How to hide parts of the file path in Web Help URL

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tanja
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2018 10:49 am

How to hide parts of the file path in Web Help URL

Post by tanja »

Hi all,

I am using Oxygen XML version 26 to publish to Web Help.
We use the fix.external.refs.com.oxygenxml parameter, as some of our content is located outside of the map.
In the output, this leads to the generation of an oxy_ex-1 folder. Also, the URL shows the full path under which our files are located. For example, /oxy_ex-1/ditatopics/concepts/databases/db_connections.html

Can I influence the URL such that it does not reveal our internal working structures?
I noticed that your online help only shows topics/<topic name>. How do you achieve this?

Thanks and best regards, Tanja
ionela
Posts: 402
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2011 6:08 pm

Re: How to hide parts of the file path in Web Help URL

Post by ionela »

Hello,

When using the fix.external.refs.com.oxygenxml parameter an extra folder is generated in the output and indeed, this is indicated in the URL of the files from that directory. Unfortunately, the URL cannot be changed or modified to hide the file structure.
If you have references outside the main DITA Map folder, the main solution we recommend is the first one from our user manual:
Create another DITA map that is located in a folder path above all referenced folders and reference the original DITA map from this new map. Then transform this DITA map instead.
I hope this helps.

Regards,
Ionela
Ionela Istodor
oXygen XML Editor and Author Support
tanja
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2018 10:49 am

Re: How to hide parts of the file path in Web Help URL

Post by tanja »

Hello Ionela,

Thanks for the clarification and the link. I will look into the solution suggested in your user guide.

Best regards
Tanja
chrispitude
Posts: 907
Joined: Thu May 02, 2019 2:32 pm

Re: How to hide parts of the file path in Web Help URL

Post by chrispitude »

Hi Tanja,

There is some similar discussion here:

Flattening URL link for my online help

It would be nice if WebHelp could someday support DITA-OT rewrite rules, so that the directory structure could be freely reorganized at publishing time. We have cases similar to yours where we would like to hide or rename certain aspects of our source hierarchy.
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