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Table Input Throughout A Document

tgalvin
1-Newbie

Table Input Throughout A Document

Hi everyone,

Is it possible to have information from a table linked throughout a document?

In other words, if I enter data into the first table (see highlighted content in attached PDF) and I want to have multiple tables inherit that same data, is it possible to setup the tables where I only have to enter the data once in the first table?

I've included an editor view to show how the table is entered in Arbortext (see attached PNG file).

6 REPLIES 6

Hi Tag,


I'm not certain what you mean by "table linked throughout a document" and "multiple tables inherit that same data."


If you want to save a table and output it elsewhere, that can be done, but there needs to be a way to distinguish that  table from other tables in the document. Typically that would be a particular attribute value, which could be an ID value. You could also test for table content, but it would need to be unique within the document.


Or do you have something else in mind?


Suzanne

Hi Suzanne,

I think that's along the lines of what we are looking for...

We're trying to setup the document where once we enter data into the first table, the rest of the tables in the document inherit that same data. So essentially, when we enter data into the first table, all of the other tables have that same data entered at the same time. That way, we only have to enter the data once and all the other tables will automatically update.

Thank you for helping us out, we really appreciate it!

Hi Tag,

It is not clear what you mean by "inherit the same data."

Do you want the entire table to be output elsewhere? If so, assuming the table to repeated can be identified, what will specify where the repeated table should be output?

Or do you want the contents of particular table cells to be output in another table? If so, how will such cells be identified, and what will indicate where they should be output?

Suzanne

At the XML level, the ways of reusing data are either via "entities" or "Xinclude". Data reuse can also occur at the screen or print level (FOSI or APP stylesheets). Arbortext also supports special DITA features such as "conref" which allows you to reuse content. So there are many different strategies, and it depends on your publishing environment as to which one works best.

Hi Gareth,

The stylesheet we use is the FOSI and I think I've seen "conref" as a possible feature for us to use. I'll have to look into the "entities" and "Xinclude" to see if/how those can be used on our end.

Thank you for helping us out, we really appreciate it!

What was your resolution?

Entities sounds like a best option.

Let us know.

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