Robohelp Image Issues

[ash_fridd]

Not all the time but frequently, robohelp won't display an image i insert.

I add the image as normal, it appears in the project file list, robohelp copies it into the project directory and it gets displayed on the page. However i export for printed documentaton and webhelp and no image is displayed, In web help i get the box with red cross, and in word i get nothing at all.

I haven't got any build tags applied and the images are in a standard .bmp format.

any help or ideas would be appreciated.

[Peter Grainge]

Welcome to the forum.

"I add the image as normal". Define "Normal"

The fact that you are using bitmaps suggests you are using RoboHelp for Word to generate winhelp. Are you inserting the images via the RoboHelp menu in Word?

Also prior to generating are you ensuring the code for the images is displayed in Word rather than the images themselves.

What version of RH are you using (X5?) and what version of Word?

[ash_fridd]

i'm using robohelp HTML and am inserting the image into the WYSIWYG

to insert, i normally drag and drop into the image into the window, but i have also tried using the Insert -> Image method

i'm using RH X5 and Office 2003

[Peter Grainge]

Dragging and dropping is not the recommended way. Before you compile any output you should go to the RH menu in Word and change the images so that the true code displays rather than the image. If you have any images displaying when you compile, you are likely to hit the problems you have encountered.

You need to switch to true code and see what images are then still showing. Delete those and insert the correct way and you should be OK.

[ash_fridd]

I'm not usnig Robohelp for Word though, i'm using Robohelp HTML, so the project isn't in word until after it has been compiled. if this is the only way of sarting out this problem should i move my entire project into Word??

[Peter Grainge]

NO!

Sorry, I missed that part of your reply.

Locate a couple of the images that are giving problems. Delete them and then reinsert them via the icon or menu. Does that fix it?

[ash_fridd]

i have tried that prior to starting this topic, but have re-tried just in case but still not luck.

some images had issues because i used a $ in the image name, i have corrected this but a problem still remains with a number of other images.

any more ideas i can try?

[ash_fridd]

i just had a look in the true code tab, most images have . . / before the image name, an incorrectly displayed image didn't.

i added the . . / in and it said the image was outside the project manager. any response to this?

[Peter Grainge]

Looking back I see you are using bitmaps. Change the images to jpgs or gifs and see if that works. Bitmaps are not normally used in HTML work.

[ash_fridd]

i have used bitmaps in the past and Robohelp can read the format so i doubt that would have been the cause of the problem

inserting them in the new format does allow them to be shown, but gifs and jpegs aren't as good quality as i would like, is it possible to use pngs?

i just had a look in the true code tab, most images have . . / before the image name, an incorrectly displayed image didn't. i added the . . / in and it said the image was outside the project manager. any response to this?

[ilana_411]

quote:

---

Originally posted by: Peter Grainge
Looking back I see you are using bitmaps. Change the images to jpgs or gifs and see if that works. Bitmaps are not normally used in HTML work.

---

Hi !

I would like to know why is's not advised to use Bitmaps in HTML work ?
Thanks for your replies !

[RoboColum_n_]

I would advise against using PNG files. These forums are littered with posts from people who have problems with them. BTW you say GIFs and JPGs don't offer the same quality. I'm somewhat surprised by that. Have you some special requirement?

[Peter Grainge]

Have you been moving the images around using Windows Explorer rather than doing it in RH Project Manager?

Delete the images again and then add them by point RH to the copy that is within the project folders but not being seen by the database.

[Peter Grainge]

Re your comment on bitmaps, I've used a car with no reverse gear, doesn't mean it's the correct thing to do. Search the sites advising on HTML and they will advise you not to use bitmaps.

See the Serendipity pages on my site. Loads of jpg photos and low resolution but all OK.

Is the problem to do with resizing or something else?

[ash_fridd]

the problem i am facing is;

i have a image that, regaless of format, is not being displayed in the printed documentation output. i output to webhelp pro and the image appears fine. i have no conditional build tags applied to the image. and the image is correctly registered in the program in order for it to be displayed in the webhelp output.

so far all i have discovered is that robohelp doesn't like $ in the file name.

[RoboColum_n_]

Special characters in file names do sometimes cause problems so this may ultimately be your answer. As to why you need to use bitmaps rather than GIFs or JPGs we are still awaiting a satifactory answer. Quality should not be a reason. As Peter states, if JPGs were a problem in RH there'd be shed loads of users moving to another application!

[RoboWizard]

Hi Colum

Shed loads?

Hmmm, new one on me.

I always heard it as another word. What was that word? Hmmm, seems it began with shi something or other. Oh dear, it's right there on the tip of my tongue! (thinking hard... thinking hard...)

Oh yes, ship loads! That's what it was. I'm sure of it now...

Cheers all... Rick

[RoboColum_n_]

Sorry fell into UK slang for a moment. Shed load - Noun. "A large quantity of something". I believe it originates in cockney rhyming slang although I don't know what the rhyme is!

[MergeThis]

The only reason that the image file name path should be preceded by "../" is if the image is in a folder above the topic that's calling it (../../=two folders above, etc.).

To recap, use only jpg or gif format.

And Peter and Colum, behave yourselves!


Good luck,
Leon

[Peter Grainge]

Egh? I thought I was trying to get to the bottom of the problem.

[Peter Grainge]

You say in a more recent post "i have a image that, regaless of format, is not being displayed in the printed documentation output. i output to webhelp pro and the image appears fine." In your first post you said the image didn't display in webhelp. Which is correct?

If the problem is just with printed documentation, take a look at Print Issues on my site. There is a problem with images in Printed Documentation but that normally affects all images, not just some.

[ash_fridd · Accepted solution]

the project i export, i export in two formats,

webhelp pro
printed documentation

have have tried using different image formats, including jpg and gif, which produce a noteable difference in the image quality.
the jpg adds shadows under lines and behind text, and gif makes fade effects grainy. ulimately i believe that if robohelp says it can support an image type then it should work fully.

anyway i can't work out exactly how but i have managed to solve the problem.

there seems to a dead space at the top of my document where no images in the first 4 lines of my document get displayed, i think its a bit of a bug, its kinda hard to explain.

i inserted the image in 5 different formats and only one showed up; the fifth. i switched the order and still only the last image in the order was shown. so basicly i now just avoid putting images in the top four lines.

anyway thanks for everyones help

[Peter Grainge]

You didn't confirm whether or not your server has RoboEngine which is essential for the Pro output.

RoboHelp does support the jpg and gif issues and I have not seen in my work or that of others the problems you describe. Certainly I have used images at the top of the page with no such problems. One thought does occur though. Is that space defined as Heading 1. If so, in the printed document at least the cause could be the Images in TOC option behind the Advanced button in the wizard.

Can you create this problem in a one or two topic project? If you can you can zip that up and send it to me via my site.

[ash_fridd]

i have tried to re-create the scenario but haven't managed to.

the area of the document was formatted as Normal, and the heading was a few line below.
I do not have the TOC option you mentioned turned on either.

[ash_fridd]

i have tried to re-create the scenario but haven't managed to.

the area of the document was formatted as Normal, and the heading was a few line below.
I do not have the TOC option you mentioned turned of either.