Robohelp not displaying the correct default topic

Report · Jan 05, 2010

I'm working remotely with Robohelp 7 files that were copied from our office server.

I edited some files and then saved and got this message:

default.htm, used in i_menu.htm is outside of the current project and will not be shown in Project Manager. iy_menu, used in i_menu is outside of the current project, blah, blah, p_menu used in i_menu is outside of the current project . . . blah, blah

The file i_menu IS in the project and it is the default topic designated in the project's properties. I tried to import i_menu.htm in hopes that it would be recognized as "inside" the project, but RoboHelp freezes up and I have to shut down the program.

When I generate the help, I get some other topic as the default topic.

Any help would be appreciated! Carole

Report · Jan 05, 2010

It sounds to me like the hyperlink defined in i_menu.htm is incorrect.

For example, i_menu.htm lives in a folder "folder1" and default.htm lives in the project root folder. Hopefully the below illustrates the folder structure.

- my_project

default.htm

- folder1

i_menu.htm

In this example link in i_menu.htm should be:

href="../default.htm"

But it might be:

href="../../default.htm"

Or maybe the path is hard coded something like:

href="d:/myproject/default.htm"

but your project is on c: drive, not d: drive.

BTW I hope you don't normally work on the project on the server? It's really not recommended and can cause all sorts of problems. It's best to copy it to your local drive to work on, and then back to the server for backup purposes when you finish. (If it's in source control on the server, this should be fine, as the files should be checked out to your local drive anyway.) Sorry if I'm telling you something you already know.

Report · Jan 05, 2010

Thank you for your reply. Sorry, for not mentioning that I am working locally on my PC and not from the server.

I looked in the i_menu html code and here is the way it's coded: href="default.htm"

I also looked through all of the help files in this project and couldn't find a file titled: default.htm. I also checked the original files on the server for this project and there is no default.htm file. Is there supposed to be one that you can see? Does RoboHelp create it?

Sorry, I'm real lame when it comes to this technical stuff.

Report · Jan 05, 2010

I don't think RH creates any file names itself (except a few using the project name you type in when originally creating the project and some behind the scenes admin files). Sometimes people call the first topic that displays "default.htm" but I think that is a personal choice. You can see what the "default" topic is in the properties of the Single Source Layout you are using.

However, I can't say that this is the topic you should point the link to. You will need to determine what information you should be linking to yourself. It may be the file name has just changed or it may have been removed and somehow the link did not get removed at the same time.

If you have old copies of the project you might be able to find a version when this link worked, or if you are using source control, you might be able to find it in the project history. (Based on the link, it should be in the same folder as i_menu.htm.)

Good luck.

Report · Jan 05, 2010

After I wrote my last message, I started to wonder about WebHelp Pro. I had set up my output in the WebHelp dialog box, but I had never checked to see if there was any setup for Webhelp Pro, and neither of them had been designated as the Primary Layout. When I checked WebHelp Pro it didn't have the correct default topic, and that's what RoboHelp was using when I generated the help system. I made designated Webhelp as my primary layout and regenerated and now the correct default topic displays! Hoorah!

Can you tell me if I should be using WebHelp Pro or just WebHelp to generate the help system?

Thanks very much,

Carole