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4232 Views 32 Replies Latest reply: Nov 24, 2010 12:43 PM by JoeEC RSS Branched to a new discussion.
Maquese Calculating status... 4 posts since
Feb 16, 2009
Currently Being Moderated

Feb 16, 2009 10:34 AM

RH8 IE7 Blank Page

My company just moved to Robohelp 8 and I've run into an issue. During some testing for a new project, I created a demo webpage with links to several different context sensitive help ids. See code example below.

In Firefox, clicking each link displays the appropriate help topic in a single window. In IE7, the first link clicked opens the appropriate help topic in a new window, but clicking any subsequent links on the demo page causes IE7 to display only a blank webpage. If I close the help window and click a link in the demo page, the appropriate help topic is displayed in a new window, but, again, clicking any other link on the demo page displays a blank webpage.

I even tried upgrading an existing project from RH7 into RH8, and the webhelp exhibits the same issues that the new project does.

Thoughts?
  • Currently Being Moderated
    1. Feb 23, 2009 3:00 AM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    I have the same problem. I call the help from my (.NET) application. The first time the help shows fine, but when I leave the browser open and call the help again I recieve an error : Access denied, whcsh_home.htm, line 196 char8

    It seems to be a bug, so I hope for a fast response.

  • Peter Grainge Community Professional 12,644 posts since
    Aug 31, 2004
    Currently Being Moderated
    2. Feb 23, 2009 4:50 AM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    Calling a second topic whilst the first is still open was a problem here but it was fixed by some changes to our calls to the help. This was done by the developers who have their own routine for calling the help.

    There is some information that I gleaned from them on my site. See Calling WebHelp.

    EVDL. The error you are getting is not the same as you are getting an error message. On the subject of fast responses, this forum is a user to user forum so you get answers when people can fit them in with their work. That is usually pretty quick. If you need faster, try Adobe Support.

  • Currently Being Moderated
    5. Feb 24, 2009 4:07 AM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    Peter, thanks for your reaction and I'am sorry to expect a (to) quick reaction.

    The manner I want to communicate with my Help is from an .NET windows application. With Robohelp 8 there is a RoboHelp_CSH.cs file you can use to open the default browser and open the context-sensitive WebHelp based on Map id's. Even with de adjustmenents on the Url I do not succeed to fix the problem.

    The url I use is : http://<server>/index.htm#<id=<number>

    The first time it works fine, but when I leave the browser open and ask for help again it goed wrong
  • Peter Grainge Community Professional 12,644 posts since
    Aug 31, 2004
    Currently Being Moderated
    6. Feb 24, 2009 4:57 AM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    EVDL no worries but I needed to explain how things work here. I cannot help you with calls to the help other than point to the links on my site. They contain information written by others who do understand such things and they may have covered this issue.

    Have you checked the RH Help on this subject?

    Looking at the other Maquese's code in this thread, that call using map ids does look very different to yours which seems to be a mix of the URL call and the map id call. However, that would break even the first call if I were right.

  • vivek_k-GfmzA1 User 62 posts since
    Feb 26, 2008
    Currently Being Moderated
    7. Feb 24, 2009 7:09 AM (in response to Peter Grainge)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    Adobe is looking into this problem and is close to finding the fix.

    Vivek.
    Adobe RoboHelp Team
  • vivek_k-GfmzA1 User 62 posts since
    Feb 26, 2008
    Currently Being Moderated
    8. Feb 27, 2009 3:29 AM (in response to vivek_k-GfmzA1)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    Hi,

    We have found the fix, file <Program files>\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp 8\RoboHTML\WebHelp5Ext\template_csh\whcsh_home.htm is the culprit.

    4 lines (code attached) are to be removed from function SwitchURL()

    If you are not comfortable removing this then you shall find this updated file on Peter's site.
    He continues to be the most helpful person around :-)

    Vivek.
  • Peter Grainge Community Professional 12,644 posts since
    Aug 31, 2004
    Currently Being Moderated
    9. Feb 27, 2009 3:45 AM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    It will be on my site for Monday.

    And I love you too Vivek. :-)
  • Ben Minson User 560 posts since
    Sep 8, 2005
    Currently Being Moderated
    11. Feb 27, 2009 8:17 AM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    Was the code Vivek posted new in whcsh_home.htm for RH8? It's not in that file for an RH7 project.
  • Peter Grainge Community Professional 12,644 posts since
    Aug 31, 2004
    Currently Being Moderated
    12. Feb 27, 2009 8:44 AM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    Yes, this thread is for RH8.

  • Peter Grainge Community Professional 12,644 posts since
    Aug 31, 2004
    Currently Being Moderated
    13. Mar 1, 2009 6:52 AM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    The fix is for EVDL's issue only. Maquese's issue is different.

  • gchandu Calculating status... 19 posts since
    Aug 30, 2008
    Currently Being Moderated
    14. Mar 2, 2009 4:30 AM (in response to Peter Grainge)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    Hi Vivek,

    I am facing the same issue with RoboHelp for Word X5. But i dint find the code which you typed for RH8. Could you please assist with RHX5 as well.

    I just see a blank page when i click on the Help link. i do not see any error. The help files opens and then goes off byitself and i get to see only the transferring from the weblink and a blinking progress bar. Please help

    Regards
    Chandrika
  • RoboWizard Community Professional 2,875 posts since
    Jan 30, 2004
    Currently Being Moderated
    15. Mar 2, 2009 6:34 AM (in response to gchandu)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    Hi Chandrika

    I'll be very surprised if you hear from anyone on your issue. There are a few different reasons.

    1. You are using RoboHelp for Word. Fewer and fewer people are using this and moving to RoboHelp HTML.
    2. You didn't say what your output type is? WinHelp? WebHelp? FlashHelp?
    3. You are using a very old version of RoboHelp. According to my records, X5 was released in January 2004. That's five years ago. An eternity in computer terms.

    Cheers... Rick
  • Govadica User 23 posts since
    Mar 18, 2009
    Currently Being Moderated
    16. Mar 18, 2009 10:38 AM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page
    Thank for Info. this forums help me a lot.

    zojirushi
  • DavidMarkRichards Calculating status... 3 posts since
    Dec 10, 2009
    Currently Being Moderated
    17. Dec 16, 2009 4:26 PM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    I seem to be having the same problem - second context sensitive help file does not load. I also have Robohelp 8.0.2 and have experimented with the new file - still doesn't work. Everything works fine in Firefox (and flawlessly in Google Chrome). Not in IE 8.

     

    Dave Richards

  • DavidMarkRichards User 3 posts since
    Dec 10, 2009
    Currently Being Moderated
    18. Dec 18, 2009 12:38 PM (in response to DavidMarkRichards)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    OK, so I downloaded Mr. Grainge's file (thank you, sir) and followed his instructions. This solved my problem.

    However, I must note that I had already downloaded and installed both the 8.0.1 and 8.0.2 updates for Robohelp 8.

    Curious, I did a file comparison between the whcsh_home.htm file I had in my Robohelp folders and Mr. Grainge's file.

    They are NOT the same. Shouldn't the 8.0.1 update have solved my problem?

     

    Thanks to Peter Grainge for his help.

  • Peter Grainge Community Professional 12,644 posts since
    Aug 31, 2004
    Currently Being Moderated
    19. Dec 18, 2009 1:15 PM (in response to DavidMarkRichards)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    I would have thought the DLL in the patch would have included the fix for this problem. I'll let Adobe know there is still an outstanding issue as far as patches are concerned.

     


    See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

    Follow me @petergrainge

  • Tony_Y Calculating status... 2 posts since
    Feb 26, 2010
    Currently Being Moderated
    20. Feb 26, 2010 4:12 PM (in response to vivek_k-GfmzA1)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    I am a newbie to this forum.

     

    I have the same problem described in this thread and I would like to get the fix for function SwitchURL() in template_csh\whcsh_home.htm. This post says "4 lines (code attached) are to be removed from function SwitchURL() "; but I don't see where the code is attached.

     

    Can you help me?

  • JGaf User 88 posts since
    Feb 26, 2010
    Currently Being Moderated
    21. Feb 27, 2010 12:22 AM (in response to Tony_Y)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    hmmm...I searched too for this information on Peter's site and couldn't find it.  Has it been removed?

     

    Is this the same issue I asked in this post:

     

    IE 7 and Firefox 3 display issues - neither work as expected

  • Peter Grainge Community Professional 12,644 posts since
    Aug 31, 2004
    Currently Being Moderated
    22. Feb 27, 2010 1:55 AM (in response to JGaf)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    Jgaf

     

    It is not the same issue.

     


    See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

     

    @petergrainge

  • Peter Grainge Community Professional 12,644 posts since
    Aug 31, 2004
    Currently Being Moderated
    23. Feb 27, 2010 1:56 AM (in response to Tony_Y)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    Tony Y

     

    Download the file from Item 1 in Using RH8 on my site. You can use that or compare the files.

     


    See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

     

    @petergrainge

  • Tony_Y User 2 posts since
    Feb 26, 2010
    Currently Being Moderated
    24. Mar 1, 2010 4:46 PM (in response to Peter Grainge)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    Thanks Peter.

     

    I replaced whcsh_home.htm with your version and then I re-generated/re-published my help files. IE7 works fine. IE8, not so much. With IE8, I am able to open help twice, but not three times.

