RoboHelp 10 and .CHM File Functionality Issue

[adobeblomt]

I have RoboHelp 10 running on Microsoft Wincdows 7 operating sytem. I have completed my help topics in RoboHelp 10 and was using the Microsoft HTML Help layout/format to create my final .CHM help file. When I compile the help I don't get any error messages and all seems to be good. The .CHM file does get generated but when I open/run it, there are problems. It "freezes" on the first Help topic and none of the buttons or links work. I also can't close it down; I have to force it closed using the Task Manger. As a test, I also tried generating other help file formats using the same help topics/project I used to create the .CHM file. For example, I used the Multiscreen HTML5, WebHelp, and WebHelp Pro source layouts to generate a Help file and all of them function properly to produce a working Help file. It's just the .CHM file that is not working correctly. Is this a problem with Windows 7, RoboHelp 10 on Windows 7, or some other key process/step I forgot to do or include before generating the .CHM file? Thanks, Thom

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

Where is the CHM file when you run it? Are you running (or attempting to run) it from a network location?

Cheers... Rick

[adobeblomt]

It is located on my local drive in the following RoboHelp directory, where it was created: !SSL!/Microsoft_HTML_Help.

[Captiv8r]

Does the same thing happen if you open one of the supplied sample projects?

If so, it indicates a problem with your system or installation. If not, it indicates a problem with your project.

Cheers... Rick

[adobeblomt]

I just opened a random sample of other .CHM files on my system and they open and run as expected. Thus, it must be something in my RoboHelp project, but I'm not sure what I'm missing or need to get it to function properly.

[Captiv8r]

It may be something related to the default topic. I'd suggest temporarily configuring a different default topic, recompile and see if the problem clears. If so, you know you need to pick apart the code of the default topic. If the problem is there with a different default, try creating a simple new topic with nothing really in it and set THAT topic as default. If it STILL happens after that, look at the Window settings. Perhaps something is lurking in there.

Cheers... Rick

[adobeblomt]

Thanks Rick.

I'll give all of that a try. I might even create a simple new Help file from scratch with just two test topics and see if it's just my version of RoboHelp 10 on Windows 7 that is the problem. The RoboHelp 10 software on my system sometimes locks up or crashs on its own (infrequently).

[Jared Hess]

Sometimes when I get issues like this in a chm that I can't readily find, I have to remove topics from the help, half at a time and rebuild the chm, repeatedly moving half and rebuilding to narrow down where it's occurring. Once I find out what it is (a topic maybe?) I would either recreate it, or dissect the topic in a similar manner to find out where the problem occurred.

[adobeblomt]

Thanks JaredHess.

What I ended up doing was create a new RoboHelp project, and then, import all of my HTML topics from the corrupt/bad project. Then I was able to open the new generated .CHM without issue. There must have been some corrupt RoboHelp project files in the old project. It is sort of like a reboot on Windows when you can't diagnose the specific problem, just start over. 🙂