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Create and manage cross-references

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  6. Editing and formatting
    1. Format your content
    2. Create and manage cross-references
    3. Create and manage links
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  15. Appendix
    1. Adobe RoboHelp Scripting Reference
    2. RoboHelp keyboard shortcuts

Use cross-references to link your information within the topic or across multiple topics, or to a section in a topic.

Cross-references are references to information located in a topic or across multiple topics. They appear as links that take the reader to the referenced items. If you are writing a reference topic, you may want to include references from one topic to another that are automatically updated and display the correct references in the generated output.  You can specify whether cross-references are derived from a bookmark, description, figure, heading, paragraph, table, or from a title you’ve created. You can also determine the cross-references format, such as Page number, Chapter number, and more.

Cross-references can dynamically change based on the output types. For an online output, cross-references look like normal hyperlinks, while for print-based outputs, the cross-references can be used to convert online links to page number references. For example, "See on Page 15."

Insert a cross-reference

To insert a cross-reference, follow these steps:

  1. Open any topic . Place the cursor at the appropriate location where you want to insert a reference.

  2. In the standard toolbar, click the Insert Link icon   and select cross-reference  or alternatively, press CTRL+R. The Cross-reference dialog box opens.

  3. You can select the settings that you want to insert from the following options:

    • Select topic By default, the topic selection dialog opens. Navigate to the topic in your project that you want to link. To select a topic, click  .  
    • Type From the Type drop-down field, select the type of reference you want to create. 
    • Format Based on the option you choose in the Type field, the Format section gives you a list of options. 
      The below table details each of the choice controls that are available for both Type & Format.
    • Targets are filtered HTML snippets to which the content is referred to. It can be a heading, table, page number, or footnote according to the selected type.  
    • Preview A visual preview of the content appears in the Preview tab.

    Type

    Format

    Bookmark A bookmark is an incremental link within a topic. This helps to create links which, when clicked, take the reader to a bookmarked section of the topic.

    • Bookmark text Creates a cross-reference to the bookmarked text. 
         For example, stop_words.
    • Page number Adds a cross-reference to the page on which the bookmark appears.
         For example, See on page 1.
    • Chapter number Adds a cross-reference to the chapter numbers.
         For example, See on chapter 1.
    • Bookmark text with page number Adds the name of the bookmark along with the page number.
         For example, See "stop_words" on page 1

    Description The Description shows the topic description as entered in the topic properties.

    • Description Text Adds a cross-reference to the text of the description.

    Figure The HTML <figure> element contains an image, that is referenced in the topic and is specified using the <figcaption> element.

    • Caption Text Functions like a heading of an image. Creates a cross-reference to image in your topic and shows the text of the caption for the image.
             For example, Airflow.
    • Page Number Adds a cross-reference to the page on which the figure appears.
             For example,  See on page 1.
    • Chapter Number Adds a cross-reference to the chapter numbers.
             For example, See on chapter 1.
    • Caption text with page number Adds the figure caption along with the page number.
            For example, See "Airflow" on page 1

    Heading The HTML <h1> to <h6> elements represents six levels of headings. The heading elements are H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6.

    • Heading Text Creates a cross-reference to the heading of the topic.
            For example, Project Reviews.
    • Page Number Adds a cross-reference to the page on which the heading appears.
            For example, See on page 1.
    • Chapter Number  Adds a cross-reference to the chapter on which the heading appears.
             For example, See on chapter 1.
    • Heading text with page number Adds the heading text along with the page number.
             For example, See "Project Reviews" on page 1

    Paragraph The HTML <p> element represents a paragraph.

    • Paragraph Text Creates a cross-reference to any paragraph in the topic you define.
           For example, The output will be generated to the         path defined in the preset.
    • Page Number Adds a cross-reference to the page numbers.                        
                  For example, See on page 1.
    • Chapter Number Adds a cross-reference to the chapter numbers.
            For example, See on chapter 1.
    • Heading text with page number Adds the heading text along with the page number. 
            For example, See "The output will be generated to the path defined in the preset." on page 1.

    Table Creates a cross-reference to the table and is represented by caption. You can define the caption in the Author view.

    • Caption Text Functions like a heading for a table. Creates cross-reference to tables in your topic and shows the text of the caption for the table.
           For example, Concerts.
    • Page Number Adds a cross-reference to the page on which the table appears.
    •       For example, See on page 1.
    • Chapter Number Adds a cross-reference to the chapter numbers.
                  For example, See on chapter 1.
    • Caption text with page number Adds the table heading with the page number.
            For example, See "Concerts" on page 1

    Title  The title of the selected topic comes from the topic properties. You can edit the topic title from the topic properties.

    • Title Text Creates a cross-reference to the title of the topic.
            For example, Useful Links.
    • Page Number Adds a cross-reference to the page on which the title appears.
            For example, See on page 1.
    • Title text with page number Adds the title with the page number.
            For example, See "Useful Links" on page 1

  4. Click Insert.

The cross-reference is added to the topic.

Note:

The Screen Tip and Display In options are also available for cross-references.

Updating Cross-References

Every cross-reference is dynamically linked to its target. This means that if anything is updated in the target, the cross-references are automatically updated. 

For example, if a reference points to a heading on page 5 (i.e. See "Project Reviews" on page 5), and if the heading page number changes due to some text being added or deleted, the cross-reference number will update automatically (i.e., See "Project Reviews" on page 8).

This automatic and dynamic management of references enables you to add a reference once without worrying about having to update it whenever something changes in the topic.

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