Hi John -- It is true that setting ID attributes is not necessary in order for the style sheets to automatically create the table of contents, as the paragraph you quote says. However, if you're using ref or extref elements for any other kinds of links that you put in the finding aid yourself (such as "see" or "see also" references), relying on IDs generated by the style sheet is risky since the generated IDs are not fixed and can change if material is added or removed (not to mention the fact that you don't know the ID until after you've applied the style sheet!) At the moment we're only entering occasional IDs as we need them for ref and extref targets, and we are adding them manually to the source XML so they are permanently fixed. Michele -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Michele R. Combs Manuscripts Processor Special Collections Research Center Syracuse University Library 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244 (315) 443-2697 -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- >>> [log in to unmask] 11/9/2006 4:54 PM >>> I'd like to know if people are still entering values for ID attributes for locations in finding aids other than the Container List or if most of these ID attribute values are now being generated by stylesheets. Based on the statement in the EAD Cookbook, section 5.3.2 (Table of Contents), it would appear that it is no longer necessary to enter ID attributes anywhere but locations that require customization. "It is not necessary, as it was with the first edition, to add prescribed @id attributes to these elements to produce the hyperlinks." Have I interpreted this correctly? John Bewley Music Library University at Buffalo, The State University of New York 716 645-2924