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How can I reuse a topic?

It is necessary to understand the Content Manager GUID to understand the concept of reusing objects in your maps and publications.

Question: I want to put an existing topic in a common folder for use by multiple publications then I want to reuse it in my publication. It is already used in another publication. Can I do this without breaking the reference in the other publication?

It is important to understand the concept of the reuse of topics to obtain full benefits of DITA and the Content Manager product. To do this, you must first understand the concept of the Content Manager GUID.

Know that a GUID is an identifying attribute for all Content Manager objects. A GUID is a unique combination of numbers and letters and is assigned to every object in the repository. For example, this topic in the Content Manager repository is a DITA concept topic and contains an id that reads:

<concept id="GUID-F1CADE9C-A69D-48B3-9978-3949CB20C3C4" xml:lang="en"> 
	 

The GUID-F1CADE9C-A69D-48B3-9978-3949CB20C3C4 id is a unique identifier for this topic. When this topic is included in a map or publication, the GUID is used to locate and identify the topic in the repository. The location of the topic in the repository has no bearing on the reference to it because Content Manager tracks objects in the repository by their GUID. Understanding this, know that you can relocate objects in the repository without affecting any references made to it prior to the relocation.

You may want to locate all generically reused topics in a common container for all your publications. For instance, a legal Notice page that follows the title page may be required to be included in all documents. In this case, locating the object in a common container for all to easily access would be ideal.

If the object already exists and you want to be relocated in the repository, drag the object to the new location in the Repository view window. This moves the object to the new location while maintaining the GUID and therefore, all references to it.

When you reuse a topic, you are adding a topicref in your map. To do this in Publication Manager, you can check out the map, then locate the topic in the Repository view window and drag it into the map. To do this:

  1. In Publication Manager, locate and right-click on the map to which you want to add the topic then click Check Out.

    The map is checked out and can be modified but it is not opened in your editor. You can use this check out method for maps to simply add topics to the map without having to do it in the editor application.

  2. Click Tools > Browse Repository.
  3. In the resulting Repository view window, locate the topic which you want to include, or reuse, in your map.
  4. Drag the topic into the map in the Publication Manager window, to the location where it is to appear.
  5. To complete the procedure, be sure to right-click on the map and select Check In to save the changes.