FrameMaker 11 file link broken when published out to RoboHelp 10

[jamesm0671]

Hello

I have the Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 and am trying to test publish a FrameMaker 11 file out through
the FrameMaker publish button to WebHelp (by way of RoboHelp 10).

In the FrameMaker 11, file, I have a link to a PDF that sits down in a subfolder.  I have used the following approach:

1. Highlighted text in a FrameMaker table.

2. Chose Special>Hyptertext

3. From the Hypertext panel, I selected Message Client from the Command drop down menu

     and in the syntax field I entered:  message openfile Foldouts/Foldout1.pdf

4. I then tested the link in FrameMaker by using ALT and CTRL and it works.

5. Next, I saved the FrameMaker file as a PDF (File>Save As PDF) and tested the PDF.  The PDF links work.

So with all that said, how come I can't select File>Publish>WebHelp and have the link information carry through to the WebHelp HTM output?

I tried this Publish option straight out of the box and it did not work.  I also tried creating a custom RoboHelp template (.XPJ file) and it did not work.

I believe there is a PgfId marker that is generated when the Hyptertext is created in FrameMaker (using the process stated above), but that marker is not getting
translated into an HREF, once it gets published out through RoboHelp 10.

I also tried saving the FrameMaker 11 file directly as an HTML file using the FrameMaker 11 - File>Save As HTML process, but no links carried through
using that process either.

I do not know if this is a FrameMaker issue or a RoboHelp issue, so I am now posting this in both forums.

If someone could point me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it.

Are there certain steps one must do to preserve FrameMaker Hypertext links that get published out through RoboHelp 10 to WebHelp?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Jim

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Don’t double post please – use the FM Integration forum.

That being said – to use the FM Publish command you have to do some homework first – you’ll need to set up a FM to RH project first to establish the conversion settings to be captured in a settings.isf file. However, I suspect your PDF isn’t being included because RH doesn’t know it’s there because it’s not a baggage file in the RH project (the one that’s hidden in the background when you “publish” straight from FM).

[jamesm0671]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the reply and for the heads up on double posting.  I only wanted to get the question out so that it is viewed by people who view FrameMaker and RoboHelp postings.  As I mentioned before, I don't know if this is on the FrameMaker end or the RoboHelp end.

Yes, I did create a .XPJ file, but it still did not work.  I will look at this "baggable file" reference that you mentioned to see where that leads.

Thanks again for the reply.

Jim

[Peter Grainge]

I've deleted the other post as the question is being addressed here. Folks who use Fm only would not be able to help so this is the correct forum as Jeff as explained.

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

@Peter - you could toss this one over to the FM Integration section as it concerns FM to RH functionality.

[jamesm0671]

Thanks Peter and Jeff,

I am going to do some testing today to see if I can get my FrameMaker 11 hypertext links to PDFs, to get pushed through to
RoboHelp and WebHelp output.

It sounds like I definitely need:

1. To point to a .XPJ
2. To create an .ISF file

Hopefully, that will do the trick.

Thanks again to both of you.

Regards,

Jim

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

I suspect they will just fine if you follow the traditional TCS integration route of creating a RH project and either linking or importing FM content. The external PDF would then be added to the RH project as a Baggage file, so that it's included in the help output generated.

What I'm suspicious of is the direct publish method all from within FM; to my understanding, once you've established your FM to RH settings and saved them off in a .isf file, then you can discard the RH project and "publish" on the fly by using the .isf file as the template for help generation. Doing it that way seems to strip a lot of the control over other things (like baggage files) that a full RH project offers you and that isn't included in an .isf file. So it may still not work in your case.