     

    This is all pretty strange. I have version 8.0.2.208, so I would have expected that my template_csh would have had a version of whcsh_home.htm that was at least as current at yours. The modified date on your file is 3/1/2009 12.32 PM. All of the other files in my template_csh have a modified date of 12/14/2008 3:42 PM. Does that seem strange to you?

     

    Also, do you know if Adobe has a fix for the problem with IE8?

     

    Tony

     

  • Peter Grainge Community Professional 12,644 posts since
    Aug 31, 2004
    Currently Being Moderated
    25. Mar 3, 2010 10:18 AM (in response to Tony_Y)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    The file will have been moved from PC to PC so I wouldn't worry about the date.

     

    See Calling WebHelp Using URLs on my site. There is information there about a change that may be needed but not sure without running through it again if it is relevant.

     


    See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

     

    @petergrainge

  • SaundraLD User 34 posts since
    May 12, 2010
    Currently Being Moderated
    26. May 12, 2010 1:28 PM (in response to Peter Grainge)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    We are having this problem using IE8 even after updating my whcsh_home file with the one you suggested. It is preventing us from moving foward with releasing a new version of software at the moment.

     

    Here is what we have found:

     

    Setting the debugger on the page with the error shows this is the line with the error:
    curWnd = window.open("about:blank",sNewName,strOpt);

     

    We are falling into the following code:
    if(gbIE5)
    {
         var curWnd = null;
         curWnd = window.open("about:blank",sNewName,strOpt);
         goNewWnd=window.open(sURL,sNewName);
    }
    else
    {
         gsURL = sURL; // IE4 had hard time to handle bookmark.
         goNewWnd=window.open("about:blank",sNewName,strOpt);
    }
    setTimeout("postWindowOpen();",100);

     

    Someone else is having this problem, but no replies/solutions exist:
    http://forums.adobe.com/message/40878#40878
    Even though we are running IE8, we are falling into an IE5 branch in the whcsh_home file?
    Please help, I've tried to figure it out on my own, and there are several people in my office that are also trying to figure it out but we are all puzzled.

  • Captiv8r Community Professional 19,049 posts since
    Mar 13, 2005
    Currently Being Moderated
    27. Sep 13, 2010 1:02 PM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    Note that someone named Derek Price has offered a possible solution in the thread linked below.

     

    Click here to view

     

    Cheers... Rick

     

    Helpful and Handy Links

    RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form

    Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7 or 8 moments from now - $24.95!

    Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training

    SorcererStone Blog

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  • AmandaTSS Calculating status... 48 posts since
    Jan 30, 2008
    Currently Being Moderated
    28. Oct 13, 2010 10:15 AM (in response to vivek_k-GfmzA1)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    (I know this might be asking a lot but...) Do you have the code from this post? I did not see an attachment and I could not find it on Peter's site.

     

    Thanks!

    Amanda

  • Peter Grainge Community Professional 12,644 posts since
    Aug 31, 2004
    Currently Being Moderated
    29. Oct 13, 2010 10:38 AM (in response to AmandaTSS)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    See Using RH8 Item 1.

     

    After downloading, do the following. I will be adding that to my site shortly.

     

     

    Derek Price found this file did not work and made the following changes.

    Lines 193 and 194 were commented out by prefixing them with double forward slashes

    // var curWnd = null;             

    // curWnd = window.open("about:blank",sNewName,strOpt);

    Line 195 was amended from

    goNewWnd=window.open(sURL,sNewName);

    to

    goNewWnd=window.open(sURL,sNewName,strOpt);

    Thanks to Derek for testing with IE6, 7, & 8, and FF 3.6 and for sharing his changes#.

     

     


    See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

     

    @petergrainge

  • AmandaTSS User 48 posts since
    Jan 30, 2008
    Currently Being Moderated
    30. Oct 13, 2010 10:46 AM (in response to Peter Grainge)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    This worked for us (your file and Derek's update)- Thank you for the quick response!

     

    Amanda

  • DavidMarkRichards User 3 posts since
    Dec 10, 2009
    Currently Being Moderated
    31. Oct 13, 2010 11:43 AM (in response to AmandaTSS)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    So, Peter has taken care of the issue for you?

    He does seem pretty responsive.

     

    Cheers,

     

    Dave Richards

  • JoeEC Calculating status... 7 posts since
    Nov 22, 2010
    Currently Being Moderated
    32. Nov 24, 2010 12:43 PM (in response to Maquese)
    Re: RH8 IE7 Blank Page

    I'm also trying to get WebHelp generated by RH 8 to work properly with IE 8 (FF works fine.). The default 8.02 installation  causes the blank window issue stated by the original poster. Using the version on Peter's website causes a different set of issues (including a blank popup window and an Access Denied error). After  applying Derek's changes to my project, I was able to call it twice  using map IDs. However, all subsequent calls to it are ignored. All suggestions are welcome.

     

    Thanks,

     

    Joe

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