<linktitle>

A link title is an alternative title for a resource. It is designed for use when a hyperlink or a cross-reference to a resource is generated based on relationships described in a DITA map.

Usage information

The <linktitle> element is a convenience element. It is equivalent to a <titlealt> element with @title-role set to linking.

Features of DITA maps, such as relationship tables and hierarchies created by nesting <topicref> elements, generate the following kinds of links:

  • Links from a topic to its child topics in the map hierarchy
  • Links from a topic to its parent topic in the map hierarchy
  • Links between sibling topics when the @collection-type attribute of the parent <topicref> element is set to sequence or family

Processors might also use a link title for custom linking scenarios.

Processing expectations

Processing expectations are dictated by the rules for the <titlealt> element.

Specialization hierarchy

The <linktitle> element is specialized from <titlealt>. It is defined in the alternative-titles domain module.

Content model

(Text | <data> | <sort-as> | <foreign> | <keyword> | <term> | <text> | <ph> | <strong> | <em> | <b> | <i> | <line-through> | <overline> | <sup> | <sub> | <tt> | <u> | <draft-comment> | <required-cleanup> )*

Zero or more

Attributes

The following attributes are available on this element: universal attributes and @title-role.

For this element, @title-role has a default value of linking.

The following attributes are available on this element: universal attributes and the attributes defined below.

@title-role (REQUIRED)
Specifies the role that the alternative title serves. Multiple roles are separated by white space. The following roles are defined in the specification: linking, navigation, search, subtitle, and hint.

Processors can define custom values for the @title-role attribute.

For this element, @title-role has a default value of linking.

Examples

This section is non-normative.

This section contains examples of how the <linktitle> element can be used.

Example 1. Link title within a map

The following code sample shows how a <linktitle> element can be used to provide text for a related link to a non-DITA resource:

<topicref href="SQLJ-example.html" format="html" scope="local">
  <topicmeta>
    <linktitle>Accessing relational data with SQLJ</linktitle>
  </topicmeta>
</topicref>
Example 2. Link title within a topic

The following code sample shows how a <linktitle> element can be used to provide text for generated links to a topic:

<topic id="topic">
  <title>Circuitry in the C-283 Drive Train</title>
  <prolog>
    <linktitle>Drive train circuitry</linktitle>
  </prolog>

Note that this link title might be overridden by a link title that is specified in a DITA map that references the topic.