xref'ed content not added to resource folder in publication manager

Question

I am looking for documentation or a solution to see if xref'ed topic get added to a publication if the source/containing topic is added? Thank you for any help in advance.

Kurt Van Deun · Answer

Hey Akheil 
 
When you add a topic to a map in Publication Manager and that topic contains an xref that cannot be resolved within the publication, an error message pops up to alert you. Also when you preview such topic, you will see a message stating that the link could not be resolved. 
 
If this goes by unnoticed, you will always get a warning during publishing indicating that the hyperlink could not be resolved. The error message contains the GUID of the link so it's easy to search for it and add it. In any case, you will never be able to release your publication or the publication output. 
 
If the hyperlink is not part of the TOC (map), you can indeed add it explicitly as a resource to the publication. That will ensure that the preview in Publication Manager can resolve the hyperlink text. And at publishing time, the warning about the broken link will also be gone. But if the topic is not part of the TOC and you publish to a PDF with a hyperlink, the landing point will obviously not exist in the PDF. In case of HTML, you will be able to get to it. Though for the user it may be confusing as they cannot reach that landing point through the TOC. 
 
If you consider the link to be ‘external’ to the publication, you could also set the scope attribute to “external”. In such case, KC will ignore the link and not try to resolve it. And you would have to enter the hyperlink text yourself as there is nothing that can be resolved. 
 
Not sure if the above helps or what the specific use case for your question is... 
 
Best regards, 
Kurt

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xref'ed content not added to resource folder in publication manager