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I have a RoboHelp for Word (started at v6, converted to v7, and now at v8) project that I want to convert to a RoboHelp HTML v8 project.
The RoboHelp for Word V8 looks good, works great and builds good looking WebHelp and MS Html Help finished outputs! But, I can't seem to figure out how to embed Captivate App Demos (SWF) into the project. Another post in these forums indicated that this is easy with RoboHelp HTML; and after some testing, indeed it is! Great.
Now - the question is, how do I get my existing (looks good, feels great) RoboHelp for Word V8 project imported into RoboHelp HTML V8?
I made a copy of my RHWord project directory (so as not to screw anything up) and then opened RHHTML and chose to import an existing HPJ project. When asked whether to keep the project file XPJ or go to HHP, I chose HHP.
During the conversion, I get lots of "images not valid; invalid chars" on GIF files that RHWord has no problem with. It will not display nor publish these GIF files. Actually, it does display some of the GIFs in the RHHTML dev env, but then doesn't publish them!
Also, during the conversion, it asks if you want a single CSS for each file or one CSS based on one of the WORD docs from the RHWord project. The default was the former, so I chose it. After the conversion, many of the topics have CSS data that appears at the top (e.g. long list of font names) that end up getting published also. So why did this happen?
Also, after the conversion, many of the topics have non-displayable characters that do not show up in the RHWord version; source or published version.
So - my question is, how do I correctly go from a RHWord project that seems to edit and publish just fine to a RHHTML project cleanly?
I have tried to be as detailed as possible on each of these issues, but if more is required, let me know.
Thanks much for your assistance,
Jeff
Message was edited by: jonestech
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I reran the import, this time choosing to keep the XPJ. It stated that it was from an earlier version, not sure how that happened as I definitely opened the project in RHWord V8, but perhaps did not save the project after building both WebHelp and MSHTML help.
But, did not get the image errors I did above with the HHP choice. And the project imported withot error.
Also, I chose to use one CSS based on one of the Word Docs from the previous project instead of separate CSS for each file.
However, upon import completion, the CSS (long list of font names) still appear at the top of some topics and many links are broken.
And, I still have non-displayable characters in all of my topics. Many of them are where possesive apostrophes used to be. But some are something else.
What might I be doing wrong? Or is this the best I can hope for, which makes converting from RHWord to RHHTML unpractical for me?
Jeff
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Take a look at my Importing from Word article. I know that you are not importing as such but it will explain how Word topics end up with embedded styles as well as CSS and inline stuff.
My guess on the character stuff is that you have been using Word's smart quotes and suchlike. HTML does not like them. You can change them by using a find and replace tool but whilst they are powerful at fixing things quickly, they are also powerful at wrecking a project. You would need to proceed with caution and keep taking backups.
How practical it all is depends on how quickly you adapt to new ways of working and what support you have around you, tame developers who are familiar with HTML and so on.
Another way to create your new project might be this. Generate a CHM making sure you generate it with no build expression so that it contains all your topics. Then see my Reverse Engineering article and create a RH HTML project from that. It will not take overly long and you will be able to judge how close it is to what you want.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
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Peter,
Thanks for all the help!
What a mess. It appears that in short, RHHTML is not compatible with RHWord.
In all of this messing around, now I have a new problem. I cannot Publish my WebHelp (RHWord) format to the web. This has worked over many years and across v6, v7 and v8; until today sometime. And now it won't work. A small window flashes up too quickly to make anything out. It then goes away, and nothing happens.
I installed V8 on another system, copied my project directory over there and same issue.
I have removed the publish site in the settings and re-added it. No go. It won't publish; no error; nothing! This is unbelievably frustrating. What will break next?
Any ideas on how to fix this one please?
Jeff
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How big is the RH for Word project zipped up?
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
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Hi Peter,
I admit to not knowing too much about the RoboHelp project structure. So, let me answer your question with this information...
Jeff
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Have you tried just publishing to a folder on your C: drive? If that works, then you could ftp the contents of the Webhelp folder up to your web site.
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Hi Jeff,
Yes - I am aware that I can use FTP to publish to my web site. But would prefer to get RH working again if possible. Thanks.
Jeff
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Just troubleshooting - you don't really know if it's the project, generating webhelp, or publishing it to the website that is the culprit.
I just wondered if it was possible to generate webhelp at all - if that part doesn't work, then it's got nothing to do with the web site output location. If it can generate locally, then maybe the next step is to try one of the sample projects & try publishing that to the website.
