What is the DITA Resource Manager?

by Karie

Arbortext Editor has direct, built-in access to Arbortext Content Manager (Windchill) through the Object Browser and the Resource Manager. The Resource Manager makes reusing content objects more efficient for DITA writers.

The Resource Manager is a dockable window that acts as a central location for finding data to be reused. The Resource Manager  has three tabs to help authors filter and find specific content types for reuse in the appropriate context.

For example, if the document open in Arbortext Editor is a map, the tabs are "Topic", "New Topic", and "Key Definition", the three content types typically inserted in map documents. If the document is a Topic, then the tabs are "Content Reference", "Link/Xref", and "Image", the three content types typically inserted into topics.

The Resource Manager allows users to navigate the Arbortext Content Manager and the local the file system directly from inside Arbortext Editor. Once located, content objects can be inserted into the active document directly from the Resource Manager window. Arbortext Editor saves the state of the Resource Manager as part of your window configuration.

Keys to using the Resource Manager

The Resource Manager appears by default when you are editing a DITA map, docked to the left side of the Arbortext Editor window. You can dock the Resource Manager to either side of the Arbortext Editor window or use it as an undocked dialog. You can dock and undock the Resource Manager by dragging it or by double-clicking on its title bar.

The Topic Tab

The Topic tab is active when a map type is active in the editing window. You can limit the objects displayed by selecting a specific value from the Type field's dropdown menu, found at the bottom of the window pane. You can choose to limit the view to Topic, Topic or Map, Map, Image, PDF, HTML, or Any. You will not be allowed to select a type that cannot be inserted at the location of the cursor in the main editing window.

You can select search context in the Look in field. Use the dropdown menu to choose the content repository, the file system, the web, your dropbox folder, the network, or saved favorite locations. If you can navigate to it, you can find it in the Resource Manager.

The New Topic Tab

The New Topic tab allows an author to create and insert a new empty topic all at once. Select the type of topic to be created, and insert it where desired. When the editor types in the title, Arbortext Editor will automatically fills in the file name and topic ID attribute.

To edit the newly created topic, just double click on it in the map. This will launch another Arbortext Editor window with the new topic ready to be edited. When the editing is done, close Arbortext Editor and continue editing the DITA Map.

The Content Reference Tab

The Content Reference tab is active when a topic type is active in the editing window. As with the Topic Tab, you can choose a starting location in the Look in field. Navigate to the location of the content reference. if you wish, you can look into a document to chose a specific element and insert it as a content reference. You are not limited to file objects. The content reference tab can look into files to choose specific elements as content references. This is as true for files on the file system as it is for files inside Arbortext Content Manager.

The Type dropdown menu will allow you to filter the results shown in the Resource Manager. You can limit to Topic, Topic or Map, Map,  or Any.

Inserting Content Objects

Once found, click the Insert button to insert the content object into the document in the properly constructed format. Objects are inserted wherever the cursor is currently located.

Benefits to using the Resource Manager

Using the Resource Manager to create and edit DITA Maps makes the authoring process much easier for the user. The Resource Manager allows you to find and insert content from the file system, from a content management system, or from the web and place it into your document. Reuse has never been this easy!