DITA 1.3 Language Reference : Language reference: All-inclusive edition : Map elements : Map group elements : topicsetref
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topicsetref
The topicsetref element references a topicset element. The referenced topicset element can be defined in the current map or in another map.
When possible, applications should treat the referenced topicset as an independent unit. For example, an application that renders DITA for a dynamic navigation platform might generate a reusable navigation structure for each topicset, and each topicsetref is retained as a reference to that structure. This differs slightly from the processing of the conref attribute, which results in a literal copy of the referenced content.
For situations that do not support reusing a topic set as an independent unit, such as a rendered PDF, applications MAY resolve the topicsetref element as for other topicset (or topicref) elements that have the format attribute set to "ditamap".
As with other cases where the attribute format="ditamap" is specified or used as a default, the use of topic references nested inside of topicsetref is undefined.
Content models
See appendix for information about this element in OASIS document type shells.
Inheritance
+ map/topicref mapgroup-d/topicsetref
Example 132. Example
The sql-tutorial.ditamap file contains a topicset element that groups together several topics that collectively comprise an overview of SQL.
Figure 69. DITA map that contains a topicset element
<!-- Excerpt from sql-tutorial.ditamap -->
<topicset id="sqlbasics" href="sqlOverview.dita">
<topicref href="sqlSelection.dita"/>
<topicref href="sqlJoin.dita"/>
<topicref href="sqlFilter.dita"/>
<!-- ... -->
</topicset>
Another map can include that topic set, in addition to content related to programming with JDBC.
Figure 70. DITA map that contains a topicsetref element
<topichead navtitle="Mastering JDBC">
<topicsetref href="sql-tutorial.ditamap#sqlbasics"/>
<topicref href="jdbcPrepare.dita"/>
<!-- ... -->
</topichead>
A reader of the JDBC information will see the content integrated as a single unit.
Figure 71. Result of the reuse
<topichead navtitle="Mastering JDBC">
<topicset id="sqlbasics" href="sqlOverview.dita">
<topicref href="sqlSelection.dita"/>
<topicref href="sqlJoin.dita"/>
<topicref href="sqlFilter.dita"/>
<!-- ... -->
</topicset>
<topicref href="jdbcPrepare.dita"/>
<!-- ... -->
</topichead>
Attributes
The following attributes are available on this element: Universal attribute group, Link relationship attribute group (with narrowed definitions of href, format, and type, given below), Attributes common to many map elements, Topicref element attributes group, outputclass, keys, and keyref.
href
A pointer to the topicset represented by topicsetref. See The href attribute for detailed information on syntax.
format
The format attribute identifies the format of the resource being referenced. For the topicsetref element, this attribute defaults to "ditamap", because the element typically references a branch of a map. See The format attribute for details on other supported values.
type
Describes the target of a reference. For the topicsetref element, this attribute defaults to "topicset". See The type attribute for detailed information on other supported values and processing implications.