# Case studies in using DITA XML

My daily use of the [DITA XML structured authoring format](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/structured-vs-unstructured-formats/) on multilingual projects as a technical writer has enabled me to develop several solutions and tips, which I'd like to share with you here. We welcome any feedback you may have!

## The NuFirewall documentation

Documented
: NuFirewall, a software product. Its documentation, developed using DITA XML, was praised by the press as a notable strength of the product.

Techniques illustrated
: Reusing information blocks with conrefs: centralizing them, choosing the lowest-level XML node, translation constraints, limits on nesting, and protecting confidential information. Providing targeted information with Ditaval conditional text.

Read it to
: See how these reuse and filtering decisions were made on the documentation of a real product.

- [**Case study: NuFirewall documentation**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/nufirewall-case-study/): Conref strategies and Ditaval conditional text, with diagrams for each decision.

## Solutions and tips from multilingual projects

The DITA XML and XSL-FO tutorials collect the procedures that came out of this daily use, for example:

- **[Managing multilingual projects](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/dita-xml-xsl-fo-tutorials/#manage-multilingual-dita-xml-documentation-projects).** A methodology and a Bash script that generate each language version from a single ditamap file.
- **[Conditional text](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/dita-xml-xsl-fo-tutorials/#create-different-documents-from-the-same-dita-sources).** Different documents from the same DITA sources, filtered with ditaval files.
- **[PDF output](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/dita-xml-xsl-fo-tutorials/#dita-open-toolkit-display-cross-references-in-pdfs).** Adjustments to DITA Open Toolkit and XSL-FO style sheets, such as displaying cross-references.

- [**DITA XML and XSL-FO tutorials**](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tutorials/dita-xml-xsl-fo-tutorials/): All the tutorials, grouped by task: publishing a first PDF, creating several documents from the same sources, customizing PDF output, and editing in Emacs.

## Lessons on complexity and translation

- [Too complex a document architecture?](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/document-architecture-complexity/) The levels of complexity DITA XML introduces, and the solutions that help manage them.
- [Using branches in source management systems](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/tech-writing-process/using-branches/). Managing translations across multiple language branches requires careful planning.

## Related articles

- [From document to modular document base](https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/modular-documentation/)

## Related reading

- [From DITA XML to Markdown: lightweight information typing](https://redaction-technique.org/dita-xml-to-markdown-lightweight-information-typing) — carrying these DITA lessons over to a Markdown workflow.

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Source: https://docs.redaction-technique.org/en/formats/dita-xml-case-studies/