The <glossAlt> element contains a variant term for the preferred term. The variant should have the same meaning as the term in the <glossterm> element; the variant is simply another way to refer to the same term. There may be many ways to refer to a term; each variant is placed in its own <glossAlt> element. The <glossUsage> element may be used within <glossAlt> to indicate when use of the alternate term is appropriate.
| Doctype | Content model | 
|---|---|
| ditabase, glossary, glossentry, glossgroup | ( (glossAbbreviation or glossAcronym or glossShortForm or glossSynonym) (optional) then (glossStatus) (optional) then (glossProperty) (any number) then (glossUsage) (optional) then (note or hazardstatement) (any number) then (glossAlternateFor) (any number) ) | 
<glossentry id="usbfd">
  <glossterm>USB flash drive</glossterm>
  <glossdef>A small portable drive.</glossdef>
  <glossBody>
    <glossPartOfSpeech value="noun"/>
    <glossUsage>Do not provide in upper case (as in "USB Flash
Drive") because that suggests a trademark.</glossUsage>
    <glossAlt>
      <glossAcronym>UFD</glossAcronym>
      <glossUsage>Explain the acronym on first occurrence.</glossUsage>
    </glossAlt>
    <glossAlt id="memoryStick">
      <glossSynonym>memory stick</glossSynonym>
      <glossUsage>This is a colloquial term.</glossUsage>
    </glossAlt>
    <glossAlt>
      <glossAbbreviation>stick</glossAbbreviation>
      <glossStatus value="prohibited"/>
      <glossUsage>This is too colloquial.</glossUsage>
      <glossAlternateFor href="#usbfd/memoryStick"/>
    </glossAlt>
    <glossAlt>
      <glossAbbreviation>flash</glossAbbreviation>
      <glossStatus value="prohibited"/>
      <glossUsage>This short form is ambiguous.</glossUsage>
    </glossAlt>
  </glossBody>
</glossentry>
| Name | Description | Data Type | Default Value | Required? | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| univ-atts attribute group (includes select-atts, id-atts, and localization-atts groups) | A set of related attributes, described in univ-atts attribute group | |||
| global-atts attribute group (xtrf, xtrc) | A set of related attributes, described in global-atts attribute group | |||
| class, outputclass | Common attributes described in Other common DITA attributes | 
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