What to change
The top-level inventory may point to several smaller files, and an old child file can preserve withdrawn routes. Ask the supplier to inspect every referenced part and provide a combined list of unique public destinations. A withdrawal test should remove the article from that complete list. Also check obsolete deployed files so someone following an older inventory reference does not continue to receive misleading publication information.
A worked example
Illustrative example
Illustrative test: Withdraw a sample guide and inspect both current and previously used sitemap parts. Ask for the combined route list so the practice can verify the withdrawal without inspecting individual files. A withdrawn guide may disappear from the visible library but remain listed in an older sitemap part. Ask for the combined address list across current referenced parts and relevant old files. The supplier removes the obsolete entry through normal generation and cleanup. Your content owner checks the withdrawal against that combined list, making the result reviewable without needing to know which technical file happened to contain the route.
What this means for your practice
A large sitemap may be divided into several smaller files. Updating the main list does not necessarily remove a withdrawn guide from each part. Ask your supplier for the combined list of addresses, including the files the main index points to. Your content team can compare that list with the withdrawal decision without opening technical files individually. Include previously deployed parts where old references may still reach them. The aim is a consistent public inventory after normal publishing, not a one-off deletion in the most visible file. Keep the withdrawal reason in the content record so an old source list does not reintroduce the guide later.
How to check the result
No referenced sitemap file advertises the withdrawn route.
A mistake to avoid
Reviewing only the sitemap index misses the URLs inside its children.
Turn reading into a next step
Your action checklist
Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.
Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.
Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.
Further reading
These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.
Related guides
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