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Rapid typing in Index or Search field causes help file to freeze

Explorer ,
Oct 21, 2015 Oct 21, 2015

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My company has been using Robohelp 7 for quite some time, in support of a product built in VB6 (don't laugh, it still works). We're using Microsoft HTML output. RH7 gave us a few difficulties at the time of our last release - having transferred the licence to a new machine, we couldn't get the help to compile - but we got through them by reinstating the old machine, and we've had no indication that users have had any problems.

In the meantime, however, I have had some problems, in that typing too quickly in the text box on the Index and Search tabs causes the help file to hang. It doesn't come back, and you have to kill it in task manager, which takes the host app with it.

Our backup RH7 machine is no more, so I've been wrestling with RH7 on a new one again, and it's been such a nuisance that I resorted to trialling the RH 2015 version. This compiles perfectly, right out of the box, so I'm ready to ask the Finance department for the money for it. However, even though the file was made seamlessly, I still get the hanging. It's not just my machine, I've embedded the .chm into our build and had someone else recreate it as well.

So it's not machine specific, and it's not even RH version specific. There must be something in the source files somewhere that it doesn't like? I'm pretty much a noob at Robohelp since I only took it on in the last year, so any suggestions for what might be causing this - however basic - would be welcome.

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Community Expert ,
Oct 21, 2015 Oct 21, 2015

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As a test, try doing your project as something newer like WebHelp or Responsive HTML5 help & test the scenario you describe. If it doesn’t exhibit the same symptoms, then it may just be a function of the ancient CHM format (MS gave up on it years ago – Adobe has no impact on it at all).

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Community Expert ,
Oct 21, 2015 Oct 21, 2015

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Have you tried with other CHMs on your PC? Do a search for the file type.

How rapid? Silly fast and not likely to be seen in the real world or a realistic fast speed?


See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

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Explorer ,
Oct 21, 2015 Oct 21, 2015

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I've built a CHM using one of the sample projects included in RH2015, and I can't replicate the problem. I guess that means there is something in my project . Any ideas how I find it?

I've had this problem a while - since before RH2015 touched it - so I'm not blaming the migration to the newer product. However now that it is manifesting itself on someone else's PC I'd better get to the bottom of it. Quick typing is not stupid quick - but if a decent typist pressed, for instance, A then S, it would hang. Press A and wait for the cursor, then S, and you're OK.

Whilst leaving CHM behind is an appealing prospect, it's not something I can consider without a careful impact analysis, and with a month to our next release that isn't really an option. Maybe something to consider for the one after...

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Community Expert ,
Oct 21, 2015 Oct 21, 2015

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Before investigating what it could be in your project, let's look at

something else. Would I be right in assuming the other person is someone in

your company? I would first take the CHM home and try it on some other

machines.

Does that make a difference?

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Explorer ,
Oct 22, 2015 Oct 22, 2015

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The other person is in my company, indeed, and I will take the CHM home this evening. In the meantime I have scoured the output view for anything approaching an error. There were a few pages which allegedly had illegal characters, I have sorted those. And there were several entries along the lines of:

HHC4014: Warning:

The following map definition has an invalid context ID: #define (No assigned Map IDs) 0.

A couple of them were just like that, another couple had names and numbers. I have resolved all of them. There is nothing in the output view now that looks at all untoward.

Interestingly, when the help freezes having been viewed in RH, closing the help from the task bar brings up

hhl.png

Does that shed any further light?

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Community Expert ,
Oct 22, 2015 Oct 22, 2015

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Not to me. Anyone else?


See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

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LEGEND ,
Oct 22, 2015 Oct 22, 2015

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Hmmm, I'm wondering if it's a 32 bit/64 bit thing.

Remember that on a 64 bit version of the Windows operating system, if one simply double-clicks a CHM file the 64 bit version of the HTML Help viewer opens. But if one chooses the option from RoboHelp to view the CHM, it opens the 32 bit version of the HTML Help viewer. At least it used to. So I'm wondering if it has something to do with this?

Cheers... Rick

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