Define elements in the Attributes pane

You can edit Inspire components in an XML editor that uses Oxygen functionality. When you're working on a document in the Oxygen-based editor, you can provide extra information about an element in the Attributes pane. For example, if you insert an image element, you can add an attribute to specify that the alignment of the image on the page should be in the center. After you add an attribute, you can go back and change the value specified in the attribute or delete the attribute. Deleting an attribute doesn't delete the element.

FAQ's

Which attributes can I use?

Attributes have name and type properties that are defined within your DTD or schema. Whatever attributes are included in your schema are available in the Oxygen-based editor.

  • Not all attributes are available for all elements. The list of attributes will change depending on the element. For example, you can set the align attribute for an image but not for a link element.
  • You can add attributes to your schema and edit them using the full version of Oxygen. To learn how, read Oxygen's documentation on Built-in Author Mode Operations.

Does every element need an attribute?

Maybe. In your schema you can specify whether an attribute is optional or mandatory. If an attribute is defined in your DTD or schema, you can only add it once to each element. For example, it wouldn't make any sense to add three align attributes to one image element that specify the image should be placed in the center of the document, to the right, and to the left. The XML application using your document wouldn't know which setting to use.

How do I know what the attribute values mean?

The DITA specification contains a language reference section that describes common attributes available for most DITA elements. You can read more about it on Oxygen's Attributes page.