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Applying Style Sheets to Topics

After creating a style sheet, you need to apply (link) the style sheet to topics where you want to use those styles. It is recommended that you apply a master style sheet at the project or target level, which means that the style sheet will automatically be applied to all topics in that project or target (see Applying Master Style Sheets). However, if you want to apply different style sheets to topics individually, you can.

The following methods can be used when applying style sheets to topics:

• Apply one or more style sheets to a single topic.
• Apply a single style sheet to multiple topics at the same time using the File List window pane.
• Apply a single style sheet to multiple topics at the same time using the Split View feature.

Following are steps for each of these.

How to apply one or more style sheets to a single topic

1. Open the topic to which you want to apply the style sheet.

2. Select Tools>Stylesheet Links.

   The Stylesheet Links dialog opens, showing all the topic style sheets in your project.

3. Do one of the following:

   • On the right side of the dialog, select the style sheet(s) that you want to associate with the topic. Then click to add the style sheet(s) to the Current Links section on the left.

     OR

   • Double-click the style sheet(s) that you want to associate with the topic. The style sheet is added to the Current Links section on the left.

   Note: If the style sheet does not yet exist, you can click Add to create a new style sheet.

4. Click OK.

   The style sheet is now associated with the topic.

5. Press CTRL+S or click to save your work.

How to apply a single style sheet to multiple topics using the File List window pane

1. Select View>File List or press CTRL+SHIFT+J on your keyboard.
2. (Optional) From the Filter drop-down list in the File List window pane, select the type of files that you want to view.
3. Select the files to which you want to apply a style sheet. You can hold the SHIFT key to select a range, or you can hold the CTRL key to select individual items.

4. In the local toolbar, click .

   The Properties dialog opens.

5. Click the Topic Properties tab.
6. In the Stylesheet field, click the drop-down arrow and select the appropriate style sheet.
7. Click OK.

How to apply a single style sheet to multiple topics using the Split View feature

1. In the Content Explorer, click the Show Files button .

   The Content Explorer splits into two halves (left and right).

2. On the left side of the split Content Explorer, select the folder containing the topics to which you want to apply a style sheet.
3. On the right side of the split Content Explorer, select the topics. Hold down the SHIFT key and click a range of topics, or hold down the CTRL key and click individual topics.

4. In the local toolbar, click .

   The Properties dialog opens.

5. Click the Topic Properties tab.
6. In the Stylesheet field, click the drop-down arrow and select the appropriate style sheet.
7. Click OK.
8. To hide the split view, click the Show Files button again.

Note: You cannot use multiple style sheets per topic for native Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, and XHTML outputs.

WHAT'S NEXT?

After you apply a style sheet to a topic, you can apply styles from the style sheet to content in the topic. You can also create new styles, adding them to the style sheet. See Applying Styles to Topic Content and Creating New Style Classes.

See Also

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