# Adding element references

An element reference provides a reference to a global element. A declaration that references a global element enables the referenced global element to appear in the instance document in the context of the referencing declaration.

The following instructions were written for the Resource perspective, but they will also work in many other perspectives.

To add an element reference, complete the following steps:

1. In the Design view, right-click the content model (sequence, choice, or all element) you want to work with and click Add Element Ref. If no global element is defined in the document, a new global element is created for you, and the element reference will point to it.
2. Select the element reference. To specify values for an element reference:
   - Click the name of the element reference in the Design view. Enter the name of the element reference.
   - Click the element reference type in the Design view. Select a type from the menu, or select Browse for more options.
3. (Optional) Select the appropriate value in the Minimum Occurrence field. This is the number of times the global element referenced can appear in an instance document. If you want the element to be optional, select 0. Otherwise, select 1.
4. (Optional) Select the appropriate value in the Maximum Occurrence field. This is the maximum number of times the global element referenced can appear. You can select unbounded to indicate there is no maximum number of occurrences.
5. Click the Documentation tab if you want to provide any information about this element reference. The Documentation page is used for human readable material, such as a description.
6. Click the Extensions tab if you want to add application information elements to your annotations of schema components. The Extensions page allows you to specify the schema and add XML content to your annotations.

Related tasks
Adding global elements
Adding elements
Adding an any element
Adding global attributes