New element <abstract>

The new <abstract> element can include complex markups besides the <shortdesc> element. You can put the <shortdesc> element inside the <abstract> element, together with many other elements. The following examples illustrate how you can use the <abstract> element.

If you use several <shortdesc> elements inside the <abstract> element, they will be concatenated when pulled for hover help. After you format the source files, the content inside the <abstract> element will be transformed into normal text.

Note: Because OASIS DITA 1.1 was not yet approved at the time DITA Open Toolkit 1.3 was released, the functionality described here should be considered preliminary until DITA 1.1 is approved, the 1.3 Toolkit assessed relative to DITA 1.1, and appropriate changes made to the Toolkit, if necessary.

Examples

Example 1

In DITA 1.0, you can only use the <shortdesc> element that cannot contain the <p> element.

 <shortdesc>This is a short description in DITA 1.0. It <b>cannot</b> contain paragraphs.</shortdesc>

Example 2

This example illustrates how with 1.3 you can use different elements besides <shortdesc> inside the <abstract> element, and apply different styles to the text inside the <abstract> element.

    <abstract>
        <shortdesc>This is the short description</shortdesc>
        <ol>
            <li>This is a <i>list</i>.</li>
        </ol>
        <p>This is a <b>paragraph</b>.</p>
        <codeblock>Here are some codes.</codeblock>
        <filepath>This is the file path.</filepath>
    </abstract>

Example 3

This example illustrates how you can use both the <shortdesc> element and plain text inside the <abstract> element.

 <abstract><shortdesc>This topic is about short description.</shortdesc>. 
Short description is very important, so read more.</abstract>