DITAVAL elements

A conditional processing profile (DITAVAL file) is used to identify which values are to be used for conditional processing during a particular output, build, or some other purpose. The profile should have an extension of .ditaval.

The DITAVAL format has several elements: val, the root element, can contain a style-conflict element followed by prop or revprop elements; the prop and revprop elements can contain startflag and endflag elements; and the startflag and endflag elements can contain alt-text elements.

jeff ogden: wanted this in a new section of the spec rather than under common attributes. now done. Also questioned whether it was normative. Reviewed with TC, and confirmed: the ditaval format was not normative in 1.0, it is normative in 1.1. There was some old wording from 1.0 earlier that confused the issue, I've removed it.

Notes on ditaval messages

Conditional processing code should provide a report of any attribute values encountered in content that do not have an explicit action associated with them.

Note on ditaval flagging of images

If an image in DITA content becomes flagged using a background color, the color should be represented as a thick border. If a foreground color is expressed, it should be represented as a thin border.

val
<val> is the root element of a DITAVAL file.
style-conflict
The style-conflict element declares behavior to be used when one or more flagging methods collide on a single content element.
prop
Identifies an attribute, and usually values in the attribute, to take an action on. The attribute must be a conditional processing attribute: platform, product, audience, props. and otheprops; or a specialization of the props attribute.
revprop
Identifies a value in the rev attribute that should be flagged in some manner. Unlike the other conditional processing attributes, which may be used for both filtering and flagging, the rev attribute may only be used for flagging.
startflag
The startflag takes an optional image reference and an optional alt-text element for identifying the beginning of flagged content. If an image is specified, the specified image will be used to flag the beginning of the content, with the alt-text contents as alternative text. If alt-text is specified without an image, that text will be used to flag the content instead of an image. If no image and no alt-text are specified, then this element has no defined purpose. The startflag element is allowed inside either prop or revprop.
endflag
The endflag takes an optional image reference and an optional alt-text element for identifying the end of flagged content. If an image is specified, the specified image will be used to flag the end of the content, with the alt-text contents as alternative text. If alt-text is specified without an image, that text will be used to flag the content instead of an image. If no image and no alt-text are specified, then this element has no defined purpose. The endflag element is allowed inside either prop or revprop.
alt-text
An element allowed inside either startflag or endflag to provide alternate text for an image when the imageref attribute sets an image to be used for flagging. When no alternate text is specified for a revision flag, the default alternate text for revprop start of change is a localized translation of "Start of change", and the default alternate text for revprop end of change is a localized translation of "End of change".

Related Information

Conditional processing attributes

Conditional processing (profiling)

Parent topic: Base elements