Variable Warehouse Topics
Variable warehouse topics contain variable content that you can reuse through the @conkeyref attribute.
Number of Variables Warehouse Topics
Depending on the size of your documentation set and the amount of the variables that you use in it, you can either create a single variable warehouse topic or multiple variable warehouse topics.
The following example illustrates a single variable warehouse topic that contains variables of different categories. This approach is sufficient if you maintain a limited amount of documentation. Maintaining a large variable set may slow down variables processing and makes it difficult to search for variables.
The following example illustrates the same variables as in Single Variable Warehouse divided into content-specific variable warehouse topics.
This approach is recommended if you maintain a large amount of documentation.
Global Variables Strategy
You can include variable warehouse topics in a shared map so that they are available in every deliverable map that you create in Heretto CCMS. For more information, see Shared Maps.
Context-Specific Variables Strategy
Using context-specific variables enables you to reuse more topics.
- The “Classic Variables Warehouse” topic is added to the “Classic Toaster” map
- The “Lightning Variables Warehouse” topic is added to the “Lightning Toaster” map
- Both maps reuse the following topics:
<ph conkeyref="vars/product_name"/> Overview-
Safety Notes from <ph conkeyref="vars/company_name"/> -
Toasting Bread with <ph conkeyref="vars/product_name"/>
Note: The reused topics reference variables so that they fit in different contexts.This example illustrates that variables were used in topic titles. Remember that you can use variables in other topic elements (for example, step elements or note elements).
- The
Defrosting Bread with <ph conkeyref="vars/product_name"/>topic is used only in the “Lightning Toaster” map
Guidelines
Keep the following guidelines in mind when working with variable warehouse topics:
- Keep the variable warehouse topics in a dedicated folder in the content library. For example, keep them in the _shared folder.
- Assign meaningful and consistent IDs to the variables. This way, each author will be able to
easily search for and Content Editor.
For example, you can assign the following IDs: product_a_name, company_name, or admin_interface.