Why are my numbered lists changing formats?

[BJeppson]

We upgraded from RH7 to RH9. Now all the numbered lists in drop-downs are messed up. For example, the look fine in the WYSIWYG view:

But when generated, this is the result:

The CSS reads as follows:

LI.P-DropDownTextSteps {

font-size: 8pt;

font-family: Arial, sans-serif;

list-style-type: lower-alpha;

color: #af2305;

}

In some cases, even the sans-serif font changes to a serif font and the size of the numbers changes. I have tried everything I can think of. I have spent countless hours and am really baffled.

[Peter Grainge]

Take a look at Lists on my site. There is a section about upgrading.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[BJeppson]

I looked at the informationon your list, Peter, and it seemed to make sense. I followed the instructions (as I understood them) on your document "Make your CSS list styles work in RoboHelp 8" but the results were much worse than when I started, so I apparently am missing something. Because we need to support a number of browsers, I took the approach of cleaning up CSS files. Removing all definitions starting LI.stylename where the style is NOT used as a list apparently made things worse.

Somehow the answer is here, though. The margins and indents are fine. The font, color, size, and style of the numbers themselves has changed with the upgrade. The bullets are fine.

RH has more than one CSS. The changes I'm making are to our house CSS. Should I be doing them elsewhere as well? Or should I delete other CSS?

[Peter Grainge]

LIsts can now work in one of two ways.

1. You can define everything via the list styles. Bullets, fonts etc.
2. You can define part of the style via the list style (bullets) and part via a paragraph style that works with the list style (to define font etc).

The latter method is used when you have printed outputs as well as list styles cannot be mapped.

As you can see, a list style is required for any list to define the bullets. Why would you have applied a list style to any content that was not a list?

A project can have more than one CSS but a topic cannot. You will need to review all the CSS used in the project, which is not the same as all the CSS you may find in the project folders viewed via Windows Explorer.

Take another look and post back if still stuck.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[BJeppson]

I have deleted all the list styles that are not lists. 

Margins in lists are fine, bullets are fine.

Still, the numbers themselves on some numbered lists are sometimes the wrong size and color and are in Times Roman font. No styles in any of the CSS files use Times Roman. In the few that are correct, the list-style-type: lower-alpha; is completely ignored and the numbers appear in decimal format.

There is only one CSS used in the project as far as I know. If it isn't in the project folders viewed via Windows Explorer, where else would I find them?

Do I need to do go back in RH9 and retag everything using styles in the style pod, or do something to the code itself under the covers?

[Peter Grainge]

some numbered lists are sometimes the wrong size and color and are in Times Roman font

That sounds like your OL tag needs a font defined.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[BJeppson]

It has to be something so obvious, but I'm missing it.

My OL tag is as follows:

ol {

font-family: Arial, sans-serif;

font-size: 8 pt;

font-style: normal;

}

The result is below. For reference, the text is 8 pt.

Below is how the CSS defines these numbers. There is another style where the list-style-type: lower-alpha does not work.

ol {
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
font-size: 8 pt;
font-style: normal;
}

P.NumberList {
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
margin-top: 0pt;
margin-bottom: 10pt;
line-height: 11pt;
font-size: 8pt;
margin-right: 0.5in;
margin-left: 0.5in;

}
LI.P-NumberList {
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
line-height: 11pt;
font-size: 8pt;
list-style-type: decimal;
}

[BJeppson]

I should also say that when I generate PDF output, the numbers are in correct fonts and sizes and appear with the correct decimal or lower-alpha numerations.

[Peter Grainge]

Apply default.css instead just to see that corrects things.

Then revert to your CSS whatever the result and check the case of the LI tag and class in the topic matches that in the CSS.

If that does not fix it, zip up a topic that has that problem and the CSS used by that topic. See the Contact page on my site and send me the zip file. Attach the zip file to the email notwithstanding what it says on my Contact page.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge