RH6 crashes when generating RH5 project

[BTIMoe]

Hello,
I am trying out RH6. I have been a RH5 user for the past 2.5 years. I have a huge progect with complex conditional build tags. RH5 works fine when I publish with WebHelp Pro. I am not useing an engine at this time. I was but my project got to big for it. To many pdf files to search on. Anyway. I open RH6, open the RH5 project. I try to generate WebHelp Pro. The files seam to copy OK but when the generating tries to update files. Crash!

Exception unknown software exception (0xc000000d) occurred in application at location 0x78138890. Any Ideas? I am performing this test on a new computer that has never seen RH5

[Captiv8r]

Hi BTIMoe

Okay, color me confused. If you aren't using RoboEngine, why are you publishing WebHelp Pro? Maybe that's the issue? WebHelp Pro only works when published to the RoboEngine.

Cheers... Rick

[johndaigle]

Hey, BTIMoe
What is confusing Rick and I is trying to understand your scenario. When you say "I try to generate WebHelp Pro. The files seam to copy OK but when the generating tries to update files. Crash! " Is this from the "View Result" locally button after generation, or have you tried to publish it to a non-RoboEngine web server and then it crashes?

I have tried this using the RH 6 Trial version without a problem when I View Results. However you can't publish to a non-RoboEngine because it's looking for the RoboAPI.asp file to redirect it to a virtual directory on the server called "Robo". Why it crashes, I'm not sure. In the past if the RoboEngine was not configured properly you might get a "failed to connect to server" error, but I have never had it actually crash the app. Also, what is the destination to which you are publishing?

Finally, I know the Trial version has a topic limit (though I'm not sure what the limit is). Could you create a test project of no more than 20 topics and see if that causes a similar problem?

The bottom line is to choose WebHelp if you are not publishing to a RoboEngine enabled server (or the new RoboHelp Server 6 which replaces the old RoboEngine 4).
Let us know exactly what your trying to accomplish and we'll take another crack at it.
john

[BTIMoe]

I understand your confusion. I was using WebHep Pro to use https: publishing. WebHelp does not support Https:
I tried using WebHelp only to publish and I got the same error at the same time. so possibly it is the limitation of topics. I was trying it with a project that hat over 2000 topics and well over 2000 baggage files.
I will try it with a smaller project and let you know.

[Guest]

Hello,
did you find any solution on this topic?
My wife, working since 5 years with RoboHelp, has the same problem. It seems that the crash only occurs, when using projects that were originally created with X3, then migrated to X5 and now to X6. Projects that were created with X5 seem to work fine.
The crash only appears, when a "Conditional Build Expression" is entered in the Generate dialog. If you don't evaluate the conditional build tags, it works. But these are necessary. Same applies, when starting the generation from command line.
Any idea, how to get the old projects working again?
Thanks,
HanSolo

[Captiv8r]

Hi HanSolo and welcome to our community

Have you tried the following?

1. Close the project, then perform a search and destroy mission. Look for the ProjectName.CPD file and either rename it or delete it.
2. Restart RoboHelp HTML and test. When RoboHelp opens the project, it will create a fresh shiny new .CPD file for you.

If that fails...
1. Compile a .CHM version of the project.
2. Perform the steps above.
3. Rename the .XPJ file to something different.
4. Open RoboHelp and point at the ProjectName.HHP file. A fresh and shiny new .XPJ and .CPD file should result.

Let us know how you fare! Rick

[Guest]

Hi Rick,

thanks for the fast reply. Unfortunately it didn't work.

For the first option: The database was recreated, and RH6 crashed, when generating.
For the second option: RH6 crashed while recreating the database and the project file. But the files were created. After opening that files and trying to generate, RH6 crashed again.
We tried to generate .chm and print output. But all leads to the same crash.

We have some projects that work fine (these were initially created with X5) and some others that lead to the crash (created with X3, then upgraded to X5).
When opening a project of the second class, some files are created (.trv, .trt, .trs, .trl, .trk, .trf and .trb). These aren't created, when opening a project of the first class.

I hope you still have some ideas what we could try to get the projects working again.

Best regards,
Michael

[RoboWizard]

Hi Michael

Have you attempted to examine any of these files with odd extensions to see what they may contain?

I'll be trying what you are talking about. Taking a project I create using X3, then opening it using X5 and making an edit, with a final action of attempting to edit using 6. I'll post back if I make any discoveries.

Cheers... Rick

[RoboWizard]

Hi again Michael

Sorry, but my tests sailed right along. I took a project that I had created using X3, then opened it using X5. Made some edits. Then I opened the project using 6 and compiled a .CHM as well as generated WebHelp. No crash, no boom.

Are you using the full version or a trial? If it's the trial, I'm wondering if this is the reason. If it's the full version, admittedly I'm a bit stumped. If you want, take one of the errant projects, copy it and strip it of anything sensitve, then zip it up and send it to me at this address and I'll be happy to see if I can make heads or tails out of what may be happening.

Sincerely... Rick

[Guest]

Hi Rick,

thanks a lot for your efforts. My wife cut down the problem (using several nights) and it seems to be a serious bug in X6.

When working with tables (and she has all content in tables) and using merged cells for the last column X6 crashes, when using a conditional build tag. When creating without the build tag, it works.

To reproduce, just create a new project and use the attached code for the topic.

If you cannot reproduce it that way, I can send you the whole project.

Because she is using several build tags in each file and the projects have several thousand files, every hint to fix that problem (automatically) is welcome!