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Thanks Jeff. It does generate the webhelp output on my local disk just fine - or so it seems to. And then viewing it at the end of the generation, I can view it locally without problem. But publish just goes away instantly without error.
I will try creating a new project and publish it. I did not go to the effort of troubleshooting this as I assumed someone would say, "oh, yes, this is so-and-so-problem, just do so-n-so to fix it". So, it appears that this is not a well-known problem (although I see evidence of it in other posts with no solution), and therefore, let the troubleshooting begin.
Thanks
Jeff
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Ok - it is RHWord8. I created a simply one-page WebHelp project. Generated the output, viewed it ok, and then tried to publish... same results as above. Nothing happens. A window very quickly appears and then goes away - no chance to see what it is. So, whatever the problem, it is not isolated to my original WebHelp project.
Ideas?
Jeff
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So, I reset my publish-site specifications for WebHelp and tested them in MSDos FTP. Was able to successfully PUT a local file there. So it is not my FTP settings or the ability to write to the remote site.
Can you think of any other troubleshooting I should do? Can I put RHWord8 into some sort of verbose debug mode and analyze a log file for why the Publish is failing?
Jeff
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So the only issue now is that you cannot publish?
Please post a screenshot of the settings for the publish location as accessed when you highlight it in the last page of the wizard and select Edit. Use the camera icon above to post the screenshot.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
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Hi Peter,
We were heading in the same direction. As you can see in my last post, I feel confident that my FTP settings are correct. But here are the settings as you requested.
Jeff
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Using RHHTML8, I get some more information. In the 'Output View' window, when I attempt to publish, I get
"Warning: Failed to publish to 'BirdersDiary.com'. reason: A connection with the server could not be established."
At which point, I immediately went to a DOS Command window and FTP'd to the site using the exact same credentials as specified in RH. No problem.
What did I break in RH to make it start doing this yesterday, after the Publish has worked for years and across versions 6, 7 and 8?
Sigh...
Jeff
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Update...
I have now tested this on two different systems (XP and Vista) using both RHWord8 and RHHtml8 and to two different domains.
On both systems and both versions of RH it fails on the original/primary domain that I need to publish to.
However, it succeeds on a Yahoo Domain.
So, it appears that the problem is now with the one Domain that has worked for years. I will contact support there to see if they can help.
fyi
Jeff
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Well - I owe an update on the conversion process. Still have the Publish/FTP issue that I am trying to solve, but, I wanted to update this thread on the results of my conversion attempt.
I have learned a lot (more than I wanted to know) about how RH works under the covers and the conversion isn't too bad with a few tips.
That is about it so far. So, the conversion is close to being finished and then I will be on my way to getting demo videos inserted easily with RHhtml8.
I will update this thread again if/when I find a solution to my FTP/publish problem.
Thanks to both Peter and Craig for their assistance and hand-holding.
Jeff
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Have you tried http://www or just www in front of the host name?
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
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Hi Peter,
Aside from the fact that current settings have worked for years; I just tried your variations with the same results.
How else might I debug this?
Is there a debugging/log file feature in RH which produces verbose tracing/debugging info?
Is this publish site info contained in some file that may be corrupted and could be deleted and rebuilt?
Thanks,
Jeff
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A lot of things changed in RH8 so I felt it was worth trying that even though the settings had worked before. Have you spoken to your IT people as it sounds like something has changed.
I don't know of any way of tracing/debugging.
In a dummy project, I created a publish location called Redrabbit. It now shows in other projects. That suggests the details are somewhere in Program Files or more likely your profile. You would need to use some sort of search tool such as FAR from http://www.helpware.net/FAR or BKReplaceEm (Google it).
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
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Is the FTP Connection Protocol absolutely required in your environment? If not, you could try the File System method, which we've used for five years with no problems (well, other than the occasional burp due to major network traffic issues).
Good luck,
Leon
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After deinstalling all 3 versions of RH on my system (6,7,8) and then reinstalling RH8 - FTP publishing now works again.
RH should really have better troubleshooting, tracing, logging features.
Thanks to all for your support on here.
Jeff
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Did you mention that you had three versions installed?
Unless you have full licences for all three versions, you are not allowed to have all three installed and it does cause problems. I can't say this is one but keep the foregoing in mind in future if you encounter problems.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
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Hi Peter,
Yes, I did say I had versions 6, 7 and 8 for RH installed on the same system. I do have full licenses for each. I removed all three and reinstalled v8 and the FTP publish now works again.
fyi,
Jeff