Can you help with RoboHelp Version 11: WebHelp Index Keyword Sorting?

[pweb248]

I'm new to RoboHelp 11, and I am finding it difficult to alphabetize topics listed under my Index Keywords. When I look at the keyword topics in my RoboHelp HTML editor, they are listed in alphabetical order (see the Tools topic in the first image), but when I generate WebHelp the Tools topics are not in the correct order (second image). I believe that the problem pertains to new entries made to a converted RoboHelp Version 6 WebHelp application. Basically, I have been adding content to several old version 6-generated html files in the new RoboHelp HTML editor.

Another issue that's perplexing is the fact that the Move Up and Move Down icons at the top of the Index editor pod, or whatever it's called, are grayed-out (not functioning). I remember with the Version 6 application, they worked fine.

Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to get the index alphabetized? I appreciate your help.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Sorry, not really seeing what you’re talking about – the Tools index entry has a number of sub-entries under it – I’m presuming that the entry for C Pressure Gauge is appearing to launch the Digital Pressure Gauge topic because the text “C Pressure Gauge” appears on the first line. What’s out of order?

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

In your Index Designer pod, try right-clicking the list of entries and see if you have Sort as an option...

If it's disabled as shown above, try clicking File > Project Settings... > General tab and you likely need to clear the "Binary Index" check box.

Once you disable Binary Index, Sort should now be an option for you.

Cheers... Rick

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

D’oh! Now I see it ;>)

[pweb248]

Thanks for the suggestion to clear the Binary Index. Unfortunately, from what I can tell, it did nothing. After closer review, however, it appears that the Indexer Designer pod does alphabetize each new Keyword Topic after I enter and link it. But when I generate the Primary Layout (WebHelp) the displayed outcome does not have the same organization. The new Keyword Topics are shown at the bottom of the indented Keyword Topic list in the order in which they were entered in the Designer pod. At least that's what it looks like in my default Google Chrome web browser.

Any other thoughts?

[Captiv8r]

Whether Binary Index is enabled or not just governs whether you are able to choose to sort. So have you tried to sort since clearing the Binary Index? I'm not seeing where you attempted to sort.

Cheers... Rick

[pweb248]

Yes definitely. I cleared the Binary Index as you explained above and tried to sort the Keyword Topics in the editor, but I couldn't move anything up or down. Besides, as I mention above, the topics look alphabetized in RoboHelp. They just don't end up that way when I generate the webhelp html. In fact, after I cleared the Binary Index (or tried to), I generated my Primary Layout anyway, just to see. No change.

And, as a further experiment, in Project Settings, General, I unclicked "Add New Keywords to Index File (HHK)" but clicked the "Topics" radio button. So, the Binary Index check box is now unchecked, but Topics is checked. I then re-generated the webhelp html, but everything remained the same. Only the topics that were added to the Help program using RoboHelp 6 are display in the proper order.

Rick, should I set the Binary Index settngs back to the way they were?

[johndaigle]

Hi, pweb248

Just an expansion of what Rick has suggested. Binary index is only used when Microsoft HTML Help "CHM" is your primary layout. So, because WebHelp is your primary layout, Binary should definitely be unchecked. Selecting the Index file (HHK) is fairly standard for WebHelp use and it is sorted numerically and alphabetically by default. The HHK file contains all the Index keywords and their topic associations all tucked into one file, whereas adding Index Keywords using the "Topic" radio button embeds the coded reference right in the topic html file itself.

This online help topic explains a little more about the Sorting options depending on the primary layouts and whether Binary is selected.

Adobe RoboHelp 11 * Edit index keywords

This is the key paragraph:

>>Note: The Sort command is unavailable with a binary index. The sort function is enabled only when the primary layout is HTML Help and the Index is set to Index File with no Binary Index. In all other layouts, the index remains sorted but for HTML output, the sorting of the index can be changed. Sorting enables the up and down keys on Index Pod.<<

As you have noticed, your Index Designer view is apparently working as documented. I share your puzzlement about the out-of-sort listing in the WebHelp output shown in your screenshot. I wonder if there is some left-over crud from the ancient RoboHelp 6 code that is not converted properly and gumming up the works? Also curious if you have more than one Index in your project and if you are selecting the right one in the WebHelp Settings > Content dialog. Maybe Rick, Peter or Willam can shed some light on this?

John

[pweb248]

Thanks, John. I appreciate your input.

