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Graphics and figures
Multimedia in DITA topics
The object element is used to embed multimedia in DITA topics.

Introduction
Information types and topics
Topics are the building blocks of modular documents, and organising topics by semantic information types is one of the architectural features of DITA.
DITA map files
Syntax and mark-up
Language and punctuation
Graphics and figures
- Figures and images
  Images are placed in topic content using the image element. The image element can stand alone, or can be contained within a figure (fig) element.
- Image file formats
  Where there is no strong reason to choose another image file format, you should use SVG or PNG file formats in DITA topics.
- Image alignment, placement, and sizing
  The align, placement, width, and height attributes of the image element are used to specify the placement and size of images when generated to an output delivery format.
- Images in titles
  Images in topic, figure, and other titles, while technically valid, should not be used.
- Callouts
  Callouts with keys, rather than text labels, should be used when identifying parts of an illustration.
- Localising graphics
  Where possible, graphics that include text should be managed in SVG format to simplify localisation.
- Multimedia in DITA topics
  The object element is used to embed multimedia in DITA topics.
- Figures containing tables
  Simple tables can be contained within figures instead of, or in addition to, images.
- Image maps
  The imagemap element is used to define image maps (hotspot graphics) in DITA topics.
- WAI compliance
  So that output from your DITA source meets accessibility responsibilities, you must include alternative text representations of all images in DITA content.
Cross-referencing
Cross-references are a means of binding individual topics into a coherent and navigable document.
Content re-use
Metadata, conditional processing, and indexing
The DITA documentation process
DITA authoring concepts
Moving from style-based authoring to a structured authoring methodology such as DITA requires a radically different approach to writing.

Multimedia in DITA topics

The object element is used to embed multimedia in DITA topics.

Multimedia objects such as Flash animations, Java applets, and video files can be included in DITA content using the object element. Obviously, when a topic which includes multimedia is output to paper, the object cannot be properly rendered. You may want to use conditional processing so that multimedia objects are only output to online delivery formats.

The DITA object element is based on the HTML object element, but with a smaller set of valid attributes. If your DITA authoring tool does not provide good support for embedding objects, you can alternatively use a Web authoring tool to place the object in an HTML page, and then copy the HTML object code into your DITA topic.

An example of the DITA code to place a Flash animation in a topic is:

<object id="anim_ej25" data="../images/ej25.swf"
	  type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="350" height="100"> 
		<param name="movie" value="../images/ej25.swf"/> 
		<param name="quality" value="high"/> 
</object>

Attributes for the DITA object element that are common to the HTML object element are:

archive
classid
codebase
codetype
data
declare
dir
height
name
standby
tabindex
type
usemap
width
xml:lang