Documentation Center

Working with Lists

Content Editor supports the most common DITA list types, including unordered, ordered, and definition lists.

Unordered List (ul)
Use an unordered list when sequence does not matter. List items appear with bullets.
Ordered List (ol)
Use an ordered list when sequence does matter. List items appear with numbers.
Definition List (dl)
Use a definition list to provide content that contains terms and definitions.
Ordered and unordered lists are easily added and edited in Content Editor using these commands on the Home tab:
  • Unordered List
  • Ordered List
  • Increase Indent
  • Decrease Indent

Definition lists contain a list of entries consisting of two types of DITA elements, the term <dt> and description <dd> elements. You can insert a definition list using the Definition list command on the Insert tab.

Example of a Definition List

Below is an example of one term in a definition list, as rendered:

Definition list items include two types of elements: definition terms, <dt>, and definition descriptions, <dd>. For example, the XML code for the rendered example is:

<dl id="example">
 <dlentry>
	 <dt>Unordered List (ul)</dt>
	 <dd>Use an unordered list when sequence does not matter. List items appear with bullets</dd>
 </dlentry>
....

A full definition list such as a glossary contains many terms with their corresponding definitions. This semantic approach guarantees a consistent tagging structure in source files that helps to ensure consistent rendering in output formats.