Merge with authoring

Use this procedure to replace original documents in the Authoring cycle with their branched counterparts.

  • The root map must be open in the DITA Map view.
  • The corresponding documents in the Authoring cycle must be in a state that allows them to be locked.

After you've added some topics to a branched map for a while, you may decide that you want to use it as the main line of documentation, instead of the original map. Or you may decide that you want to replace some of the original topics with their branched counterparts.

The merge function lets you replace the contents of original documents in the Authoring cycle with the contents of the branched map. All the demoting, locking, and copying is done automatically by the system.

You can merge individual topics, which replaces the text in just these topics. Or you can merge the entire map, which replaces the map file itself as well as the topics that have been changed; all the images and resources that these topics reference will also be merged.

You cannot, however, merge a document if the corresponding document in the Authoring cycle has been changed. In this case you'll need to perform the merge manually, i.e., lock the document yourself, and paste in the changed text.

Tip: If you want to review the differences between two documents before you merge them, use the Compare With Authoring Source utility.
  1. In the DITA Map view, right-click the document(s) you want to merge and select Branch > Merge With Authoring.
    You can select several documents by holding down CTRL or SHIFT and clicking the documents.
    The Progress Information dialog tells you that the document(s) are being merged.

    If any corresponding documents in the Authoring cycle have been changed, the Branch Documents dialog will appear and display them. You will need to merge these documents yourself, if you want, at a later date.

  2. Click OK.
    The asterisks that indicate a changed document disappear from the documents that are successfully merged.
The content of the branched document(s) has now replaced the contents of the original document(s) in the Authoring cycle, where possible. Replaced topics now are at Authoring:work (or its equivalent in your workflow); replaced images will go to Authoring:work (or its equivalent in your workflow) and the map (and any submaps) will receive the status Authoring:work (or its equivalent in your workflow).

If the documents could not be merged – if the corresponding documents in Authoring had already changed in some way – then the asterisks that indicate a changed document will turn red. You can use the Mark As Merged feature to remove these, if you want.