When you create structured content in Paligo, there is a hierarchy that is made up of “Parent” elements and “Child” elements. The parent elements are at a higher level, and the child elements are nested inside them. For example, here is a simple note structure, where note is the parent element and para is the child element.
As you build your content, you will likely use more complex structures, where some child elements are also parents to other descendant elements. For example, with a procedure, the procedure element is a parent to the step elements. But each child step element is also a parent, because it has a child para element for the text.
It is important that you understand the parent-child relationships and the hierarchical nature of the structure. Because any time you move, copy, or delete a parent element, that action also applies to the child elements inside it. For example, if you move an itemizedlist, you also move its listitems and the child elements inside those.
But if you only copy, move, or delete a child, the action only applies to the child (and any of its children). The action does not apply to the parent.
This hierarchical "parent-child" structure has some useful advantages for technical writers—it means you can move, copy, and delete entire structures at once, rather than having to manage them separately. It is especially useful with more complex structures, such as lists, as it can make it much easier to change the list order, move content, etc. The following example shows the parent-child relationships in a procedure and how moving a step affects the structure.
Tip
If you are unsure about the hierarchy of elements and how the parent-child relationships work, create a test topic and experiment with it. We recommend that you add a mix of regular paragraphs and more complex structures like lists and tables and then try copying, moving, and deleting the parent and child elements.
Example 1. Parent and Child Relationships of Elements in a Topic
Let's look at a more complex structure, such as a procedure. (This image is taken from the XML Tree View, which is available in the side panel of the main editor. It shows the structure of the topic you are working on).
Here, we can see that the top-level element in the topic is the section. Every topic has a section element at the top, and these are the main "container" in the topic. If you had a topic with subsections, you could have lower-level section elements too (although it is often preferable to insert these as components rather than as sections).
Inside the section, we have all of the other elements. These are also are arranged in a hierarchy. Title is a second-level element and it does not have any other elements inside it (so has no children). Procedure is also a second-level element. It has a plus icon + to show that it is expandable and has elements inside it (its children).
Inside the procedure, there are two steps. The steps are children of the procedure.
Inside the first step, there is a para. This is a child of the step and a descendant of the procedure.
Inside the second step, there is a para and a note. These are children of the second step.
The note also has a para inside it. The note is a parent to this para, and the para is a child of the note. The para is also a descendant (grandchild) of the second step and a descendant (great-grandchild) of the procedure.
When you work with content inside a topic, it is important that you understand that there are parent-child relationships between the different elements. Because when you move, copy, or delete an element, the action applies to its children too.
So if you select the second step and move it above the first, Paligo will:
-
Move the second
stepabove the firststepin the procedure -
Move all of the descendants of the second step (children, grandchildren, etc.) as well.
This means you can quickly and easily move, copy, and delete multiple elements or individual elements with a single action.
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