What’s new in the 5.1.0 release (September 2025)

This article covers the new and enhanced features introduced with version 5.1.0 of Adobe Experience Manager Guides.

For the list of issues that have been fixed in this release, view Fixed issues in the 5.1.0 release.

Learn about upgrade instructions for the 5.1.0 release.

Enhanced review workflow

With this release, the review workflow has been significantly enhanced to better support seamless communication between authors and reviewers. Key updates include:

With these enhancements users can now expect:

For more details, view Introduction to review

Improved experience for creating and using DITAVAL files

This update introduces several enhancements that simplify creating, managing, and applying DITAVAL files, enabling better control over conditional content and styling across outputs.

The key highlights are as follows:

Publishing enhancements

The following publishing enhancements have been made made as a part of the new release:

Improved output generation log filtering

This release brings in UI improvements to output generation log filtering capability. You can now filter the output generation logs better for all the four distinct levels; Info, Warn, Error (including both errors and exceptions), and Fatal; with improved and intuitive color-coded indicators that simplify analysis and sharpen visibility across the log stream. This improvement empowers you to navigate logs more efficiently and locate the critical issues with precision.

For more details, view Basic troubleshooting.

Temporary files for published output now include Author and Publish URLs in a new config file

The latest publishing enhancements to Experience Manager Guides now adds a new system_config.xml file to the temporary files generated while publishing HTML, PDF, and JSON outputs using DITA-OT, as well as Native PDF output. This file is automatically included in the publishing job and also accessible through temporary files when you enable the Retain temporary files option for the presets and generate the output.

The system_config.xml file contains AEM instance details, including the Author URL, Local URL, and Publish URL, which provide clearer context and improve the traceability of the downloaded URLs.

For more details, view Understand the output presets.

New output path variable support for output generation

This update introduces dynamic output path configuration for output presets like Native PDF, DITA-OT PDF, JSON, HTML5, and Custom. Instead of using a fixed path, users can now define the output location using the ${base_output_path} variable during installation, offering greater flexibility. The previous default path /content/dam/fmdita-outputs is no longer mandatory.

All the output paths associated with the global folder profile presets will be automatically migrated to utilize the new base output path variable. For custom folder profiles, however, migration is not automatic; you are advised to contact the Customer Success team for assistance.

For more details, view Understand the output presets.

Exported Baseline now includes Document state

The Export Baseline feature now includes the document state alongside key details such as title, file name, file type, and version number in the baseline snapshot. This enhancement improves baseline management by providing a more comprehensive overview of the baseline.

For more details, view Create and manage baselines from Map console.

Support for baseline driven incremental publishing via map dashboard for AEM Sites output using legacy component mapping

The incremental output generation process has been enhanced to support publishing specific versions of topics defined in the selected baseline for AEM sites using legacy component mapping, ensuring accurate propagation of the content in the output.

For more details, view Incremental output generation.

Editor enhancements

The following Editor enhancements have been made as a part of the new release:

Enhanced search experience for Reusable content panel

Experience Manager Guides introduces an enhanced search experience in the Reusable Content Panel. With this update, searching for any keyword now scans all the files added as reusable content, and not just the open ones, ensuring you find the exact position of the keyword across all occurrences, whether the containers are open or collapsed. Additionally, when you clear the search bar, the original state of all containers is retained, providing a more efficient and user-friendly search functionality.

For more details, view Reusable content.

‘Format’ attribute added for reference links

Adobe Experience Manager Guides now adds a format attribute for reference links within the Editor. This attribute is displayed in the Source view and clearly indicates the file type, such as:

Additionally, files with a .xml extension will also have their format set to dita. For files without any extension, the format will be left blank. Furthermore, for any reference links with a scope set to external, the format will be set to html regardless of the file extension in the reference links.

Enhanced map download options in the Editor

Experience Manager Guides introduces a new Use actual file names option in the Download map dialog. Now, when you download map files, you can choose to keep their original filenames instead of default UUIDs, making it much easier to recognize and manage your files. This option is only available if you select Retain file hierarchy and is disabled when you choose Flatten file hierarchy, giving you more flexibility in organizing your downloaded maps.

For more details, view Download files.

{width="300"}

Session timeout prompt to prevent accidental content loss

A pop-up message now notifies you when your Adobe Experience Manager session expires and you are logged out due to inactivity. This message is triggered when you attempt to edit content in Experience Manager Guides after the session has ended. The feature helps reduce the risk of losing unsaved work and enhances the overall reliability and fluidity of the experience, even during periods of inactivity.

Learn more about session timeout prompt in Experience Manager Guides.

Enhanced navref handling in the Editor

The latest enhancements to the Editor improve the handling of navref elements in a DITA map. Now, when you add a navref element to a map, the Select path dialog opens, allowing you to easily choose the map references to include as navigation links in your map. Once added, the title of the added map is displayed in both Author view and Layout view, providing better visibility of the included navigation during authoring. Additionally, the added navref element resolves automatically to display the referred map in the Editor.

For more details, view Add navigation references.

UI improvements in Editor toolbar and User preferences

With this release the settings within the User preferences on the Home page for General and Appearance tabs have been re-structured. It includes renaming the label Opening preferences for Maps and moving the Non-breaking spaces toggle to the Editor toolbar.

Additionally, in the Editor toolbar some quick-access toggles for enabling or disabling Track Changes, Tags, and Non-Breaking Spaces are now grouped under Show option within the Menu dropdown for better usability.

For more details, view Toolbar in the Editor.