Master Page changes not updating topics (RH8)

Report · May 17, 2010

I have a number of Master Pages which are applied to various topics, but when I make a change to any of them the changes are not reflected in the topics associated with them. I've checked that the Master Pages are attached to the appropriate topics, which they are, but the topics are not being updated. Has anyone seen this problem before or is it down to corruption in my Help project?

Many thanks

Jonathan

Report · May 17, 2010

Hi Jonathan.

This may be a silly question, in which case feel free to return with a silly answer

Have you saved your template and topics? If this is not the issue, can you give us an example of what is happening? Maybe a screenshot would show us more.

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Report · May 18, 2010

Hi Colum, yes my template and topics were both saved.

What I've got is a template which has the layout for my Release Notes. This includes some text, bookmarks, drop-downs and a script to auto-expand my drop-downs when the topics load (supplied by Willam on this forum). However, templates aren't updating topics even if they only include plain text. I've also created a brand new project with a single template and a single topic, and they still don't work.

These is the standard Master Page and Topic HTML created when I create one of each. As you can see, the topic is associated with the template, but changes are not coming through.

Any ideas?

MASTER PAGE:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="topic-comment" content="" />
<meta name="generator" content="Adobe RoboHelp 8" />
<title>New Master Page</title>
<link rel="StyleSheet" href="default.css" type="text/css" />
</head>

<body>
 
<?rh-region_start type="body" ?>
This is Body Placeholder text for your Master Page. Topics created
using this Master Page will get this text by default. Replace text
of this Body Placeholder with your default content for topics.
 
Area outside this Body Placeholder represents the layout of the
Master Page which will not be shown in the associated topics but will
be present in the output. The Body Placeholder content will be replaced
by actual topic content in the output.
 
Use Master Page to define the layout of your topic in the output.
<?rh-region_end type="body" ?>
 
</body>
</html>

TOPIC:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta name="template" content="New Master Page.htt" />
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="generator" content="Adobe RoboHelp 8" />
<title>New Topic</title>
<link rel="StyleSheet" href="default.css" type="text/css" />
</head>

<body>
This is Body Placeholder text for your Master Page. Topics created using
this Master Page will get this text by default. Replace text of this Body
Placeholder with your default content for topics.
 
Area outside this Body Placeholder represents the layout of the Master
Page which will not be shown in the associated topics but will be present
in the output. The Body Placeholder content will be replaced by actual
topic content in the output.
 
Use Master Page to define the layout of your topic in the output.
</body>
</html>

Thanks

Jonathan

Report · May 18, 2010

Hi Jonathan.

Would the master page have been amended after it has been attached to a topic? I have seen scenarios where this may result in the behaviour you describe. To get around it, remove the association of the master page with the topics (e.g. set the master page to "None") and save the project. Next go back and reassociate the master page with the topics. This does not happen with all master pages but may have something to the set-up of yours. It is not frequent that we find users with dropdowns and bookmarks inside a master page.

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Report · May 18, 2010

Hi folks

From what I'm seeing in this thread perhaps there is a simple misunderstanding about what Master Pages are capable of. For those that aren't sure what is being discussed, Master Pages are the RoboHelp 8 replacement for Topic Templates.

With either Master Pages or Topic Templates, they may be used in two different ways.

1. To serve as a starting point for a topic.

In this manner, all elements of the Master Page or the Topic Template are copied over to the new topic as it is created. From there, the help author individualizes the topic and certain elements are no longer tied to the Template or Master Page.

2. To add certain information to existing topics by associating the Template or Master Page with the topics.

In this manner, any updates to the areas applied will be reflected in any topic associated with the Template or Master Page.

For Topic Templates, changes to the Headers or Footers are applied and seen in all topics associated with the Template. But any changes to the main topic content of a Template are not. ONLY Headers or Footers.

For Master Pages it's very similar. But Master Pages have a new area called a Body Placeholder. Things OUTSIDE the Body Placeholder should be updated, but changes made within the Body Placeholder are NOT updated and seen in topics associated with the Master Page.

Hopefully that helps... Rick

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Master Page changes not updating topics (RH8)