How does DITA accommodate multimedia content (e.g., videos, animations) in automotive training materials?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

Integrating multimedia content, such as videos and animations, into automotive training materials using DITA can enhance the learning experience by providing visual and interactive elements. DITA offers flexibility in accommodating multimedia content within its structured framework. Below are ways in which DITA can handle multimedia content:

Referencing Multimedia Files

In DITA, multimedia files like videos and animations are typically referenced rather than embedded directly into topics. This referencing approach allows you to keep the multimedia assets separate from the content structure, making it easier to manage and update them. You can use DITA elements like <media> to provide links or references to multimedia files hosted externally or internally.

Embedding Multimedia in Output

While DITA itself doesn’t embed multimedia directly, it can be combined with publishing tools and output formats that support multimedia integration. For instance, when you publish DITA content to HTML, you can use HTML5’s <video> and <audio> elements to embed videos and audio files. Similarly, animations can be included using HTML5 <canvas> or other suitable HTML or JavaScript components, depending on your chosen output format.

Example:

Here’s an example of referencing multimedia content in a DITA topic:


<topic id="engine_diagnosis">
  <title>Engine Diagnosis</title>
  <body>
    <p>This topic provides an overview of engine diagnosis techniques.</p>
    <media href="engine_diagnosis_video.mp4" format="video/mp4" type="external" />
    <p>Watch the video below for a practical demonstration of engine diagnosis:

    <media href="engine_diagnosis_video.mp4" format="video/mp4" type="external" />
  </body>

In this example, the <media> element is used to reference an external video file for engine diagnosis. When published to HTML, the video can be embedded using HTML5’s <video> element.