Content Library

The content library houses all your content in easyDITA.

Content Library Overview

Use the content library to browse, filter, create, upload, and manage your folders and files.

Figure 1. Content Library

Browse Tab

Use the Browse tab in the content library to navigate folders in your content repository.

Interface

Figure 2. Browse Tab

By default, the content library contains the following folders:

Starred
Starred files are personal bookmarks used to quickly access a file.
Library
Files are organized into folders and subfolders.
Collections
Files are sorted into a collection for organization and classification. Collections are different from folders in that files can only be organized into one folder, but they can appear in multiple collections.
Trash
Removed files are shown in the Trash, though they are never deleted from your repository.

Filters Tab

Use the Filters tab in the content library to use preconfigured criteria to filter the files that show.

Interface

Figure 3. Filters Tab

By default, you can filter files using the following default criteria:

Search
Enter a search term. For example, only shows files that contain the same word(s). Using the Search bar in the navigation will lead to the keyword search. You can also use the Search field to update a search.
Last Modified
Select a date range to filter files last modified within a specific range.
Created
Select a data range to filter files created within a specific range.
Needs Attention
Select to filter files that need your attention. For example, only shows files that are not valid, contain broken links, or contain open comments.
Owned by
Select users to filter files owned by specific users.
Locked by
Select all or specific users to filter files locked by all or specific users.
Status
Select to filter files based on the workflow status. For example, only shows files that are obsolete, need reevaluation, are in progress, in review, or approved.
Content Type
Select to filter files based on the content type. For example, only shows concept, task, or reference topics.
Metadata
Select to filter files based on custom metadata.

Context Menu

Use the context menu to modify your files, access information about the file, or open tabs in the resource manager.

Operation

You open the context menu by right-clicking a file or folder in the content library. The context menu may include the following items:

Copy Share URL
Copies a link that directly leads to a given file or folder in the content library. You can use it to quickly share a file or folder with other easyDITA users.
Open
Opens a resource in the topic editor.
Open in Source Editor
Opens a resource in the source editor.
Open in Oxygen
Opens a resource in oXygen.
Lock/Unlock
Enables Administrators to manually lock or unlock resources.
Download
Downloads a given file or folder.
Download + Dependencies
Downloads a given file with all dependencies (all linked items).
Download As Bundle
Downloads a map for custom Static Site Generator scenarios development.
Move to Trash
Moves a file or folder to trash.
Move
Moves a file or folder to another folder.
Rename
Renames a file or folder.
Duplicate
Duplicates a given file.
Bulk Change
Enables you to bulk-change metadata or permissions for a given file or folder.
Set Permissions
Enables you to set permissions for a given resource.
Content
Opens a resource in the topic editor.
Properties
Shows the details of a given resource.
Links
Shows link dependencies of a given resource.
History
Shows how a resource changed with each edit.
Assignments
Opens the Assignments tab.
Releases
Opens the Releases tab.
Branching
Opens the Branching tab.
Reports
Opens the Reports tab.
Locales
Opens the Locales tab.
Localization Jobs
Opens the Localization Jobs tab.
Output
Opens the Output tab.
New Assignment
Enables you to create a new assignment for a given resource.
New Folder
Creates a new folder in the content library.

Starred Folder

Use the Starred folder as your personal bookmarks folder for resources in the content repository.

Figure 4. Starred Folder Example.

You can star files and folders in the content library by clicking the corresponding star icon.

Recent Folder

Use the Recent folder to see your recently modified files.

Interface

You can access your Recent folder by clicking Recent in the Browse tab.

Figure 5. Recent Folder

Operation

The Recent folder shows your most recently modified files at the top.

Files show in the Recent folder when you:

  • Open and edit a file
  • Change the name of a file
  • Change the metadata of a file
  • Change the status of a file
  • Move a file

Trash

Use the Trash to view and restore files that have been deleted from the content library. Files moved to the Trash stay there and are not deleted permanently.

Operation

When you right-click a file and select Move to Trash , the file is removed from the file listing and moved to the Trash. To access the Trash, in the content library, click Trash.

Each remove event is stored as a trash event. A trash event can contain more than one file. For example, if you remove multiple files at once, this remove will only create one trash event. And you can choose to restore all the files in a trash event or just one file.

easyDITA does not let you move a file to the Trash if the file has any link dependencies. You must remove all dependencies before moving files to the trash. This ensures that moving files to the Trash does not result in broken links between files.

Collections

The Collections interface enables Administrators to manage and configure collections for better content organization in the content library.

Figure 6. Collections Interface

Resource Viewer Pane

Use the Resource Viewer Pane as a compact version of the resource manager.

The Resource Viewer Pane consists of two tabs that show the file's details and activity.

Details Tab

You can use the Details pane to view the file details and preview the file. You can also use it to quickly access the file's revision history, link dependencies, and properties. The Details pane also shows the following information:

  • File name
  • Location
  • Status
  • Owner
  • Type
  • Links
  • Modified date
  • Created date
  • Metadata

Activity Tab

You can use the Activity pane to view and filter the recent user actions on the file. The Activity pane of the Resource Viewer Pane is a compact version of the Activity interface in the Dashboard interface.

Create a Folder

Use the Create folder window to create a new folder for organizing your files.

  1. In the content library, do any of the following:
    1. Click the New folder icon.

    2. Right-click anywhere in the file listing and click New Folder .
  2. Enter a name for the folder.
    Important: Folder names can only contain alphanumeric characters, dashes, and underscores. They cannot contain spaces.
  3. Click Create .

