Substeps Element (`substeps`)

The substeps element creates a structured, nested list format for presenting secondary steps within a primary step in task topics. It's particularly suitable for documenting complex procedural steps that require multiple actions to complete.

The substeps element serves these primary purposes:

Organizing secondary actions within a major procedural step
Providing a hierarchical structure for complex procedures

Key characteristics of the substeps element:

A required container element that contains one or more substep elements, each with a required cmd element and optional supporting elements
Must appear within a step element
Must follow a cmd element that introduces the primary step
Requires at least one substep element
The substep element can be marked as optional or required (with the importance attribute)

A substeps element contains this required component:

Substep (substep): A required element within the substeps element that represents a single subordinate step required to complete the parent step. Each substep must contain a cmd element and, just like step, can include optional elements like info, stepxmp, or stepresult.

Content within the substeps element typically follows these output formatting rules:

Appears as a nested list within the parent step
Usually formatted with a different numbering scheme than the main steps (such as a, b, c or i, ii, iii)
Often indented to show the hierarchical relationship to the parent step
May have different visual styling to distinguish from main steps
The substep elements marked as optional or required (with the importance attribute) typically appear with a label like Required or Optional

Substeps best practices:

Use when a single step requires multiple actions to complete
Keep the parent step's cmd brief, introducing the overall action
Limit the number of substeps to maintain readability (generally no more than 7-9)
Limit substeps to a single level of nesting (no sub-substeps)
If sub-substeps seem necessary, consider breaking the procedure into several task topics or using stepsection to group steps into segments
Use when substeps must be performed in a specific sequence
Don't use for optional or conditional steps; use choices or choicetable instead

A substeps element added to a task topic in the Heretto Content Editor. In this example, substeps provide detailed actions for configuring a network connection.

A substeps element in a task topic:

<task id="task-5045">
    <title>Configuring Network Settings</title>
    <shortdesc>Configure the network settings for your MobileView installation to connect to the ClusterControl server.</shortdesc>
    <prolog>
        <author translate="no" type="creator">Heretto User &lt;user@heretto.com&gt;</author>
    </prolog>
    <taskbody>
        <context>
            <p>Before using MobileView, you must configure its network settings to establish connection with your organization's ClusterControl server. This ensures secure data transmission and access to all required resources.</p>
        </context>
        <steps>
            <step>
                <cmd>Launch MobileView and navigate to the Settings panel by clicking <menucascade><uicontrol>Tools</uicontrol><uicontrol>Settings</uicontrol></menucascade>.</cmd>
            </step>
            <step>
                <cmd>Configure the connection settings for your primary ClusterControl server:</cmd>
                <substeps>
                    <substep>
                        <cmd>In the <uicontrol>Server Address</uicontrol> field, enter the hostname or IP address of your ClusterControl server.</cmd>
                    </substep>
                    <substep>
                        <cmd>In the <uicontrol>Port</uicontrol> field, enter the port number configured for ClusterControl communications (default: 8443).</cmd>
                    </substep>
                    <substep>
                        <cmd>From the <uicontrol>Connection Type</uicontrol> dropdown, select <uicontrol>HTTPS</uicontrol> for secure communications.</cmd>
                        <info>HTTP connections are supported but not recommended for production environments.</info>
                    </substep>
                    <substep>
                        <cmd>Select the <uicontrol>Validate Server Certificate</uicontrol> check box to enable SSL certificate validation.</cmd>
                        <stepresult>A green checkmark appears next to the field when validation is successful.</stepresult>
                    </substep>
                </substeps>
            </step>
            <step>
                <cmd>Configure the connection timeout settings:</cmd>
                <substeps>
                    <substep>
                        <cmd>In the <uicontrol>Connection Timeout</uicontrol> field, enter the desired timeout in seconds (recommended: 30).</cmd>
                    </substep>
                    <substep>
                        <cmd>In the <uicontrol>Request Timeout</uicontrol> field, enter the desired timeout in seconds (recommended: 60).</cmd>
                    </substep>
                </substeps>
            </step>
            <step>
                <cmd>Click <uicontrol>Test Connection</uicontrol> to verify your settings.</cmd>
                <stepresult>A "Connection Successful" message displays if all settings are correct.</stepresult>
            </step>
            <step>
                <cmd>Click <uicontrol>Save</uicontrol> to apply your network configuration.</cmd>
            </step>
        </steps>
    </taskbody>
</task>

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Substeps Element (`substeps`)

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Under maintenance

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Substeps Element (substeps)

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Our Support Team is here to help

Substeps Element (`substeps`)