DITA Author Mode Actions

A variety of actions are available in the DITA framework that can be added to the DITA menu, the Author Custom Actions toolbar, the contextual menu, and the Content Completion Assistant.

DITA Toolbar Actions

The following default actions are readily available on the DITA (Author Custom Actions) toolbar when editing in Author mode (by default, most of them are also available in the DITA menu and in various submenus of the contextual menu):

Bold

Surrounds the selected text with a b tag. You can use this action on multiple non-contiguous selections.

Italic

Surrounds the selected text with an i tag. You can use this action on multiple non-contiguous selections.

Underline

Surrounds the selected text with a u tag. You can use this action on multiple non-contiguous selections.

Link Actions Drop-Down Menu

The following link actions are available from this menu:

Cross Reference: Opens the Cross Reference (xref) dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target resource at the current location within a document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. Once the target resource has been selected, you can also target specific elements within that resource. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
File Reference: Opens the File Reference dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target file resource at the current location within a document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Web Link: Opens the Web Link dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target web-related resource at the current location within a document. The target resource can be a URL or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Related Link to Topic: Opens the Cross Reference (xref) dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target resource in a related links section at the bottom of the current document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. Once the target resource has been selected, you can also target specific elements within that resource. If a related links section does not already exist, this action creates one. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Related Link to File: Opens the File Reference dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target file resource in a related links section at the bottom of the current document. The target resource can be the location of a file or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. If a related links section does not already exist, this action creates one. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.
Related Link to Web Page: Opens the Web Link dialog box that allows you to insert a link to a target web-related resource in a related links section at the bottom of the current document. The target resource can be a URL or a key that is already defined in your DITA map structure. If a related links section does not already exist, this action creates one. For more information, see Linking in DITA Topics.

Insert Image

Opens the Insert Image dialog box that allows you to configure the properties of an image to be inserted into a DITA document at the cursor position.

Insert Section Drop-Down Menu

The following insert actions are available from this menu:

Insert Section: Inserts a new section element in the document, depending on the current context.
Insert Concept: Inserts a new concept element, depending on the current context. Concepts provide background information that users must know before they can successfully work with a product or interface.
Insert Task: Inserts a new task element, depending on the current context. Tasks are the main building blocks for task-oriented user assistance. They generally provide step-by-step instructions that will enable a user to perform a task.
Insert Topic: Inserts a new topic element, depending on the current context. Topics are the basic units of DITA content and are usually organized around a single subject.
Insert Reference: Inserts a new reference element, depending on the current context. A reference is a top-level container for a reference topic.

Insert Paragraph

Inserts a new paragraph at current cursor position.

Insert step or list item

Inserts a new list or step item in the current list type.

DITA Menu Actions

In addition to the DITA toolbar actions, the following default actions are available in the DITA menu when editing in Author mode:

Table submenu

In addition to the table actions available on the toolbar, the following actions are available in this submenu:

Insert ⇒ Insert Equation

Opens the XML Fragment Editor that allows you to insert and edit MathML notations.

Browse DITA Style Guide

Opens the DITA Style Guide Best Practices for Authors in your browser and displays a topic that is relevant to the element at the cursor position. When editing DITA documents, this action is available in the contextual menu of the editing area (under the About Element sub-menu), in the DITA menu, and in some of the documentation tips that are displayed by the Content Completion Assistant.

DITA Contextual Menu Actions

In addition to many of the DITA toolbar actions and the general Author mode contextual menu actions, the following DITA framework-specific actions are also available in the contextual menu when editing in Author mode:

Image Map Editor

This action is available in the contextual menu when it is invoked on an image. This action applies an image map to the current image (if one does not already exist) and opens the Image Map Editor dialog box. This feature allows you to create hyperlinks in specific areas of an image that will link to various destinations.

Table Actions

The following table editing actions are available in the contextual menu when it is invoked on a tabl


Delete Row(s): Deletes the table row located at cursor position or multiple rows in a selection.

Delete Column(s): Deletes the table column located at cursor position or multiple columns in a selection.
Join Cells: Joins the content of the selected cells (both horizontally and vertically).
Split Cell: Splits the cell at the cursor location. If Oxygen XML Developer plugin detects more than one option to split the cell, a dialog box will be displayed that allows you to select the number of rows or columns to split the cell into.
Sort: Sorts cells or list items in a table.
Table Properties: Opens the Table properties dialog box that allows you to configure properties of a table (such as frame borders).
Other Actions submenu: This submenu give you access to all the usual contextual menu actions.

Insert ⇒ Insert Equation

Opens the XML Fragment Editor that allows you to insert and edit MathML notations.

Reuse submenu

This submenu includes the following actions in regards to reusing content in DITA:

Search References (Ctrl + Shift + G)

Finds the references to the id attribute value for the element at the current cursor position, in all the topics contained in the current DITA map (opened in the DITA Maps Manager view). If no references are found for the current element, a dialog box will be displayed that offers you the option of searching for references to its ancestor elements.

Search References to Ancestors Dialog Box

Show Key Definition

Available for elements that have a conkeyref or keyref attribute set (or elements with an ancestor element that has a conkeyref or keyref attribute). It computes the key name and opens the DITA map that contains the definition of the key with the element that defines that key selected.

About Element submenu

This submenu includes the following actions:

Style Guide: Opens the DITA Style Guide Best Practices for Authors in your browser and displays a topic that is relevant to the element at the cursor position. When editing DITA documents, this action is available in the contextual menu of the editing area (under the About Element sub-menu), in the DITA menu, and in some of the documentation tips that are displayed by the Content Completion Assistant.
Browse reference manual: Opens a reference to the documentation of the XML element closest to the cursor position in a web browser.
Show Definition: Moves the cursor to the definition of the current element.

DITA Drag/Drop Actions

Dragging a file from the view or DITA Maps Manager view and dropping it into a DITA document that is edited in Author mode, creates a link to the dragged file (the xref DITA element with the href attribute) at the drop location. Dragging an image file from the default file system application (Windows Explorer on Windows or Finder on Mac OS X, for example) and dropping it into a DITA document inserts an image element (the image DITA element with the href attribute) at the drop location.