Content referencing (conref) is a convenient mechanism for reuse of content fragments. A fragment of content may be included from another location. To do so, the top element to be included is repeated at the location that will receive the inclusion. Instead of the usual attributes or content, the referencing element is given a conref attribute that specifies the location of the referenced element.

The element containing the content reference acts as a placeholder for the referenced element. The identifier for the referenced element must be either absolute or resolvable in the context of the referencing element. (See Identity attribute for the details on identifiers.)

The architectural specification describes content referencing at:

• http://docs.oasis-open.org/dita/v1.0/archspec/conref.html.