Opening webhelp from the application opens a spasmodic HTTP error message

[barbara_seddon]

Hi,

I have supplied a context-sensitive webhelp project (produced in RoboHelp 10) to a browser-based application. There is a spasmodic problem when opening topics: an HTTP error message is displayed instead of the topic.

If you then click the browser Back button, it scrolls back to open the topic correctly.

There is no apparent logic to when the error message is displayed. For example, if you were to close the topic that had originally triggered the error and then reopen it, the error does not occur.

Our developers have been unable to resolve the problem as the log files generated by the application in which the webhelp is embedded are not cataloguing the error.

Details of the error are:

[RoboColum_n_]

See if this KB article helps: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/3282db98-61d8-46c6-be5a-52d2310e0aa2/http-e...

[barbara_seddon]

Hi, thanks for your response.

Unfortunately it didn't help for the following reason (cut and pasted from the developer's E-mail).

"As far as I can see, what is going on is that our help link navigates to a page like this one (these links are embedded into the application so I can't see that they would be wrong).

FSG.focus360.CoreWeb/fp/content/advised/branding/default/help/frmHomePage.htm

and this straightaway redirects the web browser and loads the contents and header. The page is then:

FSG.focus360.CoreWeb/fp/content/advised/branding/default/help/focus360.htm#frmHomePage.htm"

Any help would be appreciated.

Barbara

[RoboColum_n_]

Is it only one CSH call that has the issue (i.e. one page) and is the same happening in different browsers? I have to admit that I don't really know what could be causing the issue. I'm just trying to help narrow down an area to look at.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

I'd be suspecting that the topic has some HTML that's getting interpreted as a command by the browser. Is it happening with more than one topic? If you look at the "problem" topic with another browser does the issue go away?

[barbara_seddon]

It is completely random and can't be pinned down to a specific topic.

Once you have clicked the browser Back button to open the topic properly, the error does not recur in that topic both while the help is open and if you then close the help and reopen it at that topic.

But it could happen again if you opened the help from a different screen in the application, opening a different topic.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

So what happens if you use a different default browser - any impact on the problem?

[barbara_seddon]

Typically, now that I'm trying to replicate the problem, it is not occurring. I will respond later as it will definitely occur again, then I can identify a particular topic to try out in another browser.