Adobe Community: Message List - HTML Help (CHMs)

Re: Duplicate entries in RoboHelp HTML v10 (Redux)

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 19:14:28 GMT

Hi Peter -

This is Laura, from whom Ann inherited some of this merged-help puzzle I think we're on our way to a solution.

Originally we had a main .chm file that was linked/merged (sorry, it's been long enough that I'm fuzzy on terminology!) with a little tiny internal .chm file - and it was looking for that tiny .chm in c:\windows\help.

Sometime in the last year, a decision was made to make the tiny .chm file NOW be equal to main.chm + tiny.chm. However, Main.chm still had the merge/link to tiny.chm (no longer very small!) - hence the duplicates!

Short term solution = delete the tiny.chm from the folder where main.chm is looking for it!

Long term solution - go back to the way we used to build this stuff (tiny.chm goes back to being tiny), and this time document what we're doing and how this works.

In case you were wondering whatever happened with this .

Appreciate your help!

-Laura and Ann

Re: Is there a way to create favourites in a chm file that was converted from a WebHelp file?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 12:09:01 GMT

You would need to add favorites to the WebHelp output prior to creating a CHM. You would need something along the lines of: http://www.wvanweelden.eu/product/favorites-widget-webhelp

But since it's in a CHM, I'm not sure whether you will be able to save anything from the webhelp output between sessions.

Kind regards,

Willam

Re: What is the best output page-level help for a thick/fat client software app

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 19:36:00 GMT

Thanks William,

We have MANY,MANY clients with a variety of computer system set ups... most with internet access. I have to be able to provide a help system for all. This leads me to think that Webhelp is the best since it is browser and platform independent.

Thanks though for your response.

Is there a way to create favourites in a chm file that was converted from a WebHelp file?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:14:07 GMT

I am using RH 11. We generally output our help projects to WebHelp, but we still have a few .chm outputs.

Marketing has provided us with a new branding for our Help projects. We implemented the new skin for the WebHelp and then applied this skin to the chm outputs.

This works really well. The only issue is that in the new chm output, we no longer have access to the Favourites functionality.

Does anyone know how to add this functionality or a workaround to create favourites in this new chm output?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Mack

Re: What is the best output page-level help for a thick/fat client software app

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 08:49:53 GMT

The best format depends on your client's situation. Do all client pc's have internet access and can you get a server to host the help? If so, I would go for WebHel/HTML5. That's the easiest to maintain and the client won't have to hassle with installing help.

If you client doesn't have internet access or you don't have a server, a CHM is quite safe. It works well even though it is an old technology. But keep in mind that if the CHM is located on a network drive, it won't work unless the client is willing to change some security settings.

Kind regards,

Willam

What is the best output page-level help for a thick/fat client software app

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 13:59:11 GMT

I am looking to do some reorganizing of some help projects here at my new employer. For the past 10 years, I have only been dealing with web-based apps so all my help has been web help... sometimes page-level, sometimes not. However, I will need to now convert and/or create new help for a software app that is thick-client style. I need to know what the optimum output format would be to work best for page-level, thick-client, online help... HELP!

BTW.. I am currently using RH10 for Windows 7.

Thanks,

Re: CHM not playing FLV and MP4 video files

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 17:57:03 GMT

Hi there

I know this post is old, but if you are still wanting video...

Try transcoding to QuickTime and see if that helps.

Cheers... Rick

Double display of search topics

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:25:10 GMT

Hello,

We are using Adobe RoboHelp 11. After compiling the HTML files to *.chm format, topics are listed twice (tab search). If one of the both topis contains German umlauts, they are interpreted false. See attached image:

Is there a possibility to clean or build new the search index?

Thank you!

J. Kammerer

Softweaver GmbH

Re: RoboHelp 10, HHC4006: Warning: The file "xxxx.gif" is already listed in the [FILES] section of the project file.

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 23:32:28 GMT

Think of Baggage files as a simple way to include content that the help system may not be aware of. Imagine going on a trip with a child. Perhaps you are traveling to the beach. The child may need a large umbrella to keep shaded. You know this, but the child doesn't. So you toss a big umbrella in the trunk of the car. When you get to the beach, you now have access to the umbrella because it is in the trunk. The same holds true for RoboHelp and Baggage.

