Associate editors with document types

This procedure associates the file extensions of various document types with your preferred editors.

You can configure the CCMS Desktop environment to include a preferred editor for use within the DITA Perspective.

Note: You must associate each document file type with your preferred editor. If the read-only editor is enabled, then XML documents that are not locked will open in it and not in the associated XML editor.

To associate editors with document types:

  1. From the Window menu, select Preferences....
  2. In the resulting Preferences dialog, select General > Editors > File Associations.
  3. In the resulting File Associations pane, click Add next to the File types list.
    The dialog appears.
  4. In the resulting New File Type dialog and in the File Type entry field, enter the appropriate file extension:
    • *.xml for topics
    • *.ditamap for maps
    • *.bmp for bitmap images
    • *.jpg for JPEG images
    Note: You must associate the extension of each image type you want to edit. The above extensions are examples.
  5. Click OK.
    The new file type appears in the File types list and is highlighted.
  6. Click Add near the Associated editors list.
  7. In the resulting Editor Selection dialog, choose one of the following actions:
    • Internal Editors: Select an editor from a list of programs integrated with the Eclipse IDE, such as the browser.
      1. Select your preferred editor.
      2. Click OK.
    • External Programs: Select an editor from other programs available on your system.
      1. Click Browse to go to the program of your choice.
      2. Select your preferred editor, then click OK.
    Your editor appears in the Associated editors list.
  8. With the editor selected, click Default to make it your editor of choice.
  9. Click OK.
    Your editor is now associated with the document's file extension. If you have more than one editor associated with documents such as maps and topics, they will appear as selections on the Open with menu when you right-click these documents. The image editor that opens when you edit an image from within the Show/Edit Image dialog depends on the editor associated with that image type.
Repeat this procedure for each editor and document type.