Branching FAQs

For more information, follow the steps in: Quickly create a branch.

Yes.

On the Save as branch screen, optionally, you can add a new Label or add the files to an existing branch by selecting its Label.

Yes, by selecting the Show referenced components option.

If you want to customize which references are branched, you can choose All referenced components, make sure the Show referenced components option is selected, and then in the Hierarchy or List view, select the checkbox for only the components you want to branch.

You can't clear the checkbox for the source component. If you don't want to branch the source component, click Cancel, find the source component you want to use, and then select Save as a branch again.

You may not see all referenced components on the Save as a branch screen.

• Components that are referenced in the source component are only listed if:
  • You select the Show referenced components option
  • In the Branch referenced components dropdown menu you select anything other than No referenced components
  • It doesn't have a tag applied to it called ExcludeFromBranch. For more details, read Prevent branching.

Inspire now supports content references to ditabase topics. A ditabase topic is a composite topic. Before maps, ditabase was used to collect multiple topics and structure them within a single topic file.

• If you branch a topic and:
  • It has a conref to a ditabase topic
  • You include all referenced components in that topic

⇒ The ditabase references are branched and valid.

For more information, follow the steps in: Create a component branch.

By default: Branch copies of all components (source and reference) that you select are saved in the Target Folder.

For example:

• A source component called Chapter2_Attach the strap is stored in a Target Folder called Tasks.
• Two image files are referenced by the source component and are stored in an Images folder.

If you don't select the Keep folder structure option.

• Any components you select to branch—by default the branched copies are created in the Target Folder (Tasks).
• This happens even if the referenced components are currently stored in a different folder.
• You can select a different Target Folder. If you do, all branched copies are saved in that one folder.

For example:

Change the default

If you want to create a branched copy of the source and image components, but you want the branched copies to be saved in their current folders, you can select the Keep folder structure option.

In this example:

• You select the Keep folder structure option.

  After you select the Keep folder structure option, the Target Folder option is greyed out and becomes unavailable.

  If you want to select a different Target Folder, do it before you select Keep folder structure or clear the Keep folder structure option and choose a different Target Folder.

• You select the source component and the two image files.
• After you click Create, the branched copy of the source component is saved in Tasks.
• The branched copies of the images are saved in the Images folder.

If you selected a different Target Folder and the Keep folder structure option, Inspire creates the branched copies in the same folder structure as they had, but under the Target Folder you just selected. If the folders do not exist, Inspire creates them.

For example:

In this example, the branched copies are found in different folders according to where the original was stored, but under the Target Folder Version 2.0.

For more information, follow the steps in: Create a component branch.

Yes.

Whenever you save a component by branching, Inspire ensures content that is read from Right-to-Left displays correctly in Oxygen.

There are several ways to find a branched component:

• Use the Label
• Look for icons in the Components browser
• Use the Branch Management tool

Use the Label

When you're creating a branch, you can now add a Label. This allows you to add more information about why the branch was created or a version number.

• The Label is attached to the component name.
  • For example, if you right-click a component named GetStarted, and select Save as branch... when you go to the Label field and enter "New version updates", after you click Create:
    • Component name = GetStarted_New version updates
  • The Filename uses the Component name with the Label, and then adds a GUID to make it unique. For example:
    • File name = GetStarted_New_version_updates_0b2426a1-1831-4114-8611-5b8db7edd7ab.xml
• You can also see the Label on the Component Details screen, on the Branches tab. Select the component, and from the right-click menu select Details. Select the Branches tab.

  

The Name can also be known as the Label.

• This is because the snapshot Name doesn't replace the component name, but allows you to identify why the history record was created.
  • When you create a snapshot on demand, the Name becomes the label but is always shown as Name.
  • When you branch a component, you add a title in the Label field. In the History record (of snapshots), the Label is always shown as Name.
  • Long unique numbers are also attached to custom labels, so be sure to keep your label short. For MyLabel__93746df4-558f-4414-9423-52835fa5d2cd.
• Later, if you update a snapshot, you can edit the Name (Label) as long as the history record isn't for a Branch action.
• You cannot update the Name (Label) for a snapshot where the Action is Branch.

  If you open the Component Details, select the History tab, and choose a record where Action is Branch you cannot select the Update option.

