Export content

Export a publication target's content as files you can take elsewhere: Markdown, DITA, HDITA, Word, XLIFF, OKF, a RAG bundle, or PDF. Everything runs from one dialog.

Open the Export dialog #

1. Go to Publishing in the sidebar and open the map you want to export, or open the map editor and use the Publishing panel.

2. Click Export… on the target.

3. Pick a format and click Download.

The dialog lists every format in three groups: For people, For AI & agents, and For other systems. Large PDFs also appear in Saved PDF exports: return to the same target after closing or reloading to read progress and download the completed job.

Available formats #

The three For AI & agents endpoint rows are URLs, not downloads. On a published web target they show Copy URL (or Copy target ID for MCP). On a target that is not published to the web they show Publish to web to enable.

What each format resolves #

Formats fall into two camps, and the difference decides which one you want.

Lossless formats keep your structure. Conditions, variables, and component references survive as markers, so the content can come back into Topicary (or another structured tool) intact.

Resolved formats run the publishing pipeline first. Components are expanded, conditions are filtered against the target's condition profile, and variable tokens are replaced with values. What you get is one flat variant of the content, the same one a reader would see.

Markdown #

Downloads a .zip containing:

• One .md file for each topic, with YAML frontmatter carrying the title, in a folder hierarchy matching the map

• _components/ with one .md file for each component the map references

• _meta/conditions.json with your filter groups and their values

• _meta/variables.json with the target's variable values

Nothing is flattened. Conditional blocks, variable tokens, topic links, and component references stay in the files as HTML-comment markers, which is what lets a re-import rebuild the structured content.

DITA #

Downloads a .zip containing one .dita file for each topic and a .ditamap reflecting the map hierarchy. Concept topics keep their DITA specialization. Tasks, references, and glossary topics use valid generic topics with an outputclass identifying their type; the canonical source preserves the original type for re-import. Filter groups become profiling attributes (audience, platform, product, or otherprops), and variables become <keyword keyref="..."> elements carrying the resolved value. Bookmap structure, glossary entries, and reltables are supported.

HDITA #

Downloads a .zip containing one .html file for each topic: HTML5 with data-* attributes carrying the DITA semantics. The ZIP also includes a manifest, canonical source, and captured configuration for re-import; it has no DITA navigation map.

Use HDITA when the receiving system reads HTML but you do not want to lose the structure. Conditions become data-props, variables become data-keyref, and component references become data-conref, so the content round-trips back into Topicary without flattening. The output is one DITA Open Toolkit hop away from DITA proper. The readable HTML carries component pointers; canonical component bodies are included for re-import. A receiving HTML tool needs to understand those pointers to render the component text. HDITA is available for a whole target, not for a single topic.

Word (.docx) #

Downloads one .docx file with every topic as a section. Word export preserves headings, lists, tables, images, bold, italic, and code formatting. The content is resolved first, so what you get is a single flat variant.

OKF (agent knowledge bundle) #

Downloads a .zip of Markdown pages paired with typed metadata, following Google's open Agent Knowledge Format, so agents and retrieval systems can consume the documentation without a custom parser. The content is resolved first. OKF is available for a whole target, not for a single topic.

XLIFF 2.0 #

Downloads an .xlf file with source and target segments for translation tools. Components are expanded, but conditional blocks and variable tokens are preserved in the segments, because translators need to see every variant they are translating. Import the completed files back through the translation panel.

Export a single topic #

1. Open the topic in the editor.

2. Click the three-dot menu.

3. Select Export as Markdown.

The file downloads immediately as a single .md with YAML frontmatter. Component references are resolved first. Conditions and variables are not, because a single topic has no publication target to supply a condition profile or a variable set.

For a lossless single-topic bundle, choose Export lossless topic bundle instead. It downloads a ZIP of saved Main canonical source, same-project topic and component dependencies, condition definitions, and project default variable values. Rich structures can be re-imported without relying on their rendered Markdown representation. Images remain linked; the manifest reports external dependencies and other coverage gaps. Other output formats in the interface run against a publication target.

See also #

• Publish a web site: publish as a live documentation site instead of exporting static files

• Generate a PDF: another output format for offline distribution

• Import formats: supported formats for importing content into Topicary

• The publishing pipeline: how components, conditions, and variables are resolved before export

• Topic types: topic types determine DITA element mapping during export