Blank Browser Window displaying along with Help Topic

[Kathleen_Pinto]

Hi. I have recently started using RoboHelp 8 and using the WebHelp Single Source Layout option, generated help to be deployed in an Oracle Application. I found that when a help topic is called from the Application, a blank browser window opens along with it. The project I used was created in an older version of RoboHelp (4x) and imported into RoboHelp 8. In order to rule out the possibility of errors during the conversion of 4x help files into 8, I created a new project in RoboHelp 8 and encountered the same problem when these help files were deployed to the Oracle Application. Does anyone know why this blank browser window displays along with the help file? Is there some way of getting around the problem?

[RoboColum_n_]

Hi Kathleen and welcome to the RH community.

Can you tell us which file is being called from the application? With webhelp output you should call the projectname.htm file in your output.

[Peter Grainge]

This is a known problem and Vivek from Adobe posted in another thread that Adobe are working on it.

[Guest]

Kathleen,

This may be an RH8 bug and a different problem than I've encountered, but I've had a blank window problem with one project, so I'll post our workaround.

The project where I've had the problem is a context-sensitive project. A developer tracked the blank window down and found it was whcsh_home.htm. He inserted the following line in that file between the last curly bracket and //-->.

window.setTimeout("self.close()", 5000);

Try inserting this line in that file and seeing if the window closes itself after a few seconds. In my case, the window was opening off the screen, so all we would see was a task bar button. But when we set the window to close itself, the task bar button disappears again, and it's not very noticeable that another window even opened.

--Ben

[Peter Grainge]

Please see the other thread.

http://forums.adobe.com/message/1046329#1046329

Adobe has posted instructions and I will be uploading a file to my site over the weekend.

Message was edited by Peter Grainge 4th May 2010 to correct the link and add that the missing file can be found at Item 1 on http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/rh8/using_rh8.htm

[Kathleen_Pinto]

Hi. I'm back again. Thank you for the suggestions. The file in question is whcsh_home.htm that was singled out as the file responsible for calling up a help file from an application.

Using the statement: window.setTimeout("self.close()", 5000); I found that both windows (the blank window as well as the help window) close simultaneously.

I had commented the following code as mentioned in Vivek's thread (displayed at the end of this message) but encountered a syntax error message.

I wish I could attach screenshots of the error messages encountered, in this reply. I'm looking forward to more suggestions towards a solution and appreciate all the help extended so far. Thanks.

[Peter Grainge]

I cannot help you on the code but this site will allow you to upload images, then you can post the links here.

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/

[Guest]

The window.close statement is something that works up through RH7, so I threw it out as a possibility for working in RH8. However, because I can't find the if(curWnd) code in RH7 files, enough must have changed between those two versions that the window.close statement has different results in RH8. That's good for me to know about, so I appreciate your trying it. The only thing I could suggest is to verify that the statement is in the right place in whcsh_home.htm.

The strangest thing for me is that I have this extra window problem in one CSH project but not in another. I have no idea what the difference is.

[Kathleen_Pinto]

Hi.  I posted the questi

on about a blank window displaying along with the browser window.  I appreciate all the helpful suggestions extended in trying to solve this issue, but my problem still exists. Has anyone encountered this problem with RoboHelp 8x and if so, is there a solution to this?

[Peter Grainge]

Kathleen

Are you saying you have left this for a year without resolving it? Problem now is the link to the topic with a solution is pointing to the old forums so I cannot read what was said there. I've tried searching but the forums are so slow today that I cannot track that post. I need to do that to see why my site doesn't seem to have the promised fix. Maybe Adobe created a Technote instead.

Do you have a working link to the other topic?

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Kathleen_Pinto]

Hi.

My company had purchased RoboHelp 8 about a year ago and had encountered

this problem but I seem to have drawn a blank on every attempt I have made

to solve it. Someone finally concluded that it was a bug in RH8. This bug

was said to have been fixed in an update, but as far as I can see, it still

exists. I have included some screenshots in the attached Word document that

explains the same problem. I do hope you can help me with it.

Thanks.

Kathleen

[Guest]

Kathleen,

Just a shot in the dark.

If you are using IE as your browser,  see if a browser add-on is causing this (phishing addons etc)

Go to IE> Tools> Manage add-ons. Disable all add-ons then re-enable them

one at a time until the troublesome add-on shows itself. Leave that one

disabled or uninstall it or see if there's an updated version which won't

cause problems.

Regards,

Brian

[Peter Grainge]

No document was attached and few people will open a Word document from a website.

Use the camera icon to insert images.

I think your best chance is to locate the other post.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[kimcramer42]

This is exactly what's happening to my Help system. I reported it on 4/29 in the WebHelp forum ("CSH WebHelp opening 2 windows on launch, not 1") but got no reply. I've tried searching the forum to find the mentioned posts and I've tried looking at Peter's site - both with no results. Is a solution to the two-window on launch issue posted anywhere? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Meanwhile, I'm going to report it as a bug.

