Where is the text for the Index and Search tabs saved?

[Absolutely_CHMing]

This question is specifically about RoboHelp 9 -- although the answer may be the same for other versions.

I'm wondering, when WebHelp is created, where does it get the text it uses in the Index and Search tabs?

Specifically, what I'm looking for (and want to change), is the text in the Index tab that reads, "Type in the keyword to find:" and text in the Search tab that reads, "Type in the word(s) to search for:"

I suspect both these phrases are in a .lng file somewhere, and that file just needs to be edited...

Any ideas?

[RoboColum_n_]

You'll find these phases inside your project's RoboHHRE.lng file.

---

The RoboColum(n)

@robocolumn

Colum McAndrew

[Absolutely_CHMing]

Thanks! That's what I thought. It seems that making changes to the WebHelp isn't so easy.

I found the file in /ProjectName/!Language!/en_US and modified it to use the phrases I want. Then deleted the robohhre.lng file from the /!SSL!/WebHelp folder.  Then I re-generated the project. And nothing changed!

I suspect I'm not deleting some holdover, residual file somewhere. Or something.

Any ideas?

[johndaigle · Accepted solution]

The .lng file Colum mentioned can be accessed more easily by going to File > Project Settings > Advanced button > LNG tab

On  the LNG tab you will see most all of the default labels for various  items. It's better to work here on the source LNG rather than trying to  modify the WebHelp output which will eventually be overwritten the next time you generate.

Thanks

John Daigle

Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor

Evergreen, Colorado

www.showmethedemo.com

[Absolutely_CHMing]

Thanks! That worked. And solved my porblem.

Just out of curiosity, where are those changes saved?

[johndaigle]

The default .lng file is created each time you create a new project. It is along this path

C:\ProjectName\!Language!\en_US\RoboHHRE.lng

John Daigle
Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor
Evergreen, Colorado
www.showmethedemo.com

[Absolutely_CHMing]

That helps, thanks.

Although I'm still a little confused because when I changed that file, it didn't seem to have any affect on the WebHelp.

[johndaigle]

Did you try to edit the LNG directly in notepad or something? Try to go through the formal LNG interface I described and see if that makes a difference. Also, be sure to regenerate your WebHelp to see if the changes are reflected there.

[Absolutely_CHMing]

I can see I wasn't very clear in my answers. Sorry.

Let me say, specifically, when I make changes to the .lng using the RoboHelp interface, as you suggested, everything works correctly. There are no problems.

When I use Notepad to make the changes, I find that the changes don't show up in the generated Web Help. I know this isn't the "right" way to do things, but I was just wondering why it doesn't work. Most in a spirit of acedemic inquiry.

I'm happy to use the RoboHellp interface -- especially since it works well and is easy to use.

[Peter Grainge]

Notepad is likely knocking out what are known as the BOM characters that RoboHelp is expecting.

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

In addition to what Peter suggested, I'm noticing you simply stated:

When I use Notepad to make the changes, I find that the changes don't show up in the generated Web Help.

Perhaps you just didn't type the extra bit here, but you didn't specifically say "When I use Notepad to make the changes and generate...

My point is that I believe the LNG file is only referenced as the WebHelp is being generated. I don't think you can make a change to it (assuming it may be found among the generated files) and see anything influenced as a result. I've seen it before where folks think they can tweak this after the help has already been generated.

Cheers... Rick

Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7, 8 or 9 within the day! Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training SorcerStone Blog RoboHelp eBooks

[Absolutely_CHMing]

Yes, "and generate." I understand there's a sequence of events. Here's what I did: I made the changes to the .lng file using Notepad. I deleted the old .lng out of my /!SSL!/WebHelp folder. And then generated the new Web Help. I would have thought that was enough...

That's why I'm confused.

And what the heck is a "BOM"? Bill of materials?

[Peter Grainge]

Byte Order Mark. Google it for an explanation. It doesn't really matter what it is. The point is that Notepad is stripping it out and RoboHelp is getting grumpy about it. Work within RoboHelp and all will be well.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[johndaigle]

Hi. I'm afraid what you missed in my post #3 was "It's better to work here on the source LNG rather than trying to   modify the WebHelp output which will eventually be overwritten the next  time you generate."

In other words, the WebHelp in !SSL! folder is wiped clean (by design) each time you generate. That's why it is not a good idea to edit those files even if it does work, never mind BOM (we used to call it Business Office Must in the newspaper biz) or LSMFT or whatever.

In diagnosing this for you, I have also discovered that in addition to

Output: C:\ProjectName\!SSL!\WebHelp\robohhre.lng

this information is also found in something called the resource.xml file:

C:\ProjectName\!SSL!\WebHelp\resource\resource.xml

What I found is that even if I change *both* of those files (and don't regenerate), the WebHelp output does not reflect the changes, so obviously the information is being drawn from somewhere else(!?) BTW, I even tried different browsers to make sure it wasn't a caching problem.)

That said, if you are just dying to use Notepad 🙂 I found that if you make your edits to the robohhre.lng file in this path:

Source: C:\AppHelpAug\!Language!\en_US\RoboHHRE.lng (which is the source file, not output)

you will find changes ARE reflected properly in the Advanced Settings for Localization dialog within RoboHelp.

So, other than your admirable "spirit of academic inquiry", I think our best advice is to stick to doing it RoboHelp's way 🙂

John Daigle
Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor
Evergreen, Colorado
www.showmethedemo.com

[Captiv8r]

Hi folks

Most everyone involved in this thread can safely ignore what I'm about to say. I'm about to post a response that will be helpful for others that discover this thread down the road while searching.

Note the subject line is "Where is the text for the Index and Search tabs saved".

And upon reading the initial post that started the thread, I was thinking what was meant was the text that actually read "Index" and "Search" and that was what they wanted to change.

So if you find this thread in the hopes of seeing information about how to change that text, you need to know that it may exist in a few different places. Certainly one of the places is the LNG file that has been discussed at length prior to my posting this. But keep in mind that WebHelp is often Skinned. And when you are using a Skin, those tabs or buttons you see may be presenting actual text or they may be presenting images that have the text "Index" or "Search" as part of the image that is used. And if that's the case, you will need to create substitute images that read as you want them to. Then point to those images using the WebHelp Skin editor.

Cheers... Rick

Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7, 8 or 9 within the day! Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training SorcerStone Blog RoboHelp eBooks

[Absolutely_CHMing]

"LSMFT" -- wow, it's been years since that acronym passed through my mind. Yet it's still there, as fresh as ever. Just goes to show how potent advertising can be.