Download Files from the Content Library

Downloading files from the content library can be useful for local development.

In the content library, do any of the following:
  • To download a folder, right-click the folder and select Download.
  • To download a single file , right-click the file and select Download > File.
  • To download a file and the file dependencies, right-click the file and select Download > File + Dependencies.

Duplicate Files

You can duplicate images, topics, and maps, but you cannot duplicate folders.

Check if the files you want to duplicate are referencing other files.
Important: You can check this by examining the outgoing links. If there are outgoing links, duplicating the file to a new location without also duplicating the link dependencies at the same time would result in broken links in the file.
  1. In the content library, check the checkbox next to each file.
    Tip: To select a range of check boxes, check the first box in the range and then while holding Shift, select the last box in the range.
  2. Right-click any of the selected files and select Duplicate .
  3. Click Select Location and navigate to and select where you want to copy the file(s) to.
  4. Optional: Enter a comment.
  5. Click Save.
You duplicated a file.
Note: If you duplicated a DITA file, assign a unique ID to the root topic or root map element. See ​ Edit Topic Element Attributes ​ .
Figure 7. Edited ID value of a root task topic element

Move Files

Move files and folders to a new location in the content library.

  1. In the content library, check the checkbox next to each file.
    Tip: To select a range of check boxes, check the first box in the range and then while holding Shift, select the last box in the range.
  2. Right-click any of the selected files and select Move .
  3. Optional: Enter a comment for the move.
  4. Click Select Location .
  5. Navigate to and select a folder location.
  6. Click Select.
  7. Click Move .

Remove Files

Move files and folders that you no longer need from your content library to the Trash.

Important: Before removing files, you need to check that the files you want to remove aren't referenced by other files. You can check this by examining the Incoming Links. If there are incoming links, then the file is referenced by other files and deleting the file would break those links.
  1. In the content library, check the checkbox next to each file.
    Tip: To select a range of check boxes, check the first box in the range and then while holding Shift, select the last box in the range.
  2. Right-click any of the selected files and select Move to Trash .
  3. Optional: Enter a comment for the remove.
  4. Click Remove.
The selected files and folders are then moved to the Trash, and if you entered a comment it will show in the History tab.

Rename Files and Folders

Change the name of a file or folder after creation.

  1. In the content library, check the checkbox next to each file.
    Tip: To select a range of check boxes, check the first box in the range and then while holding Shift, select the last box in the range.
  2. Right-click any of the selected items and select Rename .
  3. Enter a new name for each file.
    Important: An error will appear if you attempt to only modify the lettercase (uppercase or lowercase). For example, you cannot rename the file renaming_files_or_folders.dita to Renaming_Files_or_Folders.dita.
  4. Optional: Enter a comment for the rename.
  5. Click Rename .

Restore Removed Files

Restore files that were moved to the Trash and move them back into your content library to be used in topics and maps again.

  1. In the content library, click Trash to open the Trash bin.
  2. Select the event that you want to restore files from.
  3. Select the file or files you want to restore and then click Restore .

Star Folders and Files

Star important folders and files so you can access them later in your Starred folder.

Note: Files that you star are only visible in your Starred folder. Other users do not have access to your Starred folder.
  1. In the content library, select the star next to files you want to track.
  2. In the Browse tab, click Starred to open your Starred folder.
Your starred files now show in your Starred folder.

Share Links to Files

Send a link to a file in your content library. This link opens easyDITA and highlights the file in the file listing.

In the content library, right-click a folder or a file and select Copy Share URL .
You can share the link with other easyDITA users.

Select a Range of Files

You can quickly select multiple files in the content library by selecting a range of files.

  1. In the content library, navigate to the directory where you want to select a range of files.
  2. Select the first file in the range of files that you want to select.
  3. Hold Shift and click the last file in the range of files that you want to select.

Upload Files to the Content Library

You can upload images and other allowed file types to the content library.

  • If you want to upload a large number of files, compress these files to a ZIP archive.
    Tip: Uploading files compressed to a single ZIP archive is quicker than uploading multiple files without compressing them first.

    By default, when you upload a ZIP archive to the content library, easyDITA unzips the archive retaining its folder structure. If needed, you can also upload a ZIP archive to the content library without unzipping it.

  1. In the content library, navigate to the folder where you want to upload your files and click the Upload icon.
  2. Click Select files to upload and select the files.
  3. If you selected any files that already exist in the content library folder and you don't want to overwrite them, clear the corresponding Overwrite files with the same names check box.
  4. If you selected any ZIP files that you do not want to be automatically unzipped, clear the corresponding Unzip check box.
  5. Click Upload Files.

Customize Columns in the Content Library

You can add, remove, and rearrange columns in the content library.

Note: This feature may be disabled on your easyDITA instance. To enable this feature, contact your Customer Success Manager.
Note: You can configure the content library columns only for your account. In other words, setting custom columns does not impact other users in your organization.
  1. In the content library, in the top-right corner, click the cog icon.
  2. In the Custom columns dialog, do any of the following:
    • To hide a column in the content library, clear the corresponding check box.
    • To show a column in the content library, select the corresponding check box.
    • To rearrange columns in the content library, drag-and-drop a column name to a new position.
  3. Click Save.
  4. If needed, refresh easyDITA in your web browser.