Insert references from the Components pane

If you want to quickly add a reference to content in a different component, instead of using the toolbar or menu options for inserting a link, you can use the Folders and Components panes in the Oxygen editor. The Folders pane is on the left side panel and controls the list of components you can reference. After you select a folder, you can go to the right side panel and from the Components pane drag and drop a reference.

After creating a cross-reference, you can quickly copy it and paste the link into a different component.

Make sure you select both the link icon and entire link text when copying.

For more help, read Copy a cross reference between components.

Before you drop a reference into your content, you can choose if you want to insert:

A content reference - this inserts a read-only copy of the element you've chosen from the component you dragged into the topic.
A cross reference - this inserts a link to the element you've chosen from the component you dragged into the topic. Readers will have to click the link and open another topic to see the referenced content.
If you don't select anything, a content reference is inserted by default.

To insert references from the Components panel:

If you don't have the component open in the Oxygen editor, Open a component for editing.
In the editor, if the right side panel isn't open, click the show arrow .
Select the Components option.
In the Components pane, choose if you want to insert a content reference (conref) or a cross-reference (xref).
From the component list, drag the one you want to reference into the center pane content.
If the component you need isn't listed, you can choose a different folder. Go to the left side panel and open the Folders pane. For more information read Insert references from the Folders panel.
On the Content Reference screen, choose an element in the topic, and click OK.
Result: In the center pane, you see the new reference.
What happens if I delete the text that's referenced in another component?
When you edit content in the Oxygen editor, if you delete content that's reference by another component, you see a confirmation message: Are you sure, you are attempting to delete one or more referenced element? Deleting these elements will create invalid links in Inspire.
You can decide if you want to:
- To leave the content and cancel the deletion of the content, click No. This keeps all reference links valid.
  - As a best practice, you should find where the content is linked and remove the link in the other component.
  - Then you can come back and delete this content without creating invalid links.
  - Follow the steps in See where a component is used.
- To force the content to be deleted and break reference links, click Yes. This creates invalid links in other components.
  - To correct the invalid links, you can run a Check component completeness and resolve all issues under Components with invalid references.