Open a component for editing

After you create an XML component, you can open it to edit the content. When you open a component for editing, Inspire locks it so other users can't change it while you're working.

Tips and tricks

If you don't want to edit content, you can just view it and keep it unlocked for other users to work on. Follow the steps in View a component without locking it.
You can open more than one component at a time to edit.
- Edit two components side-by-side. For more details, read Edit two components at once.
- Open multiple components, each in their own tab. For more details, read Open multiple components for editing.
After you open a component in Oxygen, Inspire remembers the folder where it's stored. When you want to open another file or insert an image, the Select Component screen shows you the last folder you used.
After you import a markdown file as component, you can edit the content even though it's stored as a Binary file. Follow the steps in Open a markdown component for editing.
Inspire might open a component in the XML editor and won't let you edit it in Author mode. If this happens:
- Contact your administrator.
- If you're an administrator, read Allow a component to be edited in Author mode.
- Follow the steps in Edit content as XML in the editor.

To open a component for editing:

Click Components.
In the Folders pane, navigate to the folder where you've saved the component.
In the Components pane, select the component you want to open.
You can verify you have the correct component by looking in the More component information panel at the Preview.
- The Preview pane is always shown no matter which tab you select.
- Use the scroll bar to see more content in the preview.
- You can collapse the Preview pane if you want to make more space for the Details or Where used pane.
If the panel isn't open, to expand it, click the down arrow in the panel's title bar.
If you are NOT opening a map or bookmap, you can do any of the following:
- Edit... Use this option to see the referenced content as links where the referenced content is shown but is not editable without opening the source of the reference.
  You can select the Edit with referenced content option, but if the component is not a map or bookmap, you will get the same behavior as if you selected Edit...
- Edit Structure... Use this option to see the component in Author mode with the left Outline panel open so you can edit the XML nodes.
  - Large maps may time out. If a topic is so large that the loading process times out, use the Edit Structure option. This option opens the component in Oxygen without resolving all of the referenced content. You see all the content in an outline view and can use all of the relevant options on the Oxygen toolbar.
  - To see XML code, switch to XML View by selecting the More menu and then Edit XML Source.
  - You see the referenced content only as a link where the referenced content is not editable without opening the source of the reference.
If you are opening a map or bookmap, select the component's Options menu to see if there is an option called Edit with referenced content.
If there is an option called Edit with referenced content, and the component you are opening is a map or bookmap, you can do any of the following:
- Edit... Use this option to see the referenced content as links where the referenced content is shown but is not editable without opening the source of the reference.
- Edit Structure... Use this option to see the component in Author mode with the left Outline panel open so you can edit the XML nodes.
  - Large maps may time out. If a topic is so large that the loading process times out, use the Edit Structure option. This option opens the component in Oxygen without resolving all of the referenced content. You see all the content in an outline view and can use all of the relevant options on the Oxygen toolbar.
  - To see XML code, switch to XML View by selecting the More menu and then Edit XML Source.
  - You see the referenced content only as a link where the referenced content is not editable without opening the source of the reference.
- Edit with referenced content: Use this option to see all of the referenced content expandable and editable.
If there is NOT an option called Edit with referenced content, and the component you are opening is a map or bookmap, you can do any of the following:
- Edit... Use this option to see all of the referenced content expandable and editable.
  - In this case, an administrator has configured Oxygen to open all components with the referenced content expanded and editable.
  - You do not have the option to open a component without the referenced content expandable and editable.
- Edit Structure... Use this option to see the component in Author mode with the left Outline panel open so you can edit the XML nodes.
  - Large maps may time out. If a topic is so large that the loading process times out, use the Edit Structure option. This option opens the component in Oxygen without resolving all of the referenced content. You see all the content in an outline view and can use all of the relevant options on the Oxygen toolbar.
  - To see XML code, switch to XML View by selecting the More menu and then Edit XML Source.
  - You see the referenced content only as a link where the referenced content is not editable without opening the source of the reference.
For help working with content, read Develop content in the editor.
Note that if you are editing a map or bookmap, and you edit references in place, then the changes you make are saved in:
- The component you are editing.
- The file that contains the referenced content.