RoboHelp 7 Context-Sensitive issues with various browsers

[codeMonkey123]

I am developer working on setting up context-sensitive help for our web application.  We are using RoboHelp 7.  I have created a map file which has been imported into RoboHelp by one of our doc writers.  All (or nearly all) topics were mapped and the help was recompiled and sent back to me.  I have made (what I believe are) all necessary changes to our web application to properly access online help, but the behavior I am seeing is not quite right.

Here is the behavior I ma seeing:

When I launch Online Help In Firefox 3.6...

...a new tab opens and I notice that the correct topic briefly appears in the tab's content frame.  However, it immediately switches back to the main chapter topic.  In the TOC frame the chapter is not expanded.  I do notice that I can click on the browser's Back button, which expands the TOC topic I am on one level at a time until it finally reaches the original topic that briefly displayed.  It appears that some piece of help code is telling the browser to switch from the original help topic to the main chapter and contract the TOC as soon as it is loaded.

When I launch Online Help in Internet Explorer (6 or 7)...

...I observe the same bevahior as described above for Firefox 3.6, EXCEPT 1) a new window opens instead of a new tab (in IE6 there were no tabs), and 2) I CANNOT click on the browser's Back button to go to the desired sub-topic.  The page just sits at the chapter's main help topic and the TOC is not expanded.

When I launch Online Help in Google Chrome 5.0

...a little pop-up window pops up and its contents are completely blank.  I suspect that this is a result of the RoboHelp_CSH.js file not recognizing the Google Chrome browser and thus doing nothing.  I am less concerned with Google Chrome than the other browsers.

To utilize RoboHelp's online help, I have downloaded the RoboHelp_CSH.js javascript file and have included it with our web application.  I have, during my troubleshooting, also updated it per this form topic: http://forums.adobe.com/message/2334770.  This version of the RoboHelp_CSH file still not did resolve my issue.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Mark

[Peter Grainge]

When I launch Online Help In Firefox 3.6...

That sounds like Item 8 at http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/browsers/browsers.htm

When I launch Online Help in Internet Explorer (6 or 7)...

Are you viewing locally and is the yellow information bar showing? If so authorise Active X. Your author can apply the Mark of the Web or you can set your IE to allow Active X to run in Advanced settings.

If that is the cause, it does not happen when the help is on the server.

When I launch Online Help in Google Chrome 5.0

First Google is not a supported browser but more likely the problem is some security changes made by Google.

See these posts.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HATT/message/76507

http://forums.adobe.com/message/3011047#3011047

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[codeMonkey123]

Hi Peter,

Thank you very much for your reply.  Item 8 at http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/browsers/browsers.htm definitely deals with the issue I am having, but when I apply it the TOC still does not expand.  I tried applying the fix suggested in Item 11, to no avail.  Is there something else I should set to ensure that the TOC properly expands?

Thanks again.

[Peter Grainge]

I've been away for a while. Is this now resolved?

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[codeMonkey123]

Not quite yet.  I'm still running into the problem of the TOC not expanding.  It appears to be a timing issue, because if I go to a specific context page on my local server (e.g. C:\robohelp\test.htm#topic.html) the TOC expands, but when I access the same page via a web server (e.g. http://localhost:8080/test/help/test.htm@topic.html) the TOC does NOT expand.  I tried applying the fix from http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/browsers/browsers.htm, Item 11 to no avail.

On a side note, does Adobe allow users to modify RoboHelp's javascript files when shipping online help?  I have applied the fix outlined in Item 8 (same like as above), but want to make sure I can ship these changes with my compiled version of web help.

Thanks again,

Mark

[RoboColum_n_]

Hi Mark.

If I'm not mistaken you are using WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro output output to the RH Server. Is that right? Also can you tell us what type of database you are using on the RoboHelp Server?

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The RoboColum(n)

@robocolumn

Colum McAndrew

[codeMonkey123]

Hi Colum,

We are using regular WebHelp (not WebHelp Pro).  We are bundling the help with our Tomcat-based webapp, so there is no server component.  Our app connects to SqlServer, MySql, and Oracle DBs, and the problem of the TOC not expanding happens in all 3 cases.  We are using RoboHelp version

7.03.001.Thank you!
Mark

[MergeThis]

Are you really, really sure that the "we" in charge of "bundling" the help into your app are actually including all the output files? Even the files in those pesky wh*data folders?

Good luck,

Leon

[codeMonkey123]

Yes, our build scripts copy everything in RoboHelp's output to our bundle.  I see the wh files and wh*data folders and have manually modified the wh files as needed.  Thus my earlier side-question regarding whether it's ok to modify RH's javascript source files shipped with our product's help.

[Peter Grainge]

I don't know what the legal situation is but Adobe are rather unlikely to know about it so as long as you don't complain about the modified file causing problems.

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge