WebHelp does not create Start Page

[LHGrady]

(Originally posted under HTML Help)

I've been using RoboHelp X5 for ages and have never had this problem. When I go to generate WebHelp, I enter the path for the Output Folder & Start Page and follow the rest of the wizard to generate the WebHelp folder. All looks fine and the WebHelp folder is created, but the .htm start page is not generated at all. It is not even in the SSL\WebHelp folder and when I click to view the help file nothing happens.

Any advice? What am I doing wrong?

Thanks!

[Peter Grainge]

Are you using the same name for the start page and the default topic? That can cause confusion.

It's more likely that there's some detail shown in the first page of the wizard that means you might just be looking in the wrong place.

Try changing the path to somewhere else and seeing what you get.

[LHGrady]

Hi Peter- I tried changing the path, and later the file name for the start page. Neither of these worked. I also tried moving the project from a network to a local drive, which didn't help either. I have some other start pages from other projects. Do you think I could paste one of those into this project and just modify it? What would I have to change to make it work?

[Peter Grainge]

No you cannot use start pages from different projects. You have tossed in that you had your project on a network drive.

NO NO NO.

Work from and generate to you hard disk, always.

You say you moved the project but did you change the generate target to your hard disk?

Create a new project and see if that works OK. Use index.htm as the name of your start page to avoid any confusion.

[LHGrady]

I am working on hard disk now, with no improvement. I created a new project and it also did not create a start page (although the confirmation message states that it was created, as it always does).

I feel dumb for not having mentioned this before, but I get the following error when I start RoboHelp: "Unable to register hhctrl.ocx, itcc.dll, itircl.dll, itss.dll, hhactivx.dll, MFC42.dll. If you experience any adverse behavior, please make sure you have sufficient rights and restart the program. You may need to have an administrator run this program once to configure some components."

I wonder if that is the problem? I have been getting that message since the beginning of time and it never caused issues in the past.

Do you recognize any of these files?

[Captiv8r]

Hi LHGrady

Indeed it is nearly impossible to diagose certain behavior without providing pertinent information. So I would suggest following what is outlined in the message you have posted before posting back to ask further.

Additionally, I'll toss this in as a bonus. You may actually need to hunt down and install the "XML parser" from Microsoft. I recall having a similar issue a few years back and this was what I ended up having to do. (or, more realistically, having my IT folks do)

Cheers... Rick

[LHGrady]

Yes, I'm having myself made the admin on this machine so that I can check out the setup. Thanks also for the tip on the XML parser. I will throw that in there while I'm at it.

[Peter Grainge]

First you lob in that the project is on the network.

Then you mention it has never worked properly.

Is the next bit "this is running on a Sinclair Spectrum"?

Sorry, couldn't resist teasing.

As Rick indicates, you need to install RH with your logon and that has to have admin rights attached at the time. There's a topic on my site about it.

If you still have trouble, then follow up Rick's suggestion.

[LHGrady]

Hi guys - thanks so much for your help today. Indeed, the problem was with my rights. I used to run RoboHelp on my local machine, but it was moved to another PC that I now access via RDC and at that time I stopped being the Admin. I'd gotten the error message starting then but hadn't seen any adverse effects until this episode. Turns out having the project on a network is fine in my situation.

I am now temporarily the admin on that machine and everything works great, although I've not be prompted to configure or set anything up (as the error message said I would). Apparently, I just need to keep my admin rights!

Thanks again,

Linda

[Captiv8r]

Hi Linda

Okay, hopefully you will see my intended humor here.

Linda says: (In the voice of "The Terminator") Turns out having the project on a network is fine in my situation.

What you probably don't know you should add at this point (again, in the voice of "The Terminator") is " I'll be back". These forums (as well as the assorted incarnations of the RoboHelp support forums that came and went before them) are full of problems that were caused by having projects on the network.

Cheers... Rick

[LHGrady]

As nice and helpful as you guys have been, I certainly hope you're wrong this time! But next time issues arise, that will be my first move.

-- Sarah Conner

[Captiv8r]

LOL! Thanks for the chuckle "Sarah".

Sidenote here. My wife's nephew has a girlfriend named "Sara" and we were quizzing her on whether her name was spelled with an "h" or not. She looks at us harshly and says boldly. I'm "Sara" NOT "Sar" UH! So no H, k?

Have a great day... Rick