Linking attributes

Last Updated : Apr 09, 2024 |

Use the Linking attribute to control the behavior of relationship table links or parent/child topics in the topic hierarchy (top part of a map). These settings only apply to the topics in the specific context. For example, if a topic appears twice in a relationship table, setting the linking attribute in one relationship does not affect the linking behavior of the topic in another relationship.

Child topics inherits the Linking attribute from the parent. If you produce an output and don’t see the linking you expect, it could be because the Linking attribute is set on the parent topic.

Attribute

Description

(None)

This is the default behavior:

  • In the topic hierarchy, parent topics contain links to nested child topics in the output, and the child topics have a link to the parent topic.

  • In relationship tables, links go both ways.

None

There is no linking—the topic cannot be linked to and it cannot link to other topics.

Normal

This is the same as the default behavior. A topic can be linked to and can link to other topics. Use this only to override the linking value of a parent topic.

Target only

A topic can only be linked to and cannot link to other topics. This is used often to suppress links from parent to nested child topics and to define one-way relationships in relationship tables.

Source only

A topic cannot be linked to but can link to other topics. We typically use Target only on the parent topic, but you can use this attribute if there are multiple child topics and some require different behavior than others.

If you use Source only in the topic hierarchy, you must set the Linking attribute on the child topics to Normal or Target only.