Alias Map Overview

Using Arbortext Architect, you can create alias maps that map elements, attributes, and attribute values to new names or values. You can assign aliases to element-specific attributes and attribute values, as well as global attributes and global attribute values.

Alias maps are created in Arbortext Architect in the Alias Map Editor, and are saved with an .alias extension. There are several ways in which you can create alias maps:

• Empty template — Includes a pared down alias map structure, and is not populated with any document type-specific information.

• Populated template — Includes an alias map structure populated with all the elements, attributes, and attribute values defined in the selected document type.

• Imported alias map — Imports an existing alias map, which you can then edit for the selected document type.

Element- or attribute-specific aliases take precedence over global aliases. That means Arbortext Editor searches element-specific attributes first when looking for the alias of an attribute name. If it does not find an element-specific attribute alias, it will then search the global attribute aliases.

If a user-defined tag (UDT) and an alias have the same name, the UDT will take precedence over the alias. For example, if you try to insert an alias tag using the insert_tag command, and Arbortext Editor detects a UDT that has the same name, it will insert the UDT. To alert you to this conflict, Arbortext Editor will display a warning message when you load a document that includes UDTs and aliases with the same name.

Tag aliases cannot be used in burst configuration files, Interwoven category definition files, or by DOM interfaces. The configuration files and DOM interfaces must refer to the element and attribute names as specified in the DTD.

In addition, you cannot create aliases for:

You must validate the alias map to ensure that it is properly defined. Any warnings or errors associated with invalid alias definitions will be displayed in a window.

The Alias Map Editor will generate warnings during validation if it detects element, attribute, or attribute value names that are not defined in the document type.

When loading an alias map file, Arbortext Editor will ignore aliases for element, attribute, or attribute value names that are not defined in the document type. This allows you to use a single map file for two similar document types.

Once you have created an alias map, you can apply it to a document in Arbortext Editor. When you apply an alias map, aliases replace the real names of elements, attributes, and attribute values in the Edit window and dialog boxes. In addition, most ACL commands and functions can accept both real names and aliases. However, ACL functions that return element names, attribute names, or attribute values will always return real names. Refer to the documentation for individual functions and commands for more information on when aliases are accepted.

Alias maps are associated with a specific document type, not a document. Therefore, an alias map will be applied to all open documents with the same document type as the document in which you apply the alias map. The alias map will also be applied to any documents with the same document type that you open during the session in which you applied the alias map.

When you assign an alias map to a document type, the assignment only applies to the current session. The alias map is not saved with a document type when you save a document to which it is applied. If you want to use an alias map as the default for a document type, you must specify it in the document type's command file using the set aliasmap command.