Same generated help - one is opened with IE8 and one is opened with IE9. the IE9 version keeps truncating the pop-up windows so the last line cannot be seen, and there is a warning/error sign in the status bar. Why? How can we fix this? Again, it is the same generated output from WebHelp, just one is opened using IE8 and one is opened using IE9.
Here is an example: When opening with IE8, you can see that the popup window looks normal, all the text can be seen, and there is a "done" in the status bar, left side.
BUT - when you look at the same topic in the same webhelp, using IE9, you get this - with a truncated popup box, not all the text can be seen and the status bar says "Done!" - indicating that something didn't work right...
What is happening, why and how can we fix it?
Thanks for any ideas.
20
Replies
Please see the Before You Post sticky topic that is on every forum and start all threads with the version and edition of RoboHelp that you are using. Problems and answers and answers are often version specific.
There were a number of problems with popups in RoboHelp 8 as described in Item 20 at http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/rh8/using_rh8.htm. Most likely an extra blank line after the text will fix the display.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
I'm sorry it is not a better technical answer, it's often not possible without Adobe's resources and in those cases all we can do here is offer workarounds. What you describe was a RoboHelp 8 problem and I cannot recall if it was fixed in 8 or 9 but it was fixed, seemingly only until IE9 came along though. Different browsers do behave in different ways and I now automatically but a blank line at the end of everything. If it is needed, it is needed and if not, it does no harm.
I wish this were the only problem IE9 caused.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
Hi there
Very curious about what you are referring to when you said:
- When generating the WebHelp output, I had the check box selected for deleting and replacing the output. However, pop-up files were not being deleted. I totally cleared my output directory and regenerated to get rid of the ancient files that were hanging out and not being deleted even though I had that check box selected.
Can you post a screen capture of that option? I'm not aware of any such option and have been using RoboHelp for nearly 20 years. As you may imagine, I'm a bit puzzled by your mention of it.
Cheers... Rick 
| Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7, 8 or 9 within the day! |
Hi Rick,
I'd be happy to show you. Maybe it doesn't do what I think it should do on purpose...I've only been using RH for 10 years.
1. In an open project, select File, then select Generate, then select Primary Layout (that is my scenario - and Primary Layout for me is WebHelp).
2. In the WebHelp Settings dialog box that is now visible, select the Publish link from the left pane. In the right pane, you should see under the Options, a check box next to something called "Republish All". 
I made the mistake of thinking that "Republish All" meant clearing the output directory and loading it up with all new files. What is actually done is a replace of existing files, and if a file has been deleted, it remains in the output directory. At least that is what it appeared to be doing in my case.
Hello again and thanks for posting the screen capture.
You threw me when you said: When generating the WebHelp output, I had the check box selected for deleting and replacing the output.
Here's why. Each time you generate your output, the behavior you describe is simply the behavior RoboHelp has. There is nothing to turn off or on. Wherever your output folder is, the first step is always for RoboHelp to clear it and delete any content before creating new content. That's precisely why defining the ultimate destination for your WebHelp as the output folder is such a bad idea. Folks may be using the files and you yank the rug out from beneath them (so to speak).
What you are describing is a feature related to soemthing entirely different than generating. And it's a common misunderstanding that folks have when we talk of Generating VS Publishing.
And the behavior you finally describe here is spot on. In any RoboHelp class I facilitate I make the following initial statement when we examine the properties of the Publishing section.
The publishing process of RoboHelp NEVER deletes files from the server. If you need to ensure files are deleted, that will be a separate and manual process you perform later.
Seldom do you want to use the Republish All feature. It will slow your process incredibly. The way publishing is intended to work is this. Of course, the first time you perform a publish it is the same as having Republish All selected. But subsequent publish actions are MUCH faster as only the files that have actually changed are copied. So the first time through may take 45 minutes to accomplish while subsequent publish cycles may take all of 20 seconds.
Hopefully this was helpful... Rick
| Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7, 8 or 9 within the day! |
Thank you Rick and Peter for explaining. Very helpful information to know. I never even thought about calling the process I was doing a "Publishing" process because I was selecting the Generate option, generating the output to be loaded into our software application. I will have to revise my terminology. 
I wonder if there is a way to generate without publishing? or republish without generating. Or does the Generate always do both?
Hello again
If you carefully think about it, generate doesn't really do both. The process of generating usually ends with a dialog where you must click a button labeled "Publish" in order to cause the content to be copied over.
As I explained earlier, many folks TRY to eliminate the second step by simply defining the ultimate destination to be where you generate to. They do this by specifying the server location in that first dialog where you choose the output folder. But that's a horrible idea for the reasons I mentioned. Not only that, but assuming it would work without a hitch, the process would be awfully slow.
Cheers... Rick
| Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7, 8 or 9 within the day! |
I have never published. That button cannot be selected when my generate finishes.
What we missed was that you are selecting and discussing options that appear in the Publish settings but you have not set up a publish location. Without that, any settings are of no effect.
What you generate, all the content in the target folder is deleted. It is not the same as publishing. One important thing to note is that you must generate to a local folder. That content must then be moved to the server by whatever means you choose, often done by the developers but can be done by you. Various methods exist and publishing is one.
You should not generate direct to the server hosting the help. I am not saying it is the cause of your problem but I am also not saying it isn't.
Now tell us more about where you generate to and how it gets to the server.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
I just generated a three topic project and check all three topics were in the webhelp. I then tagged one and excluded it from the build. It was no longer in the folder.
I also deleted a topic from Project Manager and created another build. The deleted topic was no longer in the output folder.
The files you are saying are no longer in the project, can you confirm they are no longer showing in Project Manager?
One thing I did do in testing was just drop a file into the generate folder from outside RoboHelp and that was not wiped.
Try it with a simple test project if you don't believe me. It is possible something changed along the way but the above test seems to confirm it still works the way that Rick and I believe.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
SaundraLD wrote:
I found in Tools | Options that there is a check box for "Convert RoboHelp-edited topics to HTML". This was NOT selected, and I noticed that the current topics that were generated had a very different heading in the file than the previously generated topics from my RoboHelp 8 project. On a whim, I selected that check box.
That suggests that somewhere in your code there is something that does not meet the more exacting standards of XHMTL but is OK as HTML. It might be worth running Tools > Update DHTML effects. As it changes your code, try it in a backup first.
If you did that at the same time as step one, it maybe that alone was the problem and this check box is a red herring. Always best to change one thing at a time, maybe you did.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
That suggests that somewhere in your code there is something that does not meet the more exacting standards of XHMTL but is OK as HTML.
LOL, or it suggests that IE9 does something wrong. IE has a long history of crappyness and IE9 is not much of an improvement 
Greet,
Willam
Thanks Willam, that is of course a possible alternative explanation.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
Republish All is commonly misunderstood. It has to be taken very literally. It just resends all the files your output requires to the server, without that option it only sends changed files. What it does not do is delete anything that is no longer required.
In other words if the same filename is in the current output, be it a topic or some RoboHelp internal file, it will be republished even if the file has not changed but it will do nothing more than that.
In some scenerios that is desirable but another option to clear out the target location would be good for those who do need it.
Please follow this link.
http://www.Adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform&product=38
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
AdChoices