I double-checked my Project Settings, General tab and my Primay Output is WebHelp. Under the Index section I have the Index File (HHK) radio button selected, and the Binary Index checkbox is not selected. That is the way it was, in fact, before your posting. So, according to what I have read, those should be the appropriate settings for my simple html webhelp project.

. . . but something has since changed. Just to see what would happen, I manually edited my project HHK file to alphabetize some of the Keywork topics, and then I re-generated the primary layout (WebHelp). The topics that I manually edited now look good, but the other topics that I added since working in RoboHelp 11 are still not listed in alphabetical order in the generated html output--although they are alphabetized in the RoboHelp HTML Editor. Furthermore, now none of the arrows (left, right, up, down) in the editor's Index pod are functional (they appear at the top, but are greyed out). Before only the down arrow and up arrow didn't work. So, I'm still perplexed.

In the meantime, in order to finish the project, I'll just manully work with the HHK file and correct the order of the topics.

Thanks again to everyone for your help. 

Peter

[Captiv8r]

Hello again

Okay, here's the deal with the arrows not working. If you changed the project settings so that Index Keywords are now added to Topics, the keywords simply aren't inside the Index (ProjectName.HHK) file for you to re-arrange. Those arrows allow you to act upon the keywords stored inside the HHK file.

It's still a mystery to me that RoboHelp would sort those entries oddly. Further confusing is that with Binary turned off, you are unable to right-click and choose to sort.

You likely unearthed a bug we haven't yet seen.

One thing I might try before just giving up and concluding there is a bug, would be to take the following steps.

Change the settings back so that no index keywords are stored inside topics.

Any keywords you created since making that change will likely need to be removed and re-added via the Index designer.

Click Tools > Options... > General and enable the option to clear the project cache (.CPD) when opening a project.

Close and re-open the project and see if things improve.

Cheers... Rick

[Tim D Morris]

I'm having the same issue described above (topics under keywords not being sorted properly in WebHelp index).  I'm using RH 2015.  The only solution I see so far that works is pweb248's suggestion to manually edit the .hhk file.  If anyone has found an automated resolution within RH, please let me know.  Thanks.  Tim

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

Are you saying you tried what I suggested in my reply just above your question and no bueno?

I ask, because as there seemed to be no further comeback to my reply back in 2014 I rather assumed it solved the issue.

Cheers... Rick

[Tim D Morris]

With Rick's assistance, I did some more experimenting.  For clarity, RH appears to properly sort the index keywords and sub-keywords; what it does not do is sort the topics associated with the keywords and sub-keywords (the problem identified by pweb248 and others).  While I generate WebHelp using RH 2015, I unchecked the "Binary Index" box, created an HTML Help project output layout, and set it as the default so that I could use the RH sort options on the Index. While everything appeared to be sorted correctly in the RH index view, the topics associated with the index keywords and sub-keywords were still not sorted alphabetically.  I think this is an RH bug.

I found and used a freeware xml sorter available here: https://xmlsorter.codeplex.com/; the index keyword (.hhk) file is an xml-formatted file​.  I checked out and created a copy of my project's .hhk file, verifying the file's read only property was no longer set.  I used the XML Sorter software to select the copy of the .hhk file, checked the "Sort by specific attributes" box, clicked the ellipsis (...) button associated with the box to open an attributes window, and checked the "Name" attribute box for the sort.  I clicked the Sort button, saw the before and after results, checked the "Overwrite source file" box, and then clicked the Sort button again to create a copy; I saved a copy of the original .hhk file to replace if necessary.  Note: If you use this software with these sort options, the software will keep closing <item> tags but will omit closing <section> tags.  If, when you use sub-keywords, you associate topics only with the sub-keywords and do not also associate them directly with the main keyword, then the sorted file should work fine; when it updates this file, RH recreates the closing </section> tags.  If, when you use sub-keywords, you associate topics with both the sub-keywords but also with the keyword for the sub-keywords, RH does not interpret the XML correctly; it associates no topics with the keyword, and appends the list of topics that should have been associated with the keyword to the list of topics associated with the last sub-keyword listed for the keyword.

I replaced my project's .hhk file with the sorted file (which you may want to do after the RH project is closed/saved; while I have now done this several times with RH open, RH crashed once when I replaced the .hhk file with the project open).  I regenerated the WebHelp output.  All topics are now sorted alphabetically for all Index keywords and sub-keywords.

Wondering if having everything correctly sorted would resolve any sorting issues going forward, I made more updates to the Index.  In the generated output, RH did not sort the topics I added/merged/changed correctly.  I had to re-sort and replace the .hhk file to get the correct WebHelp output Index topic sort.  Tim