Rename a component in the Component's browser

You can change a component's display name and file name if necessary. Changing the Component Name affects the name you see in the Component's browser. Changing the File Name changes the name you see when referencing a component. You can't change the GUID part of a File Name.

An Inspire administrator can define at the user and role level whether the Rename... action is available.

  • By default, only administrators can rename components in Inspire.
  • You can see the Rename... option only if you're an administrator or have the can_rename_file module property.
    • The ability to change a topic title in Oxygen is not affected by this module property.
    • The ability to change a folder name is not affected by this module property.

  • After you change a component name, it's added to the Changeset list with the following properties:

    • An Action of Update

    • A Process type called Rename

  • After you change a file name, it's added to the Changeset list with the following properties:

    • An Action of Update

    • A Process type called RenameFileName

Tips and tricks

To rename a component in the Component's browser:

  1. Click Components.
  2. In the Folders pane, select the folder that contains the component you want to rename.
  3. In the Component's grid, click the component's Options menu, select Actions, and then select Rename...
  4. On the Rename screen, to change the display name, in Component Name, do one of the following:
    • Delete the old name and enter a new one.
    • Edit the existing name.

      The Component Name cannot be more than 100 characters.

  5. Optionally, you can also change the text label and extension of the File Name.
    1. Select Rename File.
    2. In File Name, edit the text.

      File naming guidelines:

      • If possible, try to avoid using DITA control characters such as square brackets ([]) and slashes (/) in the name.
      • Use a File Name of 150 characters or less. The File Name and GUID together must not exceed 200 characters.
    3. Optionally, in Locale, you can specify the language region.

      Locale guidelines:

      • You must enter 5 characters using a pattern of aa-AA
      • For example, if this component is in Spanish, you would enter es-ES.
      • The language region must exist in Inspire. If you're an administrator, follow the steps in Create a language definition.
      • The Locale you enter is appended to the File Name. For example, {filename}_{locale}_{GUID}.{extension}
    4. The GUID is displayed but you cannot edit it. This is the part of the File Name that makes it unique.
    5. Optionally, in Extension, you can edit the text to add different characters that represent a file type.

      Extension guidelines:

      • Use caution when changing a file's extension. This action changes the way Inspire and programs on your computer read the file.
      • You don't need to enter a period before the extension.
  6. Click Submit.
  7. On the confirmation screen, review the number of files that reference this component and will be updated with the new Component Name and the File Name, if changed.
  8. On the confirmation screen, click Yes.
    Results:
    Inspire refreshes the component hierarchy.
    • The renamed component is highlighted.
    • The renamed component displays in the correct place in the alphabetized hierarchy according to its name when sorted by the Name column.
    • If you look in the component's Details, and select the History tab, you see a new entry for the name changes.
      • Look in the Action column to see Update.
      • Look in the Type column to see Rename as the process type.

      • Look in the User column to see your name.

      • The Last Updated By column won't change to your name because you didn't update the content

    • If you changed a component's File Name, all files that linked to the old name now link to the new name and are valid.