Fully Automatic
A white paper going from the DITA XML structured format to a PDF target format via the DITA-OT.
Target format
The target format is what end users consume - PDF, HTML, or compiled help - generated from a single source. Learn the difference between fully automatic, semi-automatic, and manual publishing.
Definition
Section titled “Definition”The Target formatThe format a reader actually consumes — PDF, HTML, compiled help — generated from the source format.View in glossary → for technical writing is the medium through which the audience will access the content. This is distinct from the source format in which the technical writer initially creates the content. The Single-sourcingGenerating multiple deliverables (PDF, HTML, help formats) from one source, rather than maintaining a separate source per output format.View in glossary → process allows multiple deliverables in various formats to be generated from a single Source formatThe format content is authored in, as distinct from the target format it's published to — the recipe versus the dish.View in glossary →.
Examples
Section titled “Examples”From validated source files, deliverables are generated using one of the following methods:
Semi-Automatic
Content in DITA XML format exported to HTML, then pasted into a CMS.
Manual
A marketing brochure in word-processing format, or DITA XML laid out in InDesign, exported as PDF, then printed. Depending on how often the final document is published, XML import filters can also be set up to partially automate this step.
The more automated the process, the lower the risk of error, and the easier it is to publish and update. Automation also facilitates single-sourcing, enabling the generation of multiple deliverables in different target formats from the same source format. A project in DITA XMLA structured, modular XML authoring architecture built around the concept/task/reference typology and content reuse via conrefs and ditamaps.View in glossary → format can be delivered as a PDF file, Windows compiled help, JavaHelp, an HTML site, and more - the formats and tools article explains how the choice of format shapes these possibilities. In this regard, XML offers nearly unlimited possibilities.
Lightweight formats follow the same principle. In a Docs-as-codeTreating documentation like source code: text-based formats, version control, code review, and CI/CD, rather than a separate publishing process.View in glossary → workflow, MarkdownA lightweight plain-text markup language in which formatting is written with simple punctuation, such as a leading # for a heading. It is easy to write and to review under version control, but has no schema to enforce structure, so docs-as-code teams rely on templates and automated checks instead. This manual is written in MDX, a Markdown variant.View in glossary → sources are typically built by a static site generator into an HTML site, and publishing is a pipeline step rather than a manual one (see delivery). Target formats are no longer only for human readers: this manual is generated from Markdown into HTML pages, and also into per-page Markdown files and JSON indexes for scripts and AI assistants (see about this manual’s API).