%rel-atts;

Relational attributes (<%rel-atts;>) is a parameter entity declaration in the topic DTD that includes attributes whose values may be used for representing navigational relationships. These attributes occur only on elements that represent relationships between topics.

Attributes

Name	Description	Data Type	Default Value	Required?
type	Describes the target of a cross-reference and may generate cross-reference text based on that description. Only the <xref> element can link to content below the topic level: other types of linking can target whole topics, but not parts of topics. Typically <xref> should also be limited to topic-level targets, unless the output is primarily print-oriented. Web-based referencing works best at the level of whole topics, rather than anchor locations within topics. When targetting DITA content, the type should match one of the values in the target's class attribute. For example, if type="topic", the link could be to a generic topic, or any specialization of topic, including concept, task, and reference. Some possible values include: fig Indicates a link to a figure. table Indicates a link to a table. li Indicates a link to an ordered list item. fn Indicates a link to a footnote. section "section" indicates a link to a section. concept, task, reference, topic Cross-reference to a topic type. (no value) Defaults to generic topic, or the processor may retrieve the actual type from the target if available. Other values can be used to indicate other types of topics or elements as targets. Processing is only required to support the above list, or specializations of types in that list. Supporting additional types as targets may require the creation of processing overrides.	CDATA	#IMPLIED (Processed as if the target were of type "topic.")	No
role	The role attribute defines the role the target topic plays in relationship with the current topic. For example, in a parent/child relationship, the role would be "parent" when the target is the parent of the current topic, and "child" when the target is the child of the current topic. This structure could be used to sort and classify links at display time. Allowable values are: parent Indicates a link to a topic that is a parent of the current topic. child Indicates a link to a direct child such as a directly nested or dependent topic. sibling Iindicates a link between two children of the same parent topic. friend Indicates a link to a similar topic that is not necessarily part of the same hierarchy. next Indicates a link to the next topic in a sequence. previous Indicates a link to the previous topic in a sequence. cousin Indicates a link to another topic in the same hierarchy that is not a parent, child, sibling, next, or previous. ancestor Indicates a link to a topic above the parent topic. descendent Indicates a link to a topic below a child topic. sample Deprecated. external Deprecated--use the scope="external" attribute to indicate external links.. other Indicates any other kind of relationship or role. Enter that role as the value for the otherrole attribute.	(parent \| child \| sibling \| friend \| next \| previous \| cousin \| ancestor \| descendant \| sample \| external \| [deprecated] other)	"friend"	No
otherrole	Indicates an alternate role. This value is used when the role attribute is set to other.	CDATA	#IMPLIED	No

Name

Description

Data Type

Default Value

Required?

type

Describes the target of a cross-reference and may generate cross-reference text based on that description. Only the <xref> element can link to content below the topic level: other types of linking can target whole topics, but not parts of topics. Typically <xref> should also be limited to topic-level targets, unless the output is primarily print-oriented. Web-based referencing works best at the level of whole topics, rather than anchor locations within topics.

When targetting DITA content, the type should match one of the values in the target's class attribute. For example, if type="topic", the link could be to a generic topic, or any specialization of topic, including concept, task, and reference.

Some possible values include:

fig: Indicates a link to a figure.
table: Indicates a link to a table.
li: Indicates a link to an ordered list item.
fn: Indicates a link to a footnote.
section: "section" indicates a link to a section.
concept, task, reference, topic: Cross-reference to a topic type.
(no value): Defaults to generic topic, or the processor may retrieve the actual type from the target if available.

Other values can be used to indicate other types of topics or elements as targets. Processing is only required to support the above list, or specializations of types in that list. Supporting additional types as targets may require the creation of processing overrides.

CDATA

#IMPLIED (Processed as if the target were of type "topic.")

role

The role attribute defines the role the target topic plays in relationship with the current topic. For example, in a parent/child relationship, the role would be "parent" when the target is the parent of the current topic, and "child" when the target is the child of the current topic. This structure could be used to sort and classify links at display time.

Allowable values are:

parent: Indicates a link to a topic that is a parent of the current topic.
child: Indicates a link to a direct child such as a directly nested or dependent topic.
sibling: Iindicates a link between two children of the same parent topic.
friend: Indicates a link to a similar topic that is not necessarily part of the same hierarchy.
next: Indicates a link to the next topic in a sequence.
previous: Indicates a link to the previous topic in a sequence.
cousin: Indicates a link to another topic in the same hierarchy that is not a parent, child, sibling, next, or previous.
ancestor: Indicates a link to a topic above the parent topic.
descendent: Indicates a link to a topic below a child topic.
sample: Deprecated.
external: Deprecated--use the scope="external" attribute to indicate external links..
other: Indicates any other kind of relationship or role. Enter that role as the value for the otherrole attribute.

"friend"

otherrole

Indicates an alternate role. This value is used when the role attribute is set to other.

CDATA

#IMPLIED

The %rel-atts; parameter entity is used within the DITA dtds as a common definition for attributes available to elements that represent topic-to-topic relationships. Not all of these capabilities have been provided yet for DITA topic processing. Some typical examples include:

<link type="task" role="child" href="how2uninst.dita" scope="local"/>