DOCBOOK-APPS: xreflabel

Title: Personal Stationery

In "The Definitive Guide", our only piece of 
documentation on the xreflabel attribute seems to be: " 
holds text to be used when a cross reference (XRef) is made to the element."  It seems that 
the stylesheets use the xreflabel and only the xreflabel for an xref when it 
encounters one, ignoring any labels generated for the target 
element.

 

I would prefer it if the xreflabel were only 
used as a replacement for the title in a cross-reference.  For example, if 
I have in my document:

 

<figure id="fig1" xreflabel="Short 
Title">

 <title>Really, really, long but 
necessarily descriptive title</title>

 <graphic/>

</figure>

 

And I create an xref to this element, I 
would like to have "Figure 13.2: Short Title", not "Short Title".  
(Assuming that the gentext template for a figure in the xref template were "%n: 
%t" instead of "%n"

 

In other words, I think that the xreflabel 
should only be picked up when the gentext template mechanism encounters a 
'%t'.  I don't think the xreflabel should override the gentext template as 
it does now.

 

I'm certain that I can make the necessary 
customizations for us, I'm just wondering if this idea makes sense and if the 
default behavior should change.  Any thoughts?

 

Jeff Beal

Tools Specialist

ANSYS, Inc.

(724) 514-3150