RoboHelp HTML 8 Search problem

[MSMoore9412]

I have a single (non-merged) RoboHelp 8 HTML project in which I cannot seem to get Search working correctly.

I expected to see a box into which I can type a search term and a blank pane below the Contents/Index/Search/Glossary bar where search results would appear.  Instead, I get the following when I generate WebHelp:

This problem appears in IE 6, IE 7, Firefox 3.0, and Firefox 3.5, all of which our customer base uses.  I'm using RoboHelp 8 on a Windows PC with XP Pro 2002, SP3.

In the Project Settings/General dialog, I have the default settings for the Stop List and the Always Ignore List selected.  For "Add new keywords to" I have "Index File (HHK)" selected, and "Binary Index" is selected.

When generating WebHelp, I have the following set:

General selections:  Under "Additional Options," "Apply to all Topics," "CSS" is selected, with the correct CSS name displayed.  "Add Mark of the Web" is selected.

Navigation selections:  For Toolbar Buttons, Contents, Index, Search, Glossary are selected.  For Search Options, "Enable Highlight Search Results" is selected.

Navigation Pane Preferred Format selection is Pure HTML.  (We tried DHTML/HTML but that resulted in an empty nav pane and a nonfunctional index.)

Optimize Speed For:  Web Site (Internet)

Publish:  Republish All.

What are we doing wrong?  I'm totally stumped and I can't seem to find any help on this issue anywhere.  Thanks!

[MSMoore9412]

I forgot to add that I've installed RH 8.0.2.

[Captiv8r · Accepted solution]

Hi there

It's because you are using Pure HTML. You need to enable DHTML, otherwise it looks as you see.

Cheers... Rick

Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7 or 8 within the day - $24.95! Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training SorcerStone Blog RoboHelp eBooks

[MSMoore9412]

Thanks. I'll try the DHTML setting again. When we used that setting earlier, the nav pane came up empty; when we switched to Pure HTML, the nav pane was correctly populated.

Marie S. Moore

Security Solutions Group

Writer/Project Manager

703-886-3289 Desk

571-221-6065 Cell

[MSMoore9412]

Hi again,

I regenerated using DHTML. The Search pane looks great. However, no matter what search term I enter, I get "No Topics Found" and at the bottom of the pane the msg "javascript:void(0);" appears when I place my cursor over the "GO" button.

Any additional help you can provide will be extremely appreciated.

Thanks,

Marie

Marie S. Moore

Security Solutions Group

Writer/Project Manager

703-886-3289 Desk

571-221-6065 Cell

[Nick27]

could be to do with where you are generating your content to, locally or on a network? I ran into a similar thing recently, and was explained best practice for generating and then publishing of projects.

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/536005?tstart=0

hope it helps.

[MSMoore9412]

I'm generating to my local hard drive.  I then commit the WebHelp output (the entire WebHelp folder) to the subversion version control repository, from which the developers grab it.

The developers include the WebHelp folder when they create a build (release package) of the application.  The application provides a Help link in the masthead that calls the <projectname>.htm file to launch the WebHelp.

The search function doesn't work on my local hard drive or when the WebHelp is called from the application.  Any suggestions on where to look for some sort of RoboHelp install problem or project-level issue?

thanks!

[Nick27]

does it just happen with the one project? have you tried a blank project or something similar to see if its broken across all of them,?

maybe you could post screenshots of the Webhelp Publish screens that show the settings you are using...could be something in there....

[MSMoore9412]

Very interesting.  I created a tiny test project and generated it using the same settings as for the "real" project:

• Default Stop List and Always Ignore List
• Add new keywords to Index file (HHK) and Binary Index selected
• WebHelp General > Additional Options:  Apply to All Topics - CSS (with correct CSS name displayed) and Add Mark of the Web selected
• WebHelp Navigation: Toolbar buttons selected: Contents, Index, Search, and Glossary; Search options: selected Enable Highlight Search Result
• Nav Pane Preferred Format:  DHTML > HTML
  
• Optimize Speed For:  Web Site (Internet)
• Publish: Republish all

The output looked great.  Contents, Index, and Glossary looked and acted as expected.  Search looked great but always returned "No Topics Found."

Then I deselected "Add Mark of the Web and regenerated, retaining all other settings.  I checked using Firefox 3.0, Firefox 3.5, and IE 6 locally and the output looks perfect, and Search works.  I haven't tried IE 7, nor have the developers plugged the newest output into the application to see what happens there yet.

Is there any big risk associated with not selecting "Add Mark of the Web"?

Thanks.

[Peter Grainge]

The purpose of Mark of the Web is to allow you to run the help on your local drive. If your help is running from a server, then it is not needed.

