DITA provides a set of predefined filtering conditions that can be used to categorize and filter content based on common criteria such as audience, product, and platform. Additionally, organizations can create custom filtering conditions to address specific needs, allowing for greater flexibility and tailored content management.

DITA offers predefined filtering conditions that serve as a foundation for content categorization and filtering. These conditions are designed to cover common scenarios and are included in the DITA standard. They include <audience>, <product>, <platform>, and <props>.

Predefined Filtering Conditions

DITA offers predefined filtering conditions that serve as a foundation for content categorization and filtering. These conditions are designed to cover common scenarios and are included in the DITA standard. They include <audience>, <product>, <platform>, and <props>.

<audience>

This condition is often used to categorize content based on the intended audience, such as end-users, administrators, or developers. For example, content tagged with <audience>end-user</audience> is aimed at end-users.

<product>

Content can be filtered based on the specific product or version it relates to. For example, <product>product-a</product> and <product>product-b</product> conditions are used to differentiate content for different products.

<platform>

Content can be labeled with this condition to indicate the intended platform or environment, such as Windows, macOS, or Linux. For example, <platform>windows</platform> can be applied to Windows-specific content.

<props>

This condition is used for properties like regulatory requirements or compliance standards. For example, <props>hipaa</props> might be applied to content related to HIPAA compliance.

Custom Filtering Conditions

Organizations often need to define custom filtering conditions to meet specific requirements unique to their industry or products. Custom conditions are created in the DITA map and associated with topics, allowing for more granular content management.

Example

A medical device company needs to categorize content not covered by the predefined conditions. They decide to create a custom condition called <condition>product-approval</condition>. This new condition is applied to content related to product approval procedures, ensuring that it can be easily filtered when generating documentation for regulatory audits.

In practice, when generating documentation for regulatory audits, the DITA publishing tool processes the custom <condition>product-approval</condition> and includes content associated with this condition. This ensures that the content relevant to product approval is selectively included in the output, meeting the organization’s specific needs.