Branch documents
This option gives you a convenient method for branching several types of documents within a root map simultaneously: topics and submaps together.
- The root map must be open in the DITA Map view.
- All referring documents must be in a state which allows them to be branched.
Once you have branched a map, you can go on to branch the documents that it contains. When you branch a topic the system creates a new, editable version in the Authoring cycle and gives it the status Authoring:work (or its equivalent in your workflow). Submaps are given the status Authoring:work (or its equivalent in your workflow).
During the branch operation, the system attempts to update all references within the map (xrefs, rel-links, conrefs, etc.) to refer to the new copy of the document. This requires that all the documents that contain these references be branched as well.
If any of these referring maps or topics is in a state that prevents its references from being updated – if a topic is locked by another user, for example – then you'll get an error message, listing the documents that prevented the branch operation from being performed.