RH8 IE7 Blank Page

[Maquese]

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?

[Guest]

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]

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.

[Maquese]

Thanks for the reply Peter. I've visited your site a few times during my stint with RoboHelp. :)

I actually had the links setup like shown in the examples on your website, and I get the same results I mentioned earlier. If the links aren't exactly the same (for example, I mistyped the ">WithNavPane" text in one link), and then they both opened in separate windows, albeit one didn't display the nav pane. Once I made the links identical, it stopped working again. Again, the only change in my help is the version of RoboHelp I'm using to build the help. It works fine in Firefox...

I may need to check into the Support we have with Adobe and see if they have suggestions as well.

Thanks for the help so far, Peter.

[Maquese]

One more thing. I tried using flashhelp as the output, and it works fine in IE7. There must be something wrong in the generated output files for the webhelp, since both use the same .js file.

[Guest]

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]

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]

Adobe is looking into this problem and is close to finding the fix.

Vivek.
Adobe RoboHelp Team

[vivek_k-GfmzA1]

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.

[Maquese]

Made the change, and it works like a charm! Thanks for the quick response, Vivek!

[Guest]

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]

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:

javascript:;

[Peter Grainge]

Jgaf

It is not the same issue.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Peter Grainge]

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

[Guest]

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]

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

[Guest]

(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]

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

[Guest]

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

Amanda

[DavidMarkRichards]

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

He does seem pretty responsive.

Cheers,

Dave Richards

[Peter Grainge]

It will be on my site for Monday.

And I love you too Vivek. 🙂

[SaundraLD-bWCCqx]

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.

[Guest]

Was the code Vivek posted new in whcsh_home.htm for RH8? It's not in that file for an RH7 project.

[Peter Grainge]

Yes, this thread is for RH8.

[Peter Grainge]

The fix is for EVDL's issue only. Maquese's issue is different.