The short description, which represents the purpose or theme of the topic, is also intended to be used as a link preview and for searching. When used within a DITA map, the short description of the <topicref> can be used to override the short description in the topic. http://docs.oasis-open.org/dita/v1.1/OS/langspec/langref/shortdesc.html

What is implied here, but not quite said, is that the shortdesc should answer the “so what”? question–in other words, what is the value in this topic, and why should I care about it? The shortdesc should either try and deflect the need to actually read the topic, by extracting the key and most actionable piece of information (especially effective with tasks), or it should attempt to help a reader decide whether this topic will actually be useful enough to be worth reading. The best case is that you can mouse over a shortdesc or find it in a mini-TOC and actually find the key detail you need without reading further–and there are topics that might well consist entirely of the shortdesc. (Imagine a topic of which the shortdesc is “You should install Service Pack 3 before attempting to install the latest version; otherwise your installation will fail.”) But the second best case is that you can tell whether or not this is the topic YOU need to read. For example, a shortdesc to a longer topic with several paragraphs might specify use case information about where the information is applicable. For example, a shortdesc that says “Users who need to use this technology in a distributed environment should understand the flow of information between servers.” You can achieve some of these goals by writing clear titles–but shortdescs give you a lot more space.

Because the content of shortdesc is promoted in search and shows up in a number of places as described below, making the shortdesc valuable in itself or a clear indicator of where to find value is very useful.

Where Does <shortdesc> Show Up?

• At the top of the topic in output
• When you mouse over a cross-ref to the topic in HTML
• In a mini-toc inside a top-level topic with several topics nested underneath it
• In search results (internal to a Help system, or in a search engine)

The Need for Consistency

Some Technical Limitations

• Conditional formatting (use <abstract> if you need to do this)
• x-refs
• codeblocks, lists, tables, or other fancy formatting

Challenges of <shortdesc>, Summarized

<shortdesc> is going to work best if your DITA implementation is already working well. If your content isn’t well-structured and concise with a clear purpose for each topic (concept, task, and reference) and a modular structure, it will be hard to write a clear shortdesc–in fact, difficulty in writing a shortdesc may be an early warning about content problems. If your team isn’t working with a clear idea of how to write a shortdesc, you’ll end up with consistency problems, so you need to communicate about what you’re doing. And if you have a lot of legacy content, you may find yourself writing this element in bulk which is probably not most people’s idea of fun.

Most of all, the <shortdesc> element needs to function in multiple contexts and be used consistently. Otherwise you’ll end up with confusing search results or hover text, and mini-TOCs that are gappy or not especially helpful. As we learned in our meetup this June, some people just decide not to deal with this tricky element.

Tips for Success

Nevertheless, <shortdesc> can have a lot of utility in highlighting valuable content. Here are some tips to make yours effective.

• Use complete sentences.
• Make sure your content can either stand alone (in which case consider formatting it distinctively in the output) or that it works as the opening of the topic.
• Don’t be long-winded.
• Use a consistent sentence structure. Statements work best.
• Try and offer a takeaway that relieves someone from reading.
• Don’t promise (e.g. “the following methods work:)
• Be systematic in getting them done.
• If a topic contains only one sentence, just make it the shortdesc.
• If you have them, make shortdescs for “container topics” cover the nested topics succinctly.

How About You?

In our meetup, we learned that most people in our group are using <shortdesc> fairly traditionally, as described above, or else not using it at all. However, we keep hearing rumors about creative uses including special formatting and tool tips. If you have some ingenious ideas about how to use them, we’d love to hear from you in comments or at our next meetup.