steps

The <steps> element provides the main content of a task topic. The task is described as a series of steps that the user must follow to accomplish the task. At least one <step> element is required inside the <steps> element.

Steps with only a single step may be rendered as a paragraph rather than as a list. Two or more steps should typically be rendered as an ordered list. If all of the contained steps are simple (that is, have no more than a <cmd> element each) then the step list should default to compact. Otherwise it should be rendered as expanded (with blank lines between each step).

Note: Beginning with DITA 1.2, the general task model allows multiple <steps> and <steps-unordered> elements. However, the default task model in the OASIS distribution (known as strict task) continues to allow only one <steps> or one <steps-unordered> element.

Contains

Note: These models represent only the default document types distributed by OASIS. Actual content models will differ with each new document type.

Doctype	Content model
ditabase, task, machineryTask, learningContent	( (stepsection) (optional) then (step) ) (one or more)

Contained by

Doctype	Content model
ditabase, task (strict), task (general), machineryTask, learningContent	taskbody

Inheritance

- topic/ol task/steps

Example

<task id="sqlj">
<title>Creating an SQLJ file</title>
 <taskbody>
 <context>Once you have set up SQLJ, you need to create a new SQLJ file.</context>
  <steps>
   <step>
    <cmd>In a text editor, create a new file.</cmd>
   </step>
   <step>
    <cmd>Enter the first query statement.</cmd>
   </step>
  </steps>
 </taskbody>
</task>

Attributes

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

3.2.2.5 steps

Contains

Contained by

Inheritance

Example

Attributes