With MOW, you can open the help locally without encountering the yellow information bar.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

Follow me @petergrainge

[ermphd]

Hi

I had a similar issue (non-working search) in the AIR thread last month. Praful advised me that is was due to an illegal character in a .pdf that was insisde the project.  If you have any .pdfs. in the project, you might try taking them out of search results or linking to them.

Hope this makes some sense to you. If so, check it out.

Ciao!

Ed

[rwrich21]

I am having search problem.

I downloaded the patch for robohelp 8.0.2 last Monday Dec. 28, 2009 and after that my search has not worked. It worked fine before and all last week I have been trying things to resolve the search problem.

Does anyone else have this problem? What should I do to resolve it?    

The attributes of our system are:

RoboHelp HTML V8.0.2    

RoboHelp Server V8.0

WebHelp Pro 5.50 (7.00.145)

[RoboColum_n_]

It would worthwhile applying the RH Server patch as well. Also can you tell us how the help is being launched (e.g. from an application, the web administrator or manually)

[rwrich21]

We use Robohelp to document our Payroll system and how it works.Iit is only for certain users for security reasons and only on our intranet.

Users can access the documentation by clicking on a link to the server. 

When I search I now always get the error message 'Sorry, we were unable to find a good answer for your question.'

I will upgrade the RH Server patch.

[rwrich21]

There are no patches for Robohelp Server 8.

[RoboColum_n_]

Click here for deatils of how to install the security update.

---

• Read the RoboColum(n) for a tips, tricks and musings on the Technical Communication Suite products.
• Follow the RoboColum(n) on Twitter

[rwrich21]

My search problem has been resolved.

I went to my Robohelp 8 Server administrator and unchecked the 'Automactic merge projects of the same type'.

Search is working fine.

I will still apply the patch for Robohelp 8 Server that Colum send me the link to .

[MSMoore9412]

I must have stirred up some bad karma yesterday. Previously the Search function in my OLH had looked like the screenshot at the start of this thread, and no search results were found. We couldn't figure out what the problem was in time to meet our deliverable date for this new application, so we released the first version just before Christmas with OLH that did not include any Search function.  After the release, I kept working on resolving this problem, and after deselecting the Mark of the Web I found that Search looked right and was working correctly in IE6 and Firefox 3.0 and 3.5.

Yesterday afternoon, the lead developer decided to re-test the OLH. Search looks right and functions correctly for both versions of Firefox. However, in IE6 & IE7 not only is the Search pane completely empty, but the Contents, Index, and Glossary panes are, too.

I'm using RoboHelp HTML v. 8 (patched to current release 8.0.I-forget-the-number). I'm creating the OLH on a Windows XP SP3 PC and generating it locally, and then development is plugging the resulting webhelp into the application when they build it for distribution.  The production environment that they distribute this web-based application to is LINUX-based.  Our customers use various versions of IE and Firefox for browsers.

I'm at a total loss as to how to fix this.  The lead developer is guessing that there might be a problem with IE handling generated JavaScript (he's assuming that RoboHelp generates JavaScript - I have no idea) but neither of us knows how to fix that, if we can.  I'm under extreme pressure to get this resolved by Jan 22.  Suggestions?

[Peter Grainge]

Sometimes developers will think that not all the folders and files are required. Check with your lead developer that they have taken everything. It might be worth giving them a zip direct from your machine.

If that is not it, refer them to Snippet 57 on my site. Could that be the cause?

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

Follow me @petergrainge

[MSMoore9412]

Hi.  Could you be a bit more specific than "search has not worked" -- specifically, what happens (or doesn't) when you at

tempt to do a search, or does your search pane resemble the one in my screen shot

at the start of this thread?

I am not using RoboHelp Server or WebHelp Pro, just RoboHelp HTML 8 and WebHelp.  I finally succeeded in getting a Search pane that looked right and performed correctly by deselecting the Mark of the Web option.  You might try that if someone else doesn't have a better idea.  Good luck!

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

Please do expound.

MSMoore9412 wrote:

I finally succeeded in getting a Search pane that looked right and performed correctly by deselecting the Mark of the Web option.

To my knowledge this option only affects the output when you view things locally, as in when you are testing the output immediately after generating. Are you saying here that it somehow affected things after you uploaded the files to the server?

Cheers... Rick

Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7 or 8 within the day - $24.95! Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training SorcerStone Blog RoboHelp eBooks

[MSMoore9412]

Yes, it certainly did affect things both locally and after the application was built with the OLH included in it and implemented in the production environment. (Well, we deployed it in the test env first, of course.)

My Search looked as it did in the screen shot at the start of my thread, and attempts to search didn't find anything. I tried a number of suggestions that people made here, but Search didn't work correctly (or look right) until I deselected Mark of the Web. Strange but true.

Marie S. Moore

Security Solutions Group

Writer/Project Manager

703-886-3289 Desk

571-221-6065 Cell