Thanks a lot and best regards,
Michael

[HKabaker]

I can confirm that a one-topic project in RH 6 trial version works fine if you don't exclude "print."

When you exclude "print," it bombs. I added text and some new conditional build tags. Apply any tag for exclusion or inclusion, and it bombs.

Harvey

[Peter Grainge]

Michael

I suspect Rick is busy on the day job!

I just tried your code and sure enough it crashed.

I then created a new RH6 project, created a table with four cells, merged two of them, inserted some text and applied the Print condition. On trying to preview that too crashed.

Works OK in X5.

I'm reporting it as a bug.

[Guest]

Hello Harvey, hello Peter,

thanks a lot for the confirmation and forwarding as bug report to the RoboHelp developers.

Here two questions of my wife:
Any idea, how to get around this bug, without manually reworking each of about 3000 files (a good global search and replace would be fine)? Or any idea, how long it could take that this bug is fixed and the fix is available?

Every help is welcome!

Thanks and best regards,
Michael

[Peter Grainge]

If for the moment we discount an in-time patch, then either the merged cells have to be removed or the condition. The best multi file find and replace tool I know of is FAR although many swear by BKReplaceEm. Links on my site. Don't start without a good backup.

Looking to the question of a patch, I cannot say but I am pursuing this.

[HKabaker]

Michael,

Apparently RH is trying to examine the missing cells for x-conditions and can't deal with <td_null>

Have you tried substituting

<td> </td>

or

<td_null></td>

It might damage the table structure, but maybe not..

Harvey

[Peter Grainge]

Thanks to Harvey for the main part of this solution and a little tweak from me, here's a temporary solution to this problem.

Harvey discovered the problem only occurs if the merge is in the right hand end column of a table. So, add another column and minimise its width, then apply a left border only so that to the end user there is no end column.

Preview and generate that and it works.

Nice work Harvey.

[Peter Grainge]

UPDATE

It looks like the problem is if the merge is only in the end column.

Also there's a better workaround. Add another column extreme right with no content. Make the column conditional as well. It works and you keep your correct column widths.

[Guest]

Hello Peter, hello Harvey,

thanks a lot for your help. My wife tried out, the whole day long, to replace that <td_null>. For a single file it worked, but for the whole project (around 400 replacements were done by the search and replace tool), it didn't help. The project still crashed. What was very strange is that even after replacement, RH showed the <td_null> stuff, but Notepad didn't. Is there a file, where RH caches files? Can we delete that cache to force RH to read each single file? Another annoying problem with that workaround is that RH changes the things back, when opening a file with the WYSIWYG editor.

So, the workaround from Peter sounds very promising. The only thing, we don't know is, how to do such operation in an efficient way (global search and replace). What should be replaced by what? Especially because this affects also nested tables. Where such a merged cell can be in the last column of the inner table.

Any hints on that?

Thanks a lot in advance and best regards,
Michael

[HKabaker]

Peter,

What an elegant solution!

It's a weird bug.

I would add this to your description of the problem:

It happens only when cells are merged in the final column, and only when cells are vertically merged. In a four-column table I merged the third and fourth columns in just one line; RH took it in stride.

Let's hope this is a temporary workaround.

Harvey

[Peter Grainge]

Forget the difference between Notepad and RH. I've seen that before and it is not relevant here.

You are not going to be able to do a global insert column, at least I don't think you can without a lot of time consuming attempts.

I've just worked with someone to find out which topics are affected and FAR from http://www.helpware.net was perfect to find the topics with tables with merged cells.

I searched on <td_null> and that gave me a nice list in folder order of the affected topics but then you just have to go to each table in those topics and do it manually.

You might be able to configure Macro Express to do that but I suspect you would spend as much time automating the process as getting on with it.

The solution is described in more detail in Snippets on my site. Note it does not affect all tables with merged cells, just those with merged cells only in the end column.

TIP: You might want to keep a safe distance from your wife when you break the news!

[rwiddick]

Hi there

I have the same issue, Robohelp 6 crashes when applying conditional build tags to a Robohelp 5 project AND I am not applying them to merged tables. I applied it to one page at the folder level and TOC level, the page is blank, consisting only a footer with a date in it. When I place the condition in the HTML Layout and compile it crashes every time.

Rebecca

[Peter Grainge]

Does that null content topic crash if you preview it with the condition applied?

Does it still crash in preview if you remove the date as well?

[rwiddick]

With the footer-preview is fine
Without the footer on this page-again preview is fine

I also have an issue with popups (to a picture) (that are in the baggage file) and then linked into a particular size popup, that worked in robohelpx5 and once opened with robohelp 6..... no longer work, they just make clicking noise over and over when you try to use them in a generated file. This is with generation in webhelp but thus far not html help.
Thanks
Rebecca

Thank you

[Peter Grainge]

So that page is not the problem. Somewhere in your help I suspect you have a topic where the two factors do co-exist. It only needs one topic. Use multi file find and replace to search in the code for <td-null>. That will tell you which topics have merged cells and you will need to search through those.

I don't know about the popups. What OS and browser are you using? Are you viewing locally or from the server?

[HKabaker]

We've had some discussion previously about conditional tags at the topic level and in-topic application. I think it was during beta test for RH 6. (Oops, was I not supposed to say that?)

Each seems to work OK independently.

The problem is when you apply tags at both levels.
I think it was happening even when the tags were different, and not necessarily attached to the same topic. Don't recall for sure.

Harvey