RoboHelp 7 - Hangs - Memory Increases

[jim_d]

I am using RH7, HTML Project, WinXP (SP2), Logon as ADMIN

Occasionally I try to open a document and RH hangs. When I look at the system processes the CPU is at %100 and the memory usage is slowly climbing. I believe the page was an imported HTML file. I have also have had the same result selecting all ( ctrl-a) doing a page edit.

[Peter Grainge]

Historically RH has always needed to be installed with the user's logon with admin rights attached. Is there a reason you are running it with the administrator's logon? Maybe that is the cause.

Is the project local or on a network drive?

Is it just this one file that causes problems or all files?

[jim_d]

There is only one account on the workstation. The files are on the local drive. It is only on a few that this happens.

[Peter Grainge]

Imported HTML or imported Word saved as HTML? Word creates bloated HTML.

How big a job would it be with one topic to copy the text into a text editor and then paste it back into a new topic. I know it means reformatting but it might be quicker than cleaning the code.

Do you know your way around the code enough to identify the Word bloat? Usually an embedded style sheet and lots of MSO in style names.

The other option, and perhaps the first one to try, is take a copy of the project, delete the CPD and XPJ files and then follow the instructions on my site for Opening a Project.

[jim_d]

The HTML has no MS formatting. I opened the files before importing and deleted the JavaScript. My thought is that RH should handle these situations without hanging.

[Peter Grainge]

Deleted the javascript? Are these old output files that you have imported? If so, take a look at Rick Stone's http://www.robowizard.com site. There's a Scry there about importing output files. Perhaps something else needs cleaning up.

[jim_d]

They came from web pages generated from Oracle Application Server. I got the files to open by opening them in Dreamwaver.

[MergeThis]

Wow!

Web pages generated from Oracle Application Server, opened in Dreamweaver? And when, exactly, did you open the files before importing and delete the JavaScript?

"My thought is that RH should handle these situations without hanging."

Really?


Good luck,
Leon

[jim_d]

Dreamweaver validates the HTML and hightlights the boken tags in yellow.

[Peter Grainge]

Perhaps you could send me one of the files?

I won't be able to look at it for a couple of days though.

[Peter Grainge]

Yes but how does that fit with my posts?

[jim_d]

If you view the "thread" vs "linear" view the text is in response to another post.

My thought is that my issues are a bug not a problem with my HTML. I spent some time cleaning up the HTML and validating the markup in Dreamweaver and I still have four files I can’t open with the RoboHelp HTML editor. I can’t send the files because of internal restrictions. I am sure there are some special characters that are hanging the editor.

[Peter Grainge]

If it is a bug, Adobe would need the file to find the cause so I am not sure what else can be done here.

Plenty of people have sent me files and you may have seen that if I have to send them to Adobe, I still seek permission first.

If I did breach any confidentiality, Adobe would probably remove my Community Expert status. Why would I want that to happen?

Without being able to work one of the files, there is not much I can do. Ceate a new project and import one of these topics. Remove half the content and see if the problem persists. If it does, remove the rest. If the problem persists even then, I think the confidentiality thing has gone so you could send me that.

If removing some of the content does fix it, you know where to look.

My interest is only in helping you. If your management won't accept that, there's little I or Adobe can do.

[MergeThis]

I would try stripping all extraneous code from a "problem" file.

1. Open the file in whatever editor that can open it.
2. In that editor, Select All (Ctrl+A) and Copy (Ctrl+C).
3. In Notepad, Paste (Ctrl+V) the content. Ensure that only content has been pasted.
4. In Notepad, Select All (Ctrl+A) and Copy (Ctrl+C).
5. In RH, create a new topic, Paste (Ctrl+V) the content from Notepad, and apply some styles.
6. In RH, File > Save All (Ctrl+S), and Exit.
7. Reopen RH and try to open that new topic.


Good luck,
Leon

[jim_d · Accepted solution]

Thx for help on this. The files are on a closed network and can't go off that network.

The problem it seems is spanned columns in a table. The table has 100 rows and 10 columns and a bunch of merged cells. Not sure how to recreate it from scratch. Whether it is a bug might be up for debate. Since it hangs the application I would say it is. The files display fine in a browser and Dreamwaver (an Adobe product).

[Peter Grainge]

The code for a RH table and a DW table are different. As Adobe continue developing RH, I expect they will be aligned but that's not the case yet.

[jim_d]

The code is HTML that is defined by the W3C.

W3C URL

[HKabaker]

How much time did you allow for RH to open the file?

If this is the first opening in RH, it is massaging the incoming HTML code for compatibility with its WYSIWYG editor. (You say processor usage goes up to 100%, which I would expect with the file you describe.)

Two suggestions:

Be really patient. If RH eventually displays the file, save it and see whether RH can open it easily.
or
Make Dreamweaver the default WYSIWYG editor in RH.


Good luck
Harvey

[MergeThis]

Is there any chance you could convert the Oracle Application Server files into Excel output, then simply put in links to the .xls files (or even convert those, in Excel, to .html output files), thereby avoiding the HTML editor issue altogether?


Good luck,
Leon