Inline XBRL combines XBRL financial information with an HTML document. Each XBRL fact is marked using a tag specific to Inline XBRL with information about the element, context, and other properties (such as precision) for the fact. The HTML document that contains Inline XBRL must be formatted as XHTML, which is a stricter and more rigid version of HTML. Further, while the instance data for the XBRL report is combined with the HTML document, there are still linkbase files that must be edited and maintained when working with Inline XBRL.
Because of these complications, the software uses a patented technology called the XBRL Data Exchange (or XDX) to serve as a method for transporting XBRL financial information inside of an EDGAR HTML document without the need for XHTML formatting or for linkbase documents.
XDX uses the ID attribute of standard HTML blocks and inline tags to store XBRL information. The software's HTML editing tools can be used in conjunction with the XBRL tools to tag fact data within the document. For users who are already familiar with the software's HTML editing tools and interface, it will be a seamless transition to working with XDX.
After a document has been completely tagged with XDX, you can generate Inline XBRL, which will consist of an XHTML document and the required linkbase documents. You can also generate standard XBRL reports from a document tagged with XDX.
