Content references (conref) enable you to include the content of a tag from one DITA document into another DITA document. This enables you to reuse content in DITA documents from a single original source. For example, you can have a tag in the source document that contains a product name and then use content references to include that product name in all of your related documents. Should the product name change, you only have to change the name in the source document. That change will then be reflected in all of the referencing documents.

When content is included from another document using a content reference, the included content replaces any content in the referencing tag. Content references are based on tags, so the tag you reference must be the same as the tag containing the content reference. Content referenced can be viewed in a document, but cannot be edited. You must modify the original source of the reference in order to make changes. You can double-click on a content referenced tag to open the source document.

Arbortext Editor enables you to use the Resource Manager to locate content to reference in your documents. If a valid referencing tag is not currently in your document, the Resource Manager automatically inserts a new, empty tag into the document to be the target of the content reference.

For more information, refer to the DITA Content Reference Overview topic in the Arbortext Editor help.