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Exporting a DDN

DDN Export lets you export modules or graphics, recursively or not, locked or not.

Before you begin

To export a DDN, you must have created a Dispatcher and added content (DMs, PMs, SCPMs, and graphics) to it. See Collecting Content to Export to a DDN.

About this task

The result of exporting a DDN is a .zip file that contains the selected content and an XML file that contains the information you entered in the UI and a list of the codes of the selected content. If you are including referenced objects, a second .zip file that contains a text log file reporting the status of each referenced object will also be provided.

You can only export graphics of one of the supported file types, per the SDL Contenta S1000D Cross-Product Graphics and Multimedia Support Reference section of this documentation.

If you export objects that refer to other objects (for example, DMs that refer to graphics), the referenced objects are not included in the DDN unless either or both of the Modules or Graphics check boxes are checked in the Include Referenced Objects section of the UI.

A log file will be written to the <Contenta_home>/web/cw_common/custom/S1000D_DDN_Export/DDNexports directory. This file will be zipped, and named Dispatcher-object-name-log.zip, which you can download after DDN Export finishes running. A link labeled "Click here to download the log.zip file" will appear below the link used to download the DDN .zip file. The log file contains the name of the Dispatcher object, a date stamp, the user's login name, the types of each referenced module (DMs, PMs, SCPMs, or graphics), whether modules were exported recursively, and the status of each referenced object.

Note the following regarding the log file:

  • Any modules or graphics that you do not have access to (because they are in a configuration that is not on your desktop) will be reported as inaccessible.
  • Any modules or graphics that cannot be found in the CSDB will be reported as missing.
  • If you set Lock Referenced Objects on Export to Yes, and DDN Export finds a referenced module or graphic that is already locked, a message indicating that this object was exported but not locked will be added to the log file.

Sample output of an Include Referenced Objects log file.

DDN Export referenced objects report

DDN:  Dispatch123
Date:  2016/03/24
User:  sysadmin
Type:  Referenced modules only, exported non-recursively.

Exported referenced DM:  DMC-SAMPLEBIKE-CCC-D00-00-00-00AA-041A-A.xml
Warning:  Cannot export missing referenced DM:  DMC-SAMPLEBIKE-CCC-D00-00-00-00AA-043A-A.xml
Exported referenced DM:  DMC-SAMPLEBIKE-CCC-D00-00-00-00AA-00WA-D.xml
Exported referenced DM:  DMC-SAMPLEBIKE-CCC-DA0-10-20-00AA-400A-A.xml
Exported referenced DM:  DMC-SAMPLEBIKE-CCC-D00-00-00-01AA-941A-D.xml
Exported referenced DM:  DMC-SAMPLEBIKE-CCC-DA2-10-00-00AA-520A-A.xml
Exported referenced PM:  PMC-SAMPLEBIKE-XYENT-00030-01.xml
Exported referenced DM:  DMC-S1000D-E-04-10-0301-00A-022A-D.xml

Two Referenced Objects Use Cases

  • Reuse DMs into your Dispatcher, and also include the graphics referenced by those DMs:
    1. Reuse DMs (which may reference graphics) into the Dispatcher.
    2. Check the Graphics check box.
    3. Leave Recurse set to No.
  • Reuse a PM into your Dispatcher, and export the entire publication by including referenced, nested PMs, DMs, and graphics recursively:
    1. Reuse a PM into the Dispatcher.
    2. Check both the Modules and Graphics check boxes.
    3. Set Recursion to Yes.

Procedure

  1. In Contenta S1000D, navigate to the desired Dispatcher object in the Dispatch section of the CSDB hierarchy.
  2. Click Tools > S1000D DDN Export.
  3. In the S1000D Version drop-down list, click the desired version: 4.2, 4.1, 4.0, or 3.0.
    You can export mixed-spec data (that is, pre-4.0, 4.0, and higher data in the same DDN) but the DDN XML file that lists the contents of the DDN export package will have one spec format, the one that you select in this menu. The objects should be from a single (the same) configuration only.
  4. Enter information in the fields on the page.

    About the Lock Objects on Export drop-down list.

    • If you have permission to lock objects, you can select Yes (to lock) or No (do not lock). A checkout lock is applied to objects that are locked when included in the DDN.
    • If you do not have permission to lock objects, No is selected and you cannot change this value.

    The Include Referenced Objects section includes Modules and Graphics check boxes, a Recurse drop-down list, and a Lock Referenced Objects on Export drop-down list. Since including referenced objects is optional, these check boxes are unchecked and these drop-down options are set to No by default.

    About the Recurse drop-down list.
    • Values include Yes and No (the default).
    • When set to Yes, modules or graphics that are recursively referenced by the objects in the Dispatcher will be included in the DDN Export package.

      When set to No, only objects that are directly referenced by objects in the Dispatcher will be included in the DDN Export package.

    About the Lock Referenced Objects on Export drop-down list.
    • If you have permission to lock objects, you can select Yes (to lock) or No (do not lock). A checkout lock is applied to referenced objects that are locked when included in the DDN.
    • If you do not have permission to lock objects, No is selected and you cannot change this value.
    The information that you enter is included in the DDN XML file in the resulting .zip file.
  5. Click Next.
  6. Check the objects to include in your DDN.
    If the Lock Objects on Export option is selected, and an object cannot be locked, it is not automatically selected and will not be included in the DDN.
    • Objects already locked by you are indicated in black.
    • Objects locked by others are indicated in red.
    • You can select to include a locked object by clicking in the check box next to it. The object is included, but it is not locked by the DDN Export tool (it does maintain the current lock).
  7. Click Create DDN.
    When creating an Issue 4.1 or higher DDN, the DDN Export tool adds the mandatory <brexDmRef> tag to reference a BREX DM, as follows:
    • If the objects selected for an Issue 4.1 or higher DDN package include one BREX DM, DDN Export adds a reference to that DM.
    • If the objects selected for an Issue 4.1 or higher DDN package include multiple BREX DMs, DDN Export adds a reference to the first BREX DM that is found.
    • If the objects selected for an Issue 4.1 or higher DDN package do not include a BREX DM, DDN Export adds a reference to the Issue 4.1 or higher default BREX DM.

    The <brexDmRef> that is added will contain language and country codes when appropriate, based on the multi-language AppData settings in your CSDB.

    The exported DDN XML file may be manually edited to reference a different BREX DM as needed.

  8. When DDN Export finishes running, click the resulting Click here to download the DDN .zip.
  9. If you included referenced objects, click the resulting Dispatcher-object-name-log.zip link to download the referenced objects log file.