Creating Relationship Tables

You can define relationships between topics in a relationship table. A relationship table is created inside a DITA map.
  1. If the map is currently open in the DITA Maps Manager, double-click the map icon to open the map in Author mode. If it opens in Text mode, click Author at the bottom left to switch to Author mode.
  2. Go to DITA > Relationship Table > Insert Relationship Table.
    The Insert Relationship Table dialog box is displayed.
  3. Set the number of rows, the number of columns, a table title (optional), and select whether you want a table header. Click Insert.
  4. Enter the type of the topics in the header of each column.
    The header of the table (the relheader element) already contains a relcolspec element for each table column. You should set the value of the attribute type of each relcolspec element to a value like concept, task, reference. When you click in the header cell of a column (that is a relcolspec element), you can see all the attributes of that relcolspec element, including the type attribute in the Attributes view. You can edit the attribute type in this view.
  5. To insert a topic reference in a cell, place the cursor in a table cell and click Insert Reference from the contextual menu or the DITA Map toolbar.
  6. To add a new row to the table or remove an existing row use Insert Relationship Row/Delete Relationship Row from the contextual menu or the DITA Map toolbar.
  7. To add a new column to the table or remove an existing column, use Insert Relationship Column/Delete Relationship Column contextual menu or the DITA Map toolbar. If you double-click the relationship table (or select it and press Enter, or choose Open from the contextual menu) the DITA map is opened in the editor with the caret positioned inside the corresponding relationship table.
Note: When the map is open in the DITA Maps Manager, the newly created relationship table is also displayed there. If you double-click on the relationship table (or select it and press Enter, or choose Open from the contextual menu) the DITA map will be opened in the editor with the caret positioned inside the corresponding relationship table.