DITA outputs can indeed provide breadcrumb navigation to help users easily navigate hierarchical content. Breadcrumbs are a visual navigation aid that displays the path or hierarchy of the current topic within a larger document or information structure. They are particularly useful for users to understand their current location and retrace their steps in a complex content hierarchy.

Implementing Breadcrumb Navigation in DITA

To implement breadcrumb navigation in DITA outputs, you typically use the <breadcrumbs> element. This element is placed at the top of the topic and displays a trail of links to parent topics leading to the current topic. The <breadcrumbs> element automatically generates the links based on the hierarchy of the topics in the DITA map.

Example:

Here’s an example of how to implement breadcrumb navigation in DITA:

<breadcrumbs>
  <link href="introduction.dita">Introduction</link> >
  <link href="user-guide.dita">User Guide</link> >
  <link href="chapter-1.dita">Chapter 1</link> >
  <current>Current Topic</current>

In this example, the breadcrumb navigation displays links to the introduction, user guide, and chapter 1, leading to the current topic. Users can click on these links to navigate to the respective parent topics.