Cheers... Rick

Re: RoboHelp 10, HHC4006: Warning: The file "xxxx.gif" is already listed in the [FILES] section of the project file.

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 22:58:41 GMT

Hi Rick,

I took a leap of faith and removed the problem xxx.gif from the baggage files... Clean run!

I still need to do a little more research/education regarding Baggage Files.

Thanks again!

jean

Re: RoboHelp 10, HHC4006: Warning: The file "xxxx.gif" is already listed in the [FILES] section of the project file.

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 21:55:32 GMT

Hi there

This is likely just an innocuous warning that the files are listed as Baggage or something. If you add a file as Baggage and it exists in a topic, it really doesn't hurt anything.

If the warnings bother you, you might want to perform a quick double-check of your baggage and see if they are listed there.

Cheers... Rick

RoboHelp 10, HHC4006: Warning: The file "xxxx.gif" is already listed in the [FILES] section of the project file.

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 20:42:31 GMT

Hi RoboCommunity:

I am using RoboHelp 10 and producing HTML help .chm

I am lone-writer crafting help for a new product. The company purchasing the product and online help provided me with one of their help files, so I could produce something similar.

I have several unique .htt files. Each type provides a unique look and feel (yellow mean one thing, blue means another, etc).

The compiled help includes the following warning:

HHC4006: Warning:

The file "images\qual_01.gif" is already listed in the [FILES] section of the project file.

I have a total of 5 of these warnings. Each warning is associated with a different .gif image.

I have searched the directory for possible duplicates, but there are none.

I used RoboHelp many years ago until my twin girls arrived. They are now 14. My previous version was RH v4. I think this is the correct forum to pose this question. Please forgive my post if it is in error.

Thank you for any assistance.

jean

Re: RoboHelp for HTML 9 - Problem with viewing .chm file on 64bit machine

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 03:06:07 GMT

Generally, I've only ever seen the need to ensure the CHM is unblocked if it has been downloaded from the web. I could see where it could possibly occur if one moved the CHM from a network drive to a local drive, but I'm skeptical that would be required in that case.

Cheers... Rick

Re: Losing Map ID function in WebHelp to CHM Transfer

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 18:07:13 GMT

Thank you very much!

Re: RoboHelp for HTML 9 - Problem with viewing .chm file on 64bit machine

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 12:11:04 GMT

This issue is normally related to opening a CHM which is stored on a network location. So please make sure that the CHM is saved on a local drive AND that the CHM is unblocked. (You do that in the file properties.)

Kind regards,

Willam

Re: Losing Map ID function in WebHelp to CHM Transfer

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 11:57:49 GMT

Are you using the WebHelp in a CHM script? In that case, the context sensitivity is still in the WebHelp, it's only packaged in a CHM. The CHM itself does not have any context sensitivity. The workaround for this is to let your developers call the HTML file they want by file name instead of using the regular CSH call for a CHM. No easy fix I'm afraid.

Kind regards,

Willam

RoboHelp for HTML 9 - Problem with viewing .chm file on 64bit machine

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 09:56:05 GMT

I am working with RoboHelp for HTML 9 on a 32 bit machine. Recently, we encountered problems when viewing a .chm file on a 64 bit machine. The TOC was fine, but the topics did not appear, only error message "Navigation of this web page cancelled". My compilation settings did not change since the last compilation some months ago. What happens?

Re: RoboHelp HTML 9 - Browse Sequences missing in compiled chm

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 09:41:51 GMT

Thank you Rick. It seems to work.

Losing Map ID function in WebHelp to CHM Transfer

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 16:04:44 GMT

Hello!

I am using RoboHelp 10 and when I transfer my project from WebHelp to a CHM file using the converter tool in RoboHelp I end up losing my context sensitive mapping. If I generate the file directly as a CHM file everything is fine, however, I was hoping to do it this way to retain certain esthetic feature I can only get by generating the WebHelp first.

If any of you could provide any guidance on what I might have done wrong that would be wonderful! Thank you!

Re: CHMs do not work on a network

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 18:18:27 GMT

Where have you been since 2004?

