Using DITA for multi-manual Production

Forum|Forum|7 months ago
July 9, 2025
3 replies
259 views

Hello,

Our company manuals often reference one another and I am wondering if it is possible to use DITA to make an overarching book with multiple books within it (which would be all our company manuals) so that variables and references change at the top level and then everything is updated automatically throughout our other manuals? Basically a map of our company manuals within one book....or books within a hierarchical book? Any information would be helpful, even though this process is down the line, so that we can start thinking in that direction.

Thanks!

Matt-Tech Comm Tools

Community Expert

It sounds like your question is "Should I move to DITA?" and "How do I move to DITA?"

I suggest you check out the Adobe webinar I gave recently

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tGPIPUBw-4&list=PLJL3v-Ayk9rR3MoHoCt_vDpqMCj3f_DvM&index=1

And if you need help learning about authoring DITA with FrameMaker, consider my online course

https://techcomm.tools/auth-dita

It shows you how structured Fm is significantly different from what you might be used to, and quickly gets you authoring and publishing with DITA topics and ditamaps.

-Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

I'm already a "master book of books" user in the Unstructured world. I've got 1 master book that contains 46 or 47 sub-books, each of which holds 5 .fm files.

M

Melissa22946312uwbxAuthor

Participant

Any tips on how to get something like this started? We're in the very early planning stages for streamlining our companies many documents. Is DITA the way to go for "books within books" so that certain references in one are updated throughout all of them?

Thanks!

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Are you already doing Structured authoring in FM? The master "book of books" concept is just an organizational tool in FM (like using folders to create subsections). If you're referring to generating multiple forms of output out of Structured component content, then that's a completely different topic.

Matt-Tech Comm Tools

Community Expert

Of course!

-Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant

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