Can DITA accommodate complex technical illustrations and visual aids for aerospace systems?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

Complex technical illustrations and visual aids are integral components of aerospace documentation, enhancing the understanding of intricate systems and processes. DITA XML provides a robust framework for accommodating these complex visuals while maintaining consistency and reusability. Here’s how DITA accommodates such visuals:

1. Embedding Visuals in Topics: DITA’s topic-based structure allows aerospace content creators to embed complex technical illustrations directly within topics. For instance, when explaining the design of an aircraft’s landing gear, a DITA topic can include detailed diagrams of the gear’s components. This enables a clear and coherent presentation of complex technical information.

<topic id="landing_gear_design">
  <title>Landing Gear Design</title>
  <body>
    <p>This topic provides an in-depth view of the landing gear's design.</p>
    <image href="images/landing-gear-diagram.png" scalefit="yes" alt="Landing Gear Diagram">
  </body>
</topic>

2. Version Control: In aerospace, maintaining accurate visuals is paramount. DITA allows for version control to track revisions of complex technical illustrations. By appending version information to the image reference, content creators ensure that the correct version is displayed to users, enhancing safety and accuracy.

<image href="images/landing-gear-diagram.png" scalefit="yes" class="- version-2-1" alt="Landing Gear Diagram (v2.1)">

3. Central Image Repository: To streamline visual asset management, aerospace organizations often maintain a centralized image repository. DITA topics reference images using relative links to this repository. This approach ensures that updates or replacements to complex technical illustrations are applied consistently across all documentation.

By using DITA’s structured approach, aerospace organizations can seamlessly integrate and manage complex technical illustrations and visual aids, ensuring the clarity, accuracy, and safety of their training materials and documentation.