This has occurred following a change made by Microsoft in 2004.

CHM Files Not Working

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

CHMs do not work on a network

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 18:01:14 GMT

RoboHelp10 - Generated chm file does not display see message: Navigation to the webpage was canceled. This happens when the chm file is generated to a server. If generated to a local drive, the help displays correctly. Can anyone tell me why and how to fiThe chm seems to looking for a web address

Re: RoboHelp HTML 9 - Browse Sequences missing in compiled chm

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 12:56:33 GMT

Hi there

Note that there are now *TWO* HHActiveX.dll files. Just to be on the safe side, I'd register both of them.

One is for use with the 32 bit help viewer and the other for use with the 64 bit help viewer.

Cheers... Rick

RoboHelp HTML 9 - Browse Sequences missing in compiled chm

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 07:41:08 GMT

After compilation of chm help file, I can see my browse sequences, but the users do not, although I am working on a 32 bit station, the users on 64 bit.

Note: I registered the HHActiveX.dll file as you explained in an older discussion.

Re: RH 9 - Can I edit browse sequence button sizes in a CHM?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 18:21:30 GMT

Thanks what I figured. Thanks for the prompt reply.

Re: RH 9 - Can I edit browse sequence button sizes in a CHM?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 18:19:49 GMT

Sorry Jared

All that functionality is embedded inside the guts of the HHActiveX.DLL file.

Cheers... Rick

RH 9 - Can I edit browse sequence button sizes in a CHM?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 18:03:03 GMT

I'm quite sure this is NOT possible, but I promised my localization coordinator, I'd ask.

The issue is that we have localized strings (from RH, not from our translators) that are overlapping on the Next and Previous buttons in some languages in the Browse Sequences. Like this:

I've looked, but I don't see a way to expand the button sizes. I know we can change the .lng file to use different (possibly shorter) terms than what RH picked for these, but a better solution would be to adjust the GUI for text expansion in localized languages.

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 13:11:35 GMT

Yes, you're right. The best thing would have to been to avoid the meta tag. I suppose I could start with fixing the lists, and then look into the other things one by one when I get the time.

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 11:20:32 GMT

Other CSS changes are likely needed. Your call as to whether to fix all the issues or use the meta-tag.

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 10:16:07 GMT

Yes, that's probably true. But the lists are only part of the problem, as you can see from my screenshots. In addition, the edges around the main text area have disappeared, and the line spacing is narrower (making the text look kind of condensed). All these issues are fixed by adding the "IE=EmulateIE7" meta tag.

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 08:03:35 GMT

In that case the issue is with lists. See Lists on my site. I am guessing the bullets went wrong back when you upgraded to Rh8 or above from an earlier version.

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

Re: Import CHM files in RoboHelp 9

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 14:54:37 GMT

Thanks for the information on the script you offer. I will ask Management if we can try it.

Re: Import CHM files in RoboHelp 9

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 14:53:29 GMT

Thanks! I will review your Web site for an answer.

Re: Import CHM files in RoboHelp 9

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 14:39:21 GMT

I also offer an automated solution for reverse engineering CHM scripts: http://www.wvanweelden.eu/product/reverse-engineer-robohelp-project-html-help-chm

Kind regards,

Willam

Re: Import CHM files in RoboHelp 9

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 14:25:44 GMT

See Reverse Engineering on my site. It's quite simple and quicker than it might look at first glance.

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

Import CHM files in RoboHelp 9

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 14:15:56 GMT

Product mananger is saying the the CHM file has later information than the HTMs files. Not sure how that could be. Is there any possible way to import CHM File into an existing RoboHelp project file?

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 11:20:15 GMT

Yes, that's a good point. Maybe it's just me after all In my first post I called it "various issues with the layout of the help topics". To be more specific, what I've noticed is that the bullet paragraphs lose their formatting (change bullet size and get indented). Also, the edges around the topic text disappear (especially noticeable on top), giving it a bleak, unprofessional look. In addition, the font size/line spacing seems to be slightly different. I haven't found anything else yet, but I expect I would have found more while working. Here is a screenshot of the two help windows side by side, with the "faulty" one to the left:

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 10:35:49 GMT

As far as I can recall, I haven't seen anyone else post this question and I am sure you have searched as well. That begs the question as to why you need this step.

