output.

If alias URL pathing is enabled for the publishing target, the aliased DITA content's locale and localized rendering schema will be reflected in the expanded XML of the generated alias URLs.

Additionally, under the settings folder in the published output folder, this process will generate a dita_normalization_wrapper.xml file for each set locale and its schema. For example, dita_normalization_wrapper.xml,dita_normalization_wrapper_en-us.xml, and dita_normalization_wrapper_fr-ca will all reside within this folder. These localized rendering .xml files will be visible in the AssetMap.xml set to DITAWrapper_locale attributes on the top <AssetMap> element.