Basic Element Reference

This is a reference to the most commonly used elements in Paligo. Because Paligo is quite closely based on DocBook, that documentation is referred to at times and can certainly be useful. But this section will describe specifically how some of the most common elements are used in Paligo.

Note

It is usually not necessary to know all about elements to use Paligo. It is meant as a reference, and for delving deeper.

This reference is in no way meant to be comprehensive. It primarily describes some of the most common elements, as well as some that specifically differ from the DocBook content model, and it is meant to provide a more digestible reference.

For more extensive descriptions and the full list of elements, see the full reference.

The biggest difference between the Paligo content model and standard DocBook is that Paligo is "topic-based", i.e publications are assembled from small chunks of content ("topics"), rather than built as long "books".

In order to do this, and still stay as close to the DocBook standard as possible, a subset has been used that easily maps to the topic-based model. Therefore, a "publication" in Paligo is mapped to the DocBook article element, and a "topic" in Paligo is mapped to the DocBook section element.

Only elements in DocBook lower than article are used in Paligo, so book, part, and set are not used.

XML elements and attributes

XML elements are what make up the structure of a document (topic). There are block elements and inline elements. The following sample shows a sample topic in plain XML:

Example 1. Types of elements and attributes

<?xml version="1.0"?> 1
<section>
  <title>The Engine</title>
  <figure>
    <title>Specifications</title> 2
    <mediaobject>
      <imageobject>
        <imagedata fileref="UUID-905a1510-2f25-2dc4-4de0-7fc0e26087ff"/>
      </imageobject>
      <caption>
        <para>The vehicle is powered by a 3.2-litre straight-six engine (X55C33). The performance figures are:</para>
        <itemizedlist>
          <listitem xinfo:product="ACME 2000;ACME 5000"> 3
            <para>269 lb·ft (365 N·m) of torque at 4,900 rpm, 8,000 rpm
              redline.</para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem xinfo:product="ACME 1500">
            <para>269 lb·ft (365 N·m) of torque at 4,900 rpm, <emphasis role="bold">9,000 rpm redline.</emphasis> 4
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </itemizedlist>
      </caption>
    </mediaobject>
  </figure>
</section>

1	The "root" element in a topic is called `section`. In Paligo, a topic is a section that is a component of its own, not just an element in a document. Note This is one of the few components in Paligo that does not have the same name for the element as it does in the XML structure.
2	`title` and `figure` are examples here of "block elements". I.e they are like blocks in a nested structure. As the image shows, the figure encloses (nests) a lot of other elements. Tip Because of the nested "tree" structure of XML, one often speaks of "parents" and "children". This can be good to know, to understand how structured authoring works. So for instance, if a `figure` has a title and an image (`mediaobject`). The `title` and `mediaobject` are "children" and the `figure` is the "parent".
3	An attribute is a marker on an element to give it additional functionality. In this case the attribute `xinfo:product` marks up the element in order to filter it, i.e to indicate that each `listitem` can be published with variants for different product families.
4	The `emphasis` element is an example of an "inline element". It is just an element that only encloses a word or phrase inline inside text.

Now take a look at the same topic in the Paligo editor. It shows the same structure, but here in a more user-friendly view:

The Element Structure Menu shows the nesting structure of the document. Because we have placed the cursor in the figure element, the Structure Menu shows the nesting to be section > figure.
In the Paligo editor, when you place the cursor in a block element, the editor will automatically highlight the enclosing "box" of that element. This shows that the caption and the list are part of (enclosed in) the figure element.
The inline element is shown as bold, and inserted the familiar way with the toolbar or keyboard shortcut.
The filter attributes show as filter icons (the "funnel" icon). When you have the cursor inside any element, if it has any attributes set, it will show in the Element attributes panel to the right in the editor:

The rest of this section will provide a reference to some of the most commonly used elements. There are many more available, and you can find information about them in the DocBook element reference. Almost all DocBook elements are available, so those descriptions will apply as well, except for the book, part, and set that are not used in Paligo.

In this section:

Basic Element Reference

Note

XML elements and attributes

Note

Tip

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