What goes wrong if you don't include the meta-tag?

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 10:26:14 GMT

Hmm...I was afraid of that. I guess that just leaves me with the search/replace option. But I can't imagine I'm the only one who has this problem, so I think it would be a good idea for Adobe to include an IE compatibility option in future versions (maybe under Tools/Options/General/Generation?) It should be a fairly easy fix. I think I will wait a couple of days and then submit a Feature Request about this.

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 09:18:49 GMT

The basic HTML code is hard coded inside the application so can't be changed.

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 08:52:31 GMT

Yes, of course you're right. So I guess I'll have to leave the master page route. But I'm still hoping there is a way of changing the default HTML code that is written into the HTM topics. It must surely come from somewhere?

(And you're right that the extra step takes short time. But it kind of ruins the single source concept, which I finally felt I had in place...)

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 08:34:07 GMT

The purpose of master pages is to provide headers and footers to all associated topics and to provide default text to new topics. What you want them to do is not part of that so I am guessing the everything else in the master page is deliberately stripped out.

The find and replace suggested is an additional step but it should only take a very short time.

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 07:12:09 GMT

The best solution would be to use a master page, as RoboColum suggested originally. Then the problem would be solved once and for all, by using this master page for all projects. Does anybody understand why this didn't work, or if there is a way to make it work? (As I said, to me it looks like the HTML code outside the body tag gets stripped away when the chm file is generated.)

Peter's solution is a very good workaround, but I'm not marking it as the correct answer just yet..

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 13:27:40 GMT

Yes! I tried Peter's method, and it worked. (Thank you!) The only problem is that I generate my help files from Framemaker files, and every time I update my project the changes I made will be lost. And as I'm working with about 30 projects, it's not ideal to have to to this manual step every time I generate a help file. So I will still be looking for a way to include the meta tag in the initial head element.

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 13:03:22 GMT

Good one!

For some reason that didn't come to mind!

Rick

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 12:41:11 GMT

Willam may not be available right now but I can suggest another method. Find a tag that is in all your topics, maybe </head> and use that as a Find.

Replace with your tag followed by </head>

Backup first.

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 12:33:19 GMT

Hi there

Unfortunately, there is no "mother file" as you are thinking. With RoboHelp, you simply create as many topic files as you want. As you create them, they remain as created.

You might want to contact Willam VanWeelden and see if you could contract with him to create a script in RoboHelp that would do what you need. I believe you can contact him via his web site.

http://www.wvanweelden.eu/

Cheers... Rick

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 12:25:14 GMT

Thank you for your quick answer. I actually tried this yesterday, but it did not work. It seems to me that everything outside the Body tag in the master page is stripped away when the chm files are generated. I tried it again just now, just to double check. (I also entered the meta tag manually in one of the topics, and this came out fine.) So I still think the best way would be to edit the mother file that generates the head element in the HTM files. Is there a way to do this?

Re: How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 10:44:55 GMT

Create a Master Page, add the meta tag to its HTML code and apply the Master Page to your topics before compiling.

How to insert a meta tag in the head element in htm topic files?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 09:33:44 GMT

(I am using RoboHelp 9, but have also tried RoboHelp 11 with exactly the same results.)

Our application requires the WebBrowser control to run in IE9 compatibility mode. This means that when launching help (chm) the help viewer will also use IE9 compatibility mode as it is running in the same process. As Chm files are meant to be viewed in IE7 compatibility mode, this causes various issues with the layout of the help topics. We have found that to fix this problem each topic needs the following meta tag in the head element:

As our help system consists of several thousand htm/topic files, we can obviously not do this manually. So in order to have this automatically inserted, I need to edit the mother file that generates the topic files. I have tried to find this file, but no luck. Does anybody know how to do this?

Re: Custom buttons in Output window

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 09:16:23 GMT

Rick,

Many, many thanks. You nailed it! I had indeed forgotten to add the baggage file. I just added it as a file as it is in the root directory of the project and the button magically appears and works. Hopefully that's one mistake I won't make again...

Thanks again,

Rob