• You can update the Name (Label) for all other types of snapshots.

Look for icons in the Components browser

After you create a branch, in the Components browser, the branched components have an icon corresponding to their place in the branch.

• Black is the source component for a branch.

  When you hover your cursor over the black branch icon, you see a tooltip telling you it has a branch and also how many branches have been created from it. For example, Has 2 branches.

  

• Green was branched because a source component referenced it.

  When you hover your cursor over the green branch icon, you see a tooltip telling you it is part of a branch. For example, Is a branch.

  

• Orange is both the source of one branch and included in another branch because a different source component referenced it.

  When you hover your cursor over the orange branch icon, you see a tooltip telling you it is part of a branch and also how many branches have been created from it. For example, Is a branch and has 1 branch.

  

  

  Use the Branch Management tool

  The Branch Management tool lets you see the list of references and relationships that exist for the branched component.

  

  Use the Branch Management tool

After you create a branch, you can view the list of references and relationships that are created for the branched component. This helps you understand which component is the original, which is the branched copy, and if the source of a branch references this component.

Using the Branch Management tool, you can manage all aspects of a branch, including:

• View: See all related branches
• Edit: Update the branched component
• Go to: See where the branched file is saved
• Relink to Original: Unlink the branched component
• Branch Report: Create reports on component branches

Use the Branch Management tool

Yes, in the Branch Management tool.

After you make a branched copy of a component, Inspire maintains the relationship between the original component and the new copy. (In the diagram, this is shown by the yellow dotted line between the original, Map V1, and the branched copy, Map V1.5.)

If you want the branched source to use the original version of a referenced component, you can unlink the branched copy.

Yes.

To see a report on the relationships a component has with other components, if it's the source of a branch, and find the location of all components in the branch, you can generate and view a branch report.

Before you begin

• You cannot create a branch or a branch report from inside a project.
• Branch reports use the source of a branch to find all relationships for the selected component.
  • You cannot create a branch report from a branch that is marked with Is a branch (a green branch icon).
  • You can create a branch report from a branch marked as Has a branch or Has and Is a branch.

In the Components browser, you can select a branched component, right-click or use the Options menu to select Reports, and then select Branch Report.

You must select a component with the following properties in order to see the Branch Report option:

• Is the source of a branch
• When hovering over the branch icon, identified as Is a Branch
• Has the icon for Is a Branch

You can also go to the Selected Components pane, select the Reports menu, and then select Branch Report.

You see a separate notification for each component you select. You also get a separate report for each component you select.

In the example report above:

You can use this report to do the following:

• See indirect references. You can find components (shown in red) that have references in common with the selected component (DSLQR_Map_1200). The components shown in red contain one or more of the same topics in the source component. They contain a reference as a branch of another branch but not a direct reference from the source component.

  

  In this case, the map DSLQR_Map_1100_Rev1 (shown in red) references CameraBodyParts_Rev1. The source component (DSLQR_Map_1200) also references CameraBodyParts_Rev1.

  This is helpful because it shows you that there are branched maps you might want to review and consider connecting the source component to.

• Go to all. If you want to open the folder that contains all the components listed in a section of the report, click the Select All link.

  

  

  • If you click this link from an email, a browser tab opens, and Inspire opens to the Components browser.
  • If you click this link from a notification inside of Inspire, the Components browser opens.
  • In the browser, you see all of the components highlighted from that section of the report.
  • If the components are in different folders, you see the items from the first folder listed in the Folders pane.
  • The components are also listed in the Selected Components pane
• Open one. If the component's content needs to be updated, you can click on the component Name, which is a link that opens the component in the Oxygen editor.

  

  • The Name is listed first.
  • The Name does not contain the file extension. For example, "Chapter1_Charge your battery_IconCheck".
  • If the component is locked or a binary, you see the component in a read-only viewer
• Go to one. If you need to update a component using a system function, such as Rename, you can click on the File Name which is a link that opens the folder where it's stored.

  

  • The File Name is listed second, after the shorter Name and in parenthesis ().
  • The File Name contains the file extension. For example, "Chapter1_Charge_your_battery_IconCheck_070e9999-fe40-4747-b57d-ba1096b925ed.xml.