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Creating a Framework through the Configuration Dialog

The easiest way to create a custom framework (document type) is by extending an existing built-in framework, such as DITA or DocBook, and then making modifications to it. You can then easily share the custom framework with your team.

To create a custom framework by extending an existing one, follow these steps:
  1. In a location where you have full write access, create a folder structure similar to this: custom_frameworks/dita-extension.
  2. Open the Preferences dialog box (Options > Preferences) and go to Document Type Association > Locations. Add the path to your custom_frameworks folder in the Additional frameworks directories list and click OK or Apply to save your changes.
  3. Go to the Document Type Association preferences page and select an existing framework configuration (for example, DITA) and use the Extend button to create an extension for it.

    Step Result: This opens the Document Type Configuration dialog box where you can define the set of rules and settings for your custom framework.

  4. Give the extension an appropriate name, select External for the Storage option, click the browsing button () to specify the location of the custom directory you created in step 1.
  5. Continue to configure the extension using the tabs on the bottom half of the dialog box. For details about each of those tabs, see the child topics in the Document Type Configuration dialog box section. For even more information about customizing the extended framework, see the various topics and tutorials in the Creating and Configuring Custom Frameworks section. Make sure that you save any resources you reference in your framework configuration (CSS files, new document templates, schemas used for validation, catalogs, etc.) in your custom framework directory you created in step 1.
  6. Click OK to close the configuration dialog box and then OK or Apply to save your changes.

    Results: You now have a fully functional framework that can be shared with others.