Menus and Actions

The actions available in the menu bar depend on the object in focus.

This page discusses:

File Menu

Action Keyboard Shortcut Description
Ctrl + S Saves all modifications to the topic.

The disk icon turns blue during the process and shows as gray when complete.

Edit Menu

Action Keyboard Shortcut Description
Undo Ctrl + Z Undoes the last edit.
Redo Ctrl + Shift + Z Restores to the previous state.
Cut Ctrl + X Cuts the selected content from a topic and copies it to the clipboard.
Copy Ctrl + C Copies the selected content to the clipboard.
Paste Ctrl + V Pastes the clipboard content into the topic, retaining the original formatting.
Paste as text Ctrl + Shift + V Pastes the clipboard content into the topic as plain text.
Edit Element ID — Opens the Edit Element ID dialog box.
Delete Delete Deletes the selected element.
Find and Replace Ctrl + F Searches for text, and optionally allows you to replace the found text with different text. For more information, see Finding and Replacing Text.

View Menu

Action Description
Document Map Outline Hides or displays the document map outline.

Insert Menu

As you enter text, the topic editor creates a new paragraph when you press Enter. To insert a different type of element, use the Insert menu. The menu only displays the items that are valid for the cursor's current location.
Action Option Keyboard Shortcut Description
Topic New topic Ctrl + Enter Adds a new, blank topic according to the selected action. For more information, see Creating Topics.
Existing topic — Lets you search for an existing topic to add as a child of the selected map or topic. For more information, see Editing Maps.
Table Table with n Columns — Inserts a table at the cursor's location. The app adds a default table layout that includes a row for column headings, with two rows and two columns.

For more information, see Creating Tables.
Numbered Table — Inserts a numbered table at the cursor's location.
Image — — Inserts an image at the cursor's current location. Author supports GIF, SVG, PNG, and JPEG image formats.

You can add an image from the list of available files or as defined by a key. For more information, see Working with Images.
Content Reference — — Inserts a content reference to a topic in the current document map at the current location.

The app creates an element of the type you selected, with a reference to the selected item. It does not copy the selected topic into the current topic. Publishing the document inserts the value of the content reference into the published document.
Footnote Footnote — Ctrl + Alt + F Adds a footnote that references the element at the cursor's current location. The footnote shows as a box at the bottom of the page. You can add paragraphs, ordered lists, unordered lists, and definition lists as the footnote content.

For more information, see Using Footnotes.
External Link — — Inserts a link to a web or email address. For more information, see Add a Reference to an External Link.
Cross-Reference Topic Element — Inserts a cross-reference to an element in this or another topic.
Topic — Inserts a cross-reference to another topic. For more information, see Add a Reference to a Topic.
Footnote — Inserts a cross-reference to a footnote in this or another topic.
Section — Inserts a cross-reference to a section in this or another topic.
Figure — Inserts a cross-reference to a figure in this or another topic.
Preformatted Text — — Inserts a text block that uses a fixed width font, and the text is saved exactly as entered. If you add two or more adjacent spaces, all space characters are saved (unlike the paragraph that removes extra spaces.) Any new lines (returns) entered adds a new line within the preformatted text block; then do not start a new paragraph.

You can format the text, and add cross references.
Note — — Adds two boundary lines to frame the note, and a list of note types. Select the type of note, such as Note, Warning, or Important. After the note type and before the bottom boundary line, enter the content of the note. You can include paragraphs, lists, images, and other elements in the note.
Paragraph — — Adds a new paragraph at the cursor's location. You can also add a new paragraph by pressing Enter anywhere in the topic that allows paragraphs.
Section — — Adds a section to the topic to create divisions within the topic. If you use sections, you can add elements before the first section, but you cannot add elements between or after sections.

When you insert a section, the app adds a section number and a text box for the section title. Within a section, you can include paragraphs, lists, preformatted text, tables, figures, footnotes, and notes.

To add an additional section, click Section in the breadcrumb trail to select the entire section, then click and select Section. The app adds a blank section after the selected section.
Figure — — Inserts a figure element that includes a title, image, and an optional description. Using a figure instead of an image allows you to create cross-references to it.

For more information, see Inserting Figures.
Special Character — — Opens the Insert Character dialog box, where you can search for and select a special character to insert.

Format Menu

Action Option Keyboard Shortcut Description
Text Bold Ctrl + B Bolds the selected text.

Shows in blue if the selected text uses this format.
Italics Ctrl + I Italicizes the selected text.

Shows in blue if the selected text uses this format.
Underline Ctrl + U Underlines the selected text.

Shows in blue if the selected text uses this format.
Subscript — Converts the selected text to a subscript.

Shows in blue if the selected text uses this format.
Superscript — Converts the selected text to a superscript.

Shows in blue if the selected text uses this format.
List Unordered list — Inserts a bulleted list.

Shows in blue if the current element uses this format.
Ordered list — Inserts a numbered list.

Shows in blue if the current element uses this format.
Table Horizontally — Aligns the table cell:
  • Left
  • Center
  • Right
  • Justify
Vertically — Aligns the table cell:
  • Top
  • Middle
  • Bottom
Insert 1 column(s) left — Inserts a column to the left.
Insert 1 column(s) right — Inserts a column to the right.
Insert 1 row(s) above — Inserts a row above.
Insert 1 row(s) below — Inserts a row below.
Delete 1 column(s) — Deletes this column.
Delete 1 row(s) — Deletes this row.
Title — Adds a header and description above the table.
Footer — Adds a footer below the table.
Merge cells — Merges the selected table cells.
Split cell — Splits the selected table cell.

Publish Menu

Action Description
To PDF Submits a publication request for this document map. For more information, see Publishing Document Maps.