Oxygen XML Forum

I'm converting a large Word document to DITA, and I've discovered an opportunity for you to fine-tune the oXygen XML Editor UI. Every time I add a new topic to my DITA map, the New dialog box appears - with the Choose a file template field selected by default. This is unfortunate because the template I always want to use (Topic [DITA/topic]) is already selected by default. For my usage scenario, it would help me if the Title field was selected by default instead.



P.S. How do I include an image in this post (I see the <img> tag, but I don't see a way to insert an image)?

Hi,

You cannot attach an image in the post but you can upload it to a free image server of your choice and then add a link to it.
About your idea, now you can press the TAB key to change focus to the title field.
Unfortunately this is one of the cases in which giving focus directly to the "Title" field would annoy other users who want to choose the new file template.
At some point we wanted to change the orientation of the dialog and move the template type chooser at the bottom of the dialog, so the user would see the title field at the top, underneath it see the folder location and underneath it the type of template to choose (and it would also have focus by default). Would this have been a better approach in your opinion?

Regards,
Radu

You must support the most likely usage scenario by making it the default, and filtering for a file template couldn't possibly be the most likely usage scenario. In my opinion, the most likely usage scenario is adding a new DITA topic. With this template selected by default, all the user needs to do is type the topic name.

Hi,

Some DITA experts may argue that choosing your type of topic (task/topic/concept/reference) is the most important decision when creating a new DITA file.
Indeed most beginners use almost exclusively the base <topic> file but experts usually recommend that the <topic> type should not be used at all when creating documentation.
Link from the DITA Style Guide by Tony Self:

https://www.oxygenxml.com/dita/stylegui ... Proto.html

Regards,
Radu