Consider DITA-OT project file contexts in "Validate and Check for Completeness"

[chrispitude]

Our writers make heavy use of content reuse and profiling conditions. Consider the following example:

oxygen_validate_contexts.png

Note that

• The Product variable has multiple definitions, but only one is active at a time.
• The warehouse topic has a reference to a "featureC" topic that is not used in this book.

For book.ditamap, Validate and Check for Completeness returns the following:

image.png

Validate and Check for Completeness has options to consider DITAVAL profiling via condition sets, associated transformation scenarios, and manually specified DITAVAL conditions. All our DITA-OT project files are in the Main Files list. This enhancement request is to provide a way to also consider the DITA-OT project file contexts that apply:

image.png

Our DITA-OT project files capture all of the profiling condition configurations that our maps are published in. (And importantly, they capture this by construction because they *are* the files used for publishing!)

When a writer updates or restructures content in a map, this would allow them to ensure valid content in all publishing contexts that reach the customer. This request is already filed under issue ID EXM-47753.

[chrispitude]

A testcase is included. To run,

1. Open the project file.
2. Open the map file.
3. Run Validate and Check for Completeness.

oxygen_validate_consider_all_contexts.zip

[Radu]

Hi Chris,

You can already run validate and check for completeness on DITA OT Project files:
https://www.oxygenxml.com/doc/versions/ ... 45_hvt_qpb
I'm skeptical in adding in the Validate and Check for Completeness action defined at DITA Map level settings depending on DITA OT Project files which are a level above it.

Regards,
Radu

[chrispitude]

Hi Radu,

I understand your reluctance. I can share a real-world example from our documentation.

We have a book that is used in eight different help collections, profiled by a different @product value in each collection.

Let's say I am the writer who owns this book. My book has many condition-profiled topic references, key definitions, cross-references, and reused topics. When I make a change to this book, I want to make sure - with completeness - that I did not introduce a problem anywhere.

Validating a DITA-OT project file would validate my book in a single condition, but along with many other books I do not own:

image.png

We are requesting the orthogonal operation - validate my single book, in all of its contexts:

image.png

Note that both validations are useful, but at different times and by different people:

• The book-in-all-contexts validation is run by book owners throughout the release cycle as they add/update content.
• The all-books-in-collection validation is run by the technical lead writer for a product near the end of the release cycle, to ensure that cross-book links, etc., are valid for that product's entire help collection.

[Radu]

Hi Chris,
Makes sense, I see we already had this internal issue started from what it seems from an email discussion with you:
EXM-47753 Validate and check for completeness - allow using all filters from DITA OT projects
I added on the opened issue a reference to the forum thread and I will try to see if I can increase its priority.

Regards,
Radu