Kim

[Peter Grainge]

There have been a number of threads on this problem, some for RH7 and  some for RH8. For RH8 a solution was posted in one of those threads but  the link to it in this thread was broken. I have traced that thread and  amended the link above. The linked thread indicates that some code is  attached but it is not! Can this problem take any more twists and turns?  However, it also refers to a download being available on my site. I  believe that is the file in Item 1 under  http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/rh8/using_rh8.htm There you will  find this problem can take another twist as I have indicated the fix was  built into the 801 patch! I am trying to get that verified by an Adobe  contact.

RoboHelp 7 users with this problem should  follow http://forums.adobe.com/message/2583529#2583529 where the current  status is that the problem is with engineering.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and  Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Peter Grainge]

Is this still a problem needing a fix or has it gone away?

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[kimcramer42]

I applied the fix per your website, but nothing has changed. I still see the extra window every time Help is accessed. I did report a bug, so I'm hoping to see a fix one of these days.

Kim

[Derek_Price1]

*Please note that what Derek posted below is a proposed solution to the issue.

I think I am using RH8 from before the 8.0.1 patch, but the 8.0.1  patch is incomplete.  I ended up removing all these lines from whcsh_home.htm, and passing  the option string to the last call to window.open.  This works with IE6,  IE7, & IE8:

                    if(gbIE5)
                     {
//                        var curWnd = null;   
//                        curWnd = window.open("about:blank",sNewName,strOpt);
//                        if(curWnd)
//                        {
//                            curWnd.document.location.href = "about:blank";
//                        }
                         goNewWnd=window.open(sURL,sNewName,strOpt);
                     }

Derek

Message was edited by: Captiv8r - Added a clarification note to the post.

[Captiv8r]

Welcome to our community, Derek

Please take a moment and read through the "Before you post" topic. I see you posted the same question three different times. Twice in another thread and once in this one. I've removed two of those leaving behind this one.

You may read the Before you post by clicking here.

Best of luck to you in finding a solution to the issue.

Cheers... Rick

Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7 or 8 moments from now - $24.95! Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training SorcererStone Blog RoboHelp eBooks

[Derek_Price1]

Hi Rick,

That isn't much of a welcome.  I had posted a solution, not a question, which is why I thought it might be worthwhile to add it to all three threads where I found incomplete solutions to the problem or only questions.  If you could go back and add at least a link to this thread from the threads where I posted the solution you deleted, you might help others with this same problem.  There appear to be quite a few.  I already spent some of my valuable time notating those threads and I don't have time to do it again.

Thanks!

Derek

[Captiv8r]

Sorry about that Derek

I guess I misread your posts. I didn't realize what you posted was a possible solution to the issue being discussed. Mea culpa for not digesting it fully!

Please understand that we see all manner of folks that just arrive here in the forums and blindly begin asking for help in thread after thread after thread. Yours appeared to be one of those because your post count indicated you were new.

Additionally, you didn't exactly make it clear that this is code that you found to be effective at solving the issue. We also see folks posting code that doesn't work and they want us to look it over and tell them why. Had you been more specific in claiming the changes you posted seem to correct the behavior, I'd probably have left the posts alone.

Well, I still would have deleted one of them as there were two posts saying the same thing in the same thread. I'll be happy to post a link in the other thread that points to the one where your code is.

Cheers... Rick

Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7 or 8 moments from now - $24.95! Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training SorcererStone Blog RoboHelp eBooks

[Derek_Price1]

Thanks for partially restoring things, Rick,

The double-post happened when I clicked "edit" on two of my first posts since by the third I realized I'd left out the name of the file I'd edited.  When I added the file name and clicked "save", a second reply was added with the "new" content.  It appears to be a problem with the forum application.  I looked for a way to delete the less informative posts, but I couldn't find one.

If you could find the third thread and restore the more informative post there or link here again, I would appreciate it.  I didn't save the link as I trusted the forum to email me updates.

Thanks again,

Derek

[Captiv8r]

Hi Derek

Hmmm, as far as I know there were only two threads affected. I did see two different replies from you in the same thread as if you were replying to two different individuals that participated in the thread.

Any time a thread is replied to, you get subscribed to the thread automagickally (unless you have configured this otherwise in your forum profile - most folks don't bother with that) so perhaps you found two entry points to the same thread and thought you were replying to three different threads when it was actually two?

Cheers... Rick

Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7 or 8 moments from now - $24.95! Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training SorcererStone Blog RoboHelp eBooks

[Derek_Price1]

Hi Rick,

Hrm.  Maybe.  I'll watch for that next time.

Thanks,

Derek

[MergeThis]

Derek, can you clarify why: "I think I am using RH8 from before the 8.0.1 patch, but the 8.0.1  patch is incomplete."?

Seems like trouble, but you might have a really, really good reason...I guess.

Good luck,

Leon