Assign a Glossary to a Document

Once you create a glossary, you can assign it to one or more documents in the Library. A glossary can be assigned to a document in two ways: through manual assignment and through inheritance from the document's parent.

You can manually assign a glossary while working in the Library, Outline Editor, or Web Page Editor, using the Properties toolpane. A glossary can be assigned only to modules, sections, topics, and web pages. Although no module or section text is marked up when glossary links are updated, assigning glossaries to modules and sections is useful for inheritance purposes, as described.

Tip: You can select multiple documents using the standard Windows selection keys (CTRL+click and SHIFT+click). However, you must select only document types that support glossaries. If a multi-document selection in the Library includes a document type that does not support glossaries, such as a package, the Glossary property does not appear in the Properties toolpane.

Warning! Be careful when changing a property for multiple documents that already contain values for the same property. The new values you enter for the property overwrite any existing values for all selected documents.

Glossaries can be assigned through property inheritance only in the Outline and Topic Editors. If you assign a glossary to a module or section, all new module, section, and topic documents that you link as children of this document while working in the Outline Editor inherit the parent's glossary setting. Similarly, any new web page that you create from the Concept pane of the Outline Editor inherits the glossary of its parent. Likewise, if you assign a glossary to a topic, any new web pages that you create while working in the Topic Editor, for example, as new frame attachments, inherit the topic's glossary setting. However, new documents that are not linked (documents that are created using the File, New command) and existing documents that are linked as children of the document do NOT inherit any property settings.

Once you have assigned a glossary to a document, you still must update glossary links to create glossary links in that document.

If a glossary is no longer appropriate for a document, you can change or remove the assigned glossary using the Properties toolpane. Changing or removing the glossary assigned to a parent does not automatically change the glossary for any child documents, even those that inherited their glossary from the parent. You must change the glossary for each child document manually.

In addition, changing or removing the glossary assigned to a document does not automatically update glossary links. Therefore, after making any changes in glossary assignments, you must update glossary links to apply the new glossary to the affected documents.

Note: You can view the glossaries assigned to selected documents in the Related Links toolpane. However, you cannot use the Related Links toolpane to change glossary assignments.

Multi-user Considerations

Before you can perform this action, you must check out the document. After you save any changes, you should check in the document to make it available to other authors and add the changes to the Developer's version control system. If you are changing the glossaries of multiple documents at the same time, all selected documents must be checked out. The Glossary property is not available for editing if one or more documents in a multi-document selection are not checked out.

You do not need to check out the glossary, only the parent document(s). In addition, you can link to a glossary even if it is checked out to another user.

When you are working offline, you can link to a glossary only if it is available in your local cache. Therefore, if you plan to work offline, you should ensure that you have a local copy of any glossary to which you want to link. To do this, you can either check out or get the glossary, depending on whether you plan to edit it or to have access to a read-only copy. If you go offline and do not have a copy of a glossary in your local cache, that glossary will be unavailable to you as you work offline. To remedy this, you need to go back online and get the documents that you need.

To assign a glossary to a document:

1. Display the Properties toolpane.
2. From the Library or Outline Editor, select the document(s) to which you want to assign a glossary.

   You can select multiple documents using the standard Windows selection keys (CTRL+click and SHIFT+click). However, glossaries can be assigned only to modules, sections, topics, and web pages.

3. In the Properties toolpane, click the Glossary property.
4. Click .
5. Navigate the Library to the folder containing the desired glossary.
6. Click Open or press ENTER.

   After assigning a glossary to a document, be sure to update glossary links.

To remove a glossary assigned to a document:

1. Display the Properties toolpane.
2. From the Library or Outline Editor, select the document(s) from which you want to remove an assigned glossary.

   You can select multiple documents using the standard Windows selection keys (CTRL+click and SHIFT+click). However, you must select only module, section, topic, and/or web page documents to which the same glossary has been assigned.

3. In the Properties toolpane, click the Glossary property cell.
4. Press DELETE to clear the glossary field.

   After removing an assigned glossary from a document, be sure to update glossary links.