Use profiling attributes

Profiling attributes let you flag conditional text. This is useful when you need to produce more than one version of a document, and the versions differ in minor ways. With conditional text, you keep all the ways a document can vary in one document and select the variations you want at production or publication time. For example, you can identify conditional text with profiling attributes to create different versions of a document for different audiences.

FAQ's

Does this eliminate the need to maintain separate documents that are nearly but not quite the same?

Yes. Profiling attributes also eliminate the risks associated with maintaining separate documents, such as separate documents getting out of synchronization as you make changes.

When do I add profiling attributes to a component?

  • Administrators can customize profiling attributes with specific groups and values you want to use for filtering and flagging. Administrators can also add new profiling metadata conditions using the @props attribute.
  • Authors create a single component with some elements marked as conditional. You apply profiling attributes to an element in a component during the authoring process.
  • After profiling attributes are applied to content, users and administrators can filter the content based on specific attribute values to view or publish the custom content.
  • When you process a component with profiling attributes, you can specify which conditions apply for the version of output you want. This tells your stylesheet to include or exclude the marked text to satisfy the conditions.

Why is the Update profiling attributes screen blank?

Previously in Inspire you could add a profiling attribute to any DITA element, even if the element didn't allow their use. In this case you would see a validation error.

  • For example, you can insert a table, and add a profiling attribute to a table cell element, but that DITA element doesn't allow for the use of a profiling attribute, and it generates an error.

Now, if you select a DITA element that doesn't allow for profiling attributes (such as Title) and use the Update Profiling Attributes option (Ctrl+Alt+F), the Update profiling attributes screen is empty.

If you need to apply a profiling attribute to content, move the content into a DITA element that allows for the use of profiling attributes.

Can I re-apply the same profiling attribute with a short cut key or toolbar icon?

Yes. The last time you applied an attribute, Inspire remembered it. You can choose to re-apply the last profiling attribute you used. This is helpful if you don't want to select a new attribute and just use the last one you applied.

You can re-apply the last used profiling attribute to:

  • Another element in the same component
  • Another element in a DIFFERENT component (topic, map)

You can use the profiling attributes menu, or the following key combination:

  • Apply Last Attribute (Ctrl+Alt+G)