View a component without locking it

If you don't want to edit the content in a component, you can just view it in Oxygen as Read-Only. This keeps the component unlocked for other users to work in. While you can't edit the content, you can use any of the Oxygen features for displaying content. You can also use the left pane to see the document Outline, and the right pane to see comments and track changes, attributes, and XML validation issues. If you want to make changes, you have options in the toolbar to save a copy for editing.

For a quick view of the component, in the Components browser you can look in the More component information panel. This shows you the first few sections of the topic at a glance and scroll to see the rest of the topic. The preview lets you view the actual content without opening it in an editor or viewer.

  • 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 pan

If the panel isn't open, to expand it, click the down arrow in the panel's title bar.

Tips and tricks

  • If you want to view two read-only components at the same time, follow the steps in Compare component snapshots side-by-side.
  • If you need to see more of the component, you can use the following steps.
  • The Spell Check option is no longer available when you view a component as Read-Only.
  • The Remove all comments option is no longer available when you view a component as Read-Only.

To view a component without locking it:

  1. Click Components_TopMenuOpt Components.
  2. To view a component and not make changes, right-click the component, and then select View...
  3. Optionally, in the Oxygen editor, to save a copy for editing, in the toolbar, click Save as .
  4. Optionally, to see the most up-to-date link information, click Refresh References .
  5. Optionally, to find a key word or phrase in the content, enter the characters in the search box and then click Search .
  6. Optionally, to see tags, in the toolbar, click Toggle tags , and select an option:
    • Full Tags
    • Full Tags with Attributes
    • No Tags
  7. To change the appearance of your view, do any of the following:
    • To zoom in, in the toolbar, click Increase font size
    • To zoom out, in the toolbar, click Decrease font size
    • To return to the original read-only view, in the toolbar, click Reset font size
  8. Optionally, to change your display in any of the following ways, click the More menu , and then select:
    • Download
    • Compare with...
    • Export as PDF
    • Print
    • Edit as XML (Switch to XML view)
    • Preferences (tags display, font size, and language)
    • Choose style (the display font, highlighting, and margins in your view)
    • Report problem
  9. Optionally, to see all changes and comments, only the final text, or see the original component, click the View Changes menu , and select one of the following options:
    • View All Changes / Comments
    • View Final
    • View Original
  10. To open the left pane and see the root map attached to the component, select DITA map view .
  11. Optionally, to display only the content that has selected profiling attributes applied to it, click Filter Profiling Attributes .
    1. On the Filter profiling attributes dialog, select the checkbox for one or more values that you want to apply to the document.
    2. Click Select.

      The filtering values appear in an informational bar above the editor toolbar. Elements and content that have profiling attribute values other than the selected values are hidden.

  12. Optionally, to display profiling attributes that are applied to the content, in the toolbar, click Display Profiling Attributes .
    You see the profiling attributes that are applied to the content outlined in green.
    When you hover over the content, the outline changes to red and a tooltip displays with the profiling attributes that are applied.
  13. To close the component, in the tab at the top of the screen, click Close Delete_gray_X.