Sitemap Elements Reference

Sample Sitemap Structure

The following example shows a sitemap that contains a:

  • Site section with a map
  • Site section with subsections
  • Site section with topicheads
  • Versioned site section
sitemap structure example

Sitemap Elements

CODE 
<!-- Model sitemap -->
<sitemap>
    <!-- Sitemap title -->
    <title>Sitemap</title>
    <!-- A basic sitesection that renders as a tile on the home page -->
    <sitesection>
        <!-- Site section details container -->
        <topicmeta>
            <!-- Tile title -->
            <navtitle>Basic Site Section</navtitle>
            <!-- Tile short description -->
            <shortdesc>Short Description</shortdesc>
            <!-- Tile icon -->
            <data href="media/portal_icon_blue.png" name="thumbnail"/>
        </topicmeta>
        <!-- Referenced DITA content -->
        <mapref href="content/map_a.ditamap"/>
    </sitesection>
    <!-- A sitesection with subsections -->
    <sitesection>
        <topicmeta>
            <navtitle>Site Section with Subsections</navtitle>
            <shortdesc>Short Description</shortdesc>
            <data href="media/portal_icon_yellow.png" name="thumbnail"/>
        </topicmeta>
        <!-- Subsection #1 -->
        <sitesection outputclass="view-tiles">
            <topicmeta>
                <navtitle>Subsection A</navtitle>
                <shortdesc>Short Description</shortdesc>
                <data href="media/portal_icon_green.png" name="thumbnail"/>
            </topicmeta>
            <mapref href="content/map_b.ditamap"/>
        </sitesection>
        <!-- Subsection #2 -->
        <sitesection outputclass="view-tiles">
            <topicmeta>
                <navtitle>Subsection B</navtitle>
                <shortdesc>Short Description</shortdesc>
                <data href="media/portal_icon_green.png" name="thumbnail"/>
            </topicmeta>
            <topicref href="content/concept_a.dita"/>
            <topicref href="content/concept_b.dita"/>
            <topicref href="content/concept_c.dita"/>
        </sitesection>
    </sitesection>
<!-- A sitesection with topicheads -->
    <sitesection>
            <topicmeta>
                <navtitle>Site Section</navtitle>
            </topicmeta>
            <!-- Topichead #1 -->
            <topichead>
                <topicmeta>
                    <navtitle>Topichead A</navtitle>
                </topicmeta>
                <topicref href="content/task_a.dita"/>
                <topicref href="content/task_b.dita"/>
            </topichead>
            <!-- Topichead #2 -->
            <topichead>
                <topicmeta>
                    <navtitle>Topichead B</navtitle>
                </topicmeta>
                <topicref href="content/reference_a.dita"/>
                <topicref href="content/reference_b.dita"/>
            </topichead>
    </sitesection>
    <!-- A sitesection with versioned content -->
    <sitesection>
        <topicmeta>
            <navtitle>Versioned Site Section</navtitle>
            <shortdesc>Short Description</shortdesc>
            <data href="media/portal_icon_navy.png" name="thumbnail"/>
        </topicmeta>
        <!-- Version #1 container -->
        <version>
            <!-- Version details -->
            <topicmeta>
                <!-- Version information that will be visible in the version drop-down menu -->
                <navtitle>v1.0</navtitle>
            </topicmeta>
            <!-- Referenced DITA content -->
            <mapref href="content/map_c_v1_0.ditamap"/>
        </version>
        <!-- Version #2 container -->
        <version>
            <topicmeta>
                <navtitle>v2.0</navtitle>
            </topicmeta>
            <mapref href="content/map_c_v2_0.ditamap"/>
        </version>
    </sitesection>
</sitemap>
<sitemap> [required]
The root sitemap element.

Can contain the following elements:

  • <title>
  • <sitesection>
<title> [required]
The title of the sitemap.
<sitesection> [required]
By default a <sitesection> element is:
  • Rendered as a navigational tile
  • Present in the main table of contents

A container element for the following elements:

  • <topicmeta>
  • <version>
  • <mapref>
  • <topicref>
  • <topichead>
<topichead> [optional]
By default a <topichead> element is:
  • Not rendered as a navigational tile
  • Present only in the main table of contents

A container element for the following elements:

  • <mapref>
  • <topicref>
<topicmeta> [required]
A container element for the following elements:
  • <navtitle>
  • <shortdesc>
  • <data>
<navtitle> [required]
A site section, subsection, or topichead title.
<shortdesc> [optional]
A short description for site section or subsection rendered in a navigation tile.
Figure 1. Navigation Tiles.

The following example shows two navigation tiles: “Tile A” and “Tile B”.
navigation tiles example
<data> [optional]
An element that references an icon associated with a site section or subsection navigation tile.
<version> [optional]
An element that specifies the version of your content. Each version appears as a separate entry in the version drop-down list.

Can contain the following elements:

  • <topicmeta>
  • <mapref>
  • <topicref>
<mapref> or <topicref> [required]
An element that refers to either a DITA map or a DITA topic that contains the content that you want to publish to the site.
  • You can reference both regular DITA maps and sitemaps.
  • The referenced maps can contain <codeblock> elements.
  • You can nest <topicref> elements