3.1 Enabling the Ability to Edit Child Documents

By default, referenced document content within a parent technical document is not editable. However, it is possible to enable editing for this child content directly. Doing so will allow authors to edit all document content, that they have the access rights to, within a single editor instance regardless of whether this content exists within a separate Technical Document Item.

In the example figure, a Technical Document – Parent Document – includes referenced document content – Child Document. Referenced document content is distinguished visually by a solid bar displayed to the left of all content within the referenced document. In addition, when referenced document is editable, the content will be displayed in the same font color and opacity as all other content that exists within the opened Document. By contrast, when referenced document content is not editable, it will be displayed in a different opacity, which appears to the user as a slightly different color.

Enabling external editing can be done in one of 2 Modes: Implicit or Explicit. Implicit Edit Mode will allow an author to edit referenced content without the need to explicitly lock that content for editing. Explicit Edit Mode will require an author to lock that content before any edits are made. Referenced Documents would then need to be unlocked by the author when changes are completed to make that Technical Document Item available for other users to edit. The Edit Mode will apply to all Technical Documents, for any Document Type.

The Edit Mode for a Technical Document is determined by the value of the Variable with name ‘tp_ExternalEditMode’. By default, the value of this Variable is set to ‘None’, which means that no referenced document content can be edited. Setting the value to ‘Explicit’ enables the Explicit Edit Mode. Setting the value to ‘Implicit’ enables the Implicit Edit Mode. Users will need to re-login for any changes to take effect.

In addition to setting the Edit Mode Variable, it’s important to check the Presentation Configuration for the tp_Block ItemType to ensure that the proper Method Logic is set when saving a Technical Document. This functionality is necessary for Implicit Mode to properly warn the Author when changes have been made to referenced content after the content within the opened document was last opened or saved.

Changes to the Presentation Configuration must be done by an Administrator. To check or ensure that the proper Presentation Configuration changes are set:

1. Open the tp_Block ItemType and select the Client Style Tab
   

   

   

2. Open the related ‘TechDoc’ Presentation Configuration
3. Set, or ensure, the TDF.SaveItem CUI Command as shown
   

   

   

   Make sure that the Name and Command Alias are set as shown.