Branch documents

This option gives you a convenient method for branching several types of documents within a root map simultaneously: topics and submaps together.

Before you begin

  • 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.

About this task

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.

Procedure

  1. In the DITA Map view, right-click the document(s) and select Branch > Branch Documents.
    You can select several documents by holding down CTRL or SHIFT and clicking the documents.
    If branching this document requires that other documents also be branched, the Branch Documents dialog appears. It displays a list of the documents that will be affected by this change and asks if you want to continue.
  2. Click OK.

Results

A copy of the published document (or documents) is created in the Authoring cycle and assigned the appropriate status. All branched documents automatically receive the same tag as the parent map.