---
title: "10 reasons for moving away from DITA"
date: 2015-01-28
description: "My DITA journey   1.0 My DITA journey begins   1.1 DITA: Folder hierarchy, conref, mapref, and..."
canonical_url: https://idratherbewriting.com/2015/01/28/10-reasons-for-moving-away-from-dita/
---
# 10 reasons for moving away from DITA
If you looked at my [top 10 posts of 2014](https://idratherbewriting.com/2015/01/05/top-10-posts-podcasts-tweets-of-2014-and-what-it-all-means/), you'd see that posts about DITA topped the lists for the most commented on posts. I wrote a lot about DITA in 2014, and even compiled [extensive notes and tutorials for DITA](https://idratherbewriting.com/ditaqrg/), including many OxygenXML webhelp hacks.

But now I've decided that DITA is not the way to go for me. Before I list my 10 reasons for not using DITA, let me list a few things about DITA I really liked.

## 10 things I like about DITA

### 1. Text-file formats

No more need to create and author content using some fancy rich text editor that hides the source behind a wall of mystery. With text-file formats, you can work directly with the source.

### 2. Revision control integration

Because you can work with text file formats, DITA files work well with revision control repositories. This means you can bypass a CMS and collaborate with others using the same collaborative architecture as developers.

### 3. Open source aspect of DITA OT

I love the open source aspect of the DITA OT. This open standard allows you to author content that numerous vendors support and handle. You can jump from vendor to vendor without having to lock your content into a proprietary format.

### 4. Conditional filtering from a structured taxonomy

I like how you can set up filtering based on specific attributes (such as product, platform, or audience), and then set specific values for those attributes. Oxygen prompts you with options for the attribute in a quick, easy way.

### 5. OxygenXML

If there was ever an editor I fell in love with, it was OxygenXML. Nearly everything it does is right on target. Oxygen's latest enhancement allows you to switch to different filtered views to dynamically hide content you don't want to see -- this was a lifesaver in simplifying the authoring process when I added an abundance of attributes on the same page.

### 6. A markup built specifically for tech comm