FM8 with RoboHelp 7 -- Straightforward way to generate as Web Help?

[R__VanDyke]

I'm an experienced FrameMaker user who hasn't used any version of RoboHelp for a while. I'm currently trying to use RoboHelp 7 generate a structured FrameMaker book OR the book's individually selected .fm or .mif files as an HTML-based help system with a properly hierarchical TOC.

What a mess! I've tried reading the help, browsing the Web, and searching this forum and am very surprised I can't find any straightforward discussion of how to do this.

First, RoboHELP 7 seems not to want to create a sensible TOC. I've tried using a variety of options such as Convert FrameMaker TOC, mapping styles, and so on. The result is a chaotic dogs breakfast that seems to do strange things with the TOC hierarchy. The RoboHELP help system seems to suggest that the way to remedy the problem is to manually edit the TOC after each gen of the project!

Second, RoboHelp seems to not process non-breaking spaces contained in the FrameMaker source files properly, particularly if those non-breaking spaces are contained in variables...(?)

So, is there any straightforward way to generate a FrameMaker book or an individually selected set of book files as a coherent system with a TOC that *doesn't* require extensive manual post-generation fiddling?

Moreover, is it just me? I'm normally good with tools, but must confess I'm decidedly dis-impressed with RoboHelp 7's inability to ingest a FrameMaker book or .fm files and product somewhat usable output straightaway...

Cheers & thanks,
Riley

[JonStefan]

Hi Riley,
My experience with FM 8 and RH 7 is the same; however, I fixed the TOC problem.

It's very important how the FM TOC file looks like. You cannot use inline bold or character specific styles applied to the paragraph styles used to create your TOC. When you import the TOC file you should not do anything with it ... just let RH generate the output based on the TOC. IOW, it's VERY important that you prepare your FM files before using RH. They're certainly not a match made in heaven!

The only problem I have these days is to successfully recreate a numbered list with proper indentation. RH does not map these things automatically in any sensible way (at least not as far as I know). For now it seems I'm stuck with ordered lists that show the number as part of the paragraph which is not good as it's poor typography.

So, basically RH 7's integration with FM 8 has some serious usability issues ... :)

Best of luck,
Jon

[R__VanDyke]

Jon:

Thanks! In addition to your comments, other sources have reinforced my perception that RoboHelp 7 is yet another of Adobe's Big Ideas that didn't really come to complete fruition. And as always, the "solution" is the for-a-fee upgrade to the next version that'll make the product work as any sensible customer ought to expect, right? 8^p

Cheers & thanks 'gain,
Riley

[JonStefan]

I got an answer to the problems related to numbered and bulleted lists; however, there is a flaw in RH 7 that may cause some more headaches.

See my posting and Mayank's answer here: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/webforums/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=449&threadid=1427662