7 Replies Latest reply: Feb 5, 2014 5:11 PM by SOLpubs

Cross-refs, images in FM inset broken/missing in RH output

SOLpubs Jan 13, 2014 2:32 PM

TCS 4

Linked FrameMaker book

HTML Help output

In several FM text insets, I have added a cross-reference to a topic outside of the inset.

In the HTML Help output from RoboHelp, some (but not all) of the cross references are broken--they look like links, but the cursor does not change to a pointing finger and no jump occurs when you click.

And although the FM "Heading & Page" cross-refs are set to convert to <$paratext> in RH, the broken HTML Help links retain the "on page x" part of the FM style. Again, other cross-refs in the insets convert correctly and are active. Even within the same inset, some cross-refs convert correctly, and some don't.

Finally, I have some FM insets that have table cells with images in anchored frames (toolbar buttons with descriptions). The images are missing in the HTML Help output.

Are these cross-ref and image issues fixable, or is this a limitation of the FM --> RH integration?

Thanks.

1. Re: Cross-refs, images in FM inset broken/missing in RH output

Jeff_Coatsworth Jan 14, 2014 6:14 AM (in response to SOLpubs)

There seems to be an internal limit on the absolute path length of the xref’d docs that throws off the FM to RH conversion. I would notice that some of my xrefs would appear as href= links in RH and others would not – all on the same page. I solved most of them by shortening down the path length of the FM files to under 35 characters – that seemed to fix most of them.
There have also been reports in this forum of the “<$paratext>” issue you mention, but I don’t know if there was ever a solution found. Try searching for “paratext” to see the threads.
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2. Re: Cross-refs, images in FM inset broken/missing in RH output

SOLpubs Feb 4, 2014 12:07 PM (in response to Jeff_Coatsworth)

So are you saying is that the "workaround" for this is to change all of file names in the FM book, thus breaking who-knows-what as collateral damage? That I will have to rebuild the existing project so that all file paths come in at under 35 characters?

Is this fixed in TCS 5?
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3. Re: Cross-refs, images in FM inset broken/missing in RH output

Jeff_Coatsworth Feb 4, 2014 12:14 PM (in response to SOLpubs)

I ended up just moving the content folder up a few levels to get it shorter – that way it kept all the xrefs the same relative to one another & I didn’t end up breaking any links. I haven’t had time to move up to TCS5 yet & since I was only on the RH11 beta and not the FM12 one, I didn’t get my usual chance to run content through as a test.
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4. Re: Cross-refs, images in FM inset broken/missing in RH output

SOLpubs Feb 4, 2014 4:56 PM (in response to Jeff_Coatsworth)

I tried that, and it didn't work.

Couple of questions:
1) In the Conversion Settings dialog box, in the RoboHelp Style option settings, there are six instances of the <$paratext> style. The Heading and Heading & Page cross-ref styles from FM both map to the first instance of <$paratext> in the list of styles. Where did the <$paratext> instances come from? What do they correspond to? Why are there six of them?

2) When I click the Help button in the Conversion Settings dialog box, the following topic follows the "Convert FrameMaker cross-reference formats to RoboHelp styles" topic:
-----------------------------
Content reference
Text or files that you have inserted into the FrameMaker documents as content references appear as part of the topics where they are referenced. They do not appear as references in the online Help outputs.
------------------------------

I'm not sure what "content reference" means. To me, it's not conventional FM terminology.

Is this (vaguely-worded) statement trying to say that text insets are not supported in HTML Help output?
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5. Re: Cross-refs, images in FM inset broken/missing in RH output

Jeff_Coatsworth Feb 5, 2014 5:47 AM (in response to SOLpubs)

I think this guy has just discovered what that help text means - http://forums.adobe.com/message/6088014#6088014
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6. Re: Cross-refs, images in FM inset broken/missing in RH output

Jeff_Coatsworth Feb 5, 2014 5:59 AM (in response to SOLpubs)

I’m not seeing the paratext instances you’re talking about – my defaults are all – I have to change them to paratext by typing overtop the Source wording.
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7. Re: Cross-refs, images in FM inset broken/missing in RH output

SOLpubs Feb 5, 2014 5:11 PM (in response to Jeff_Coatsworth)

I moved this discussion to a new thread:

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1399277

It aggregates info from several other threads and lists several apparent conclusions about text insets and other "content references".
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