Outputs of DITA Documentation

DITA is specifically designed for multi-channel publishing, meaning you can create content once and publish it to many formats without rewriting or reformatting the source.

The publishing output is decoupled from the content, so your writing remains consistent regardless of the target format.

Common Output Formats

• HTML: Ideal for online help systems, knowledge bases, and intranets.
• PDF: Suitable for printed manuals, regulatory documentation, and offline usage.
• ePub / Mobile / WebApps: Used for mobile-friendly user guides and dynamic content portals.
• Content delivery platforms (CDPs): Dynamic portals that allow personalized, filterable content based on metadata and user roles.

Tools for Publishing

• DITA Open Toolkit (DITA-OT): The standard open-source publishing engine. It transforms DITA XML into various output formats.
• Commercial tools: Many tools integrate DITA-OT or provide their own publishing engines, such as Oxygen XML Editor, SDL Tridion Docs, Adobe Experience Manager, Fluid Topics, and Zoomin.