Links to files in Heretto
Links to files in Heretto enable you to link to other topics or files in the Content Library. You can use this linking option to redirect users to a separate page from the original topic.
Overview
When you link to files in Heretto, you don't need to worry about the file having an ID assigned because Heretto automatically assigns a unique ID to each file upon its creation.
This example shows a link that links from “Element B” in “Topic A” to “Topic B”.
Use Cases
Consider using links to files in Heretto in the following scenarios:
- When you want to refer to another topic.
Figure 2. Link to Another Topic. This PDF example shows that:- A link to the “Safety Warnings” topic is inserted in the note element.
- The link, when clicked, takes you to the “Safety Warnings” topic in the same map.
- The link is print-friendly because the on page
# text is automatically added to the
link.
Where, # is the name of the page
- When you want to create a process topic based on links.
Figure 3. Links to files in Heretto in a Process Topic. This example from the Heretto Portal shows that:- Links to files in Heretto are inserted in the prerequisite element, step elements, and postrequisite element.
- Some of the links refer to topics in another map because the Heretto Portal can handle such a linking strategy.
- When you want to link to a non-DITA file in the Content Library.
Figure 4. Link to a non-DITA File in Heretto. The example from the Heretto Portal shows that:- A link to the Sample_DOCX_Document.docx file is inserted.
- If you click the link, the Sample_DOCX_Document.docx downloads.
Maintenance Guidelines
Links to files in Heretto require a moderate level of maintenance because they may limit topic reuse. If you do not want to limit topic reuse, consider doing any of the following:
- Inserting a key reference. See Key References (Indirect Links).
- Inserting a relationship table. See Relationship Table Links.
- Reusing elements. See Element Reuse.
Keep the following guidelines in mind when using links to files in Heretto:
- If you link to a DITA topic, the title element of the topic is used as the link text. To reduce maintenance, we do not recommend entering custom link text.
- Do not link to DITA maps as this may cause unexpected results in some outputs.
- If you link to a non-DITA resource in the Heretto, the file name is used as the link text. If needed, enter custom generic link text.
- Heretto CCMS prevents you from removing resources that are linked in other topics. When you attempt to move a resource to Trash, a warning appears. You need to remove the references to the resource before moving it to Trash.
Publishing Guidelines
Keep the following guidelines in mind when publishing content with links to files in Heretto:
- If you publish to a print-friendly output (for example, PDF), links may reference a page number.
- If you publish to a print-friendly output (for example, PDF), ensure that the topic that you link to is included in the same map as the topic that you link from.
- If you publish to a web output (for example, webhelps, or Heretto Portal), you can link to topics not included in the same map as the topic that you link from.
- We do not recommend linking to elements in other topics because some publishing engines or publishing scenarios may produce unexpected results in the output.