Import a Taxonomy
You can import an existing taxonomy at any time into the taxonomy you are editing. The imported taxonomy can be used as an additional taxonomy (to the base taxonomy)—or even, if no base taxonomy has been imported till that time, as a base taxonomy.
To import a taxonomy, select the menu command XBRL | Import/Reference and then either one of the following commands as appropriate:
•Import Standard Taxonomy. In this case, the Select Entry Point dialog appears, in which you can select the standard taxonomy you want.
•Import Schema. This command enables you to browse for the XSD entry point file of a non-standard taxonomy.
You can also access these commands in the context menu of the Overview entry helper.
After the taxonomy has been imported, its components will be added to the Overview entry helper.
Note the following points:
•The Overview entry helper also lists taxonomies that the imported taxonomy imports, as well as linkbases that the imported taxonomy uses.
•In the Global Elements entry helper, concepts defined in the imported taxonomy are listed.
•In the Design window and Details entry helper, imported concepts are indicated with a gray font color.
•You can delete an imported taxonomy by right-clicking it in the Overview entry helper and selecting Remove.
Note: If you find that a large taxonomy such as US-GAAP slows down your editing, use the filter in the main window to limit the display to elements created in the new, extending taxonomy. This will speed up editing considerably.
Import mechanism
The effect of adding a standard import as described above is to add an xs:import element to the new taxonomy file. The xs:import element specifies the namespace and location of the imported taxonomy (listing below).
<xs:import namespace="http://fasb.org/us-gaap/2013-01-31"
schemaLocation="http://xbrl.fasb.org/us-gaap/2013/elts/us-gaap-2013-01-31.xsd"/>
In the listing above, the schemaLocation attribute specifies that the taxonomy is to be loaded via the Internet. But this URI maps, via XMLSpy's catalog mechanism, to a local copy of the US-GAAP taxonomy (that is delivered with your XMLSpy package).
To locate a locally saved taxonomy, a local address can be used directly to locate the taxonomy. Alternatively, a web address can be used which is mapped to a local address via a catalog file. Accessing taxonomies from local locations will greatly speed up your work.