RoboHelp X5 Index Problems

Report · May 22, 2008

I am using RoboHelp HTML X5.0.2 Build 801 and have created a summary project that includes about 10 individual merged projects. Everything works well and has for some time except I notice that index items are duplicating.

For example, I may add an index reference in one of the projects that will refer to a single topic. After compiling, I note that this index reference with show three times, not in the individual project but rather in the overall summary project. Only one of these references, however, will be valid...the other two will display a "Page not found" error.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Report · May 23, 2008

Hi, Jim,

Is this compiled HTML Help (.chm)? If so, you may need to check for any hyperlinks in your projects that point to topics that are above the "root" of the help project — in other words, in neither the help project folder nor any of its subfolders. When the help compiler encounters a hyperlink to a topic that is above the project root, it pulls the target topic into the .chm file but stores it in the wrong internal location, resulting in broken index entries and full-text search results.

See this page for more information:

http://helpware.net/FAR/far_faq.htm#Project_Setup

You may also want to check for and delete any .chw files that are in the folder containing the .chm files. A .chw file is a binary representation of the complete index for a merged help collection. If for some reason the file has been corrupted, the index may not work properly.

Pete

Report · May 23, 2008

Thanks, Pete, I will see if I can understand what is going on. Yes, it is a compiled .chm project. I have wondered about the purpose of the .chw file....but, I do delete it and it just keeps coming back after the project is accessed.

I will take a look at your reference. Thanks again.
Jim

Report · May 23, 2008

Hi, again,

> I have wondered about the purpose of the .chw file....but, I do delete it
> and it just keeps coming back after the project is accessed

That's right. When no.chw file exists, Windows automatically creates one when you click the Index tab of the master help file. If you've previously deleted the .chw file then it's unlikely that there is anything wrong with it, and you can probably discount this as an explanation for your problem.

Pete

Report · May 23, 2008

Pete,
I read your reference and checked the "hhk" and "hhp" files with Notepad and they look OK to me. If you have time, I am including a part of an "hhk" file from one of the child projects with the hope that might spot something. Mean

<html>

<object type="text/site properties">
<param name="SiteType" value="index">
</object>
<ul>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Data Grid">
<param name="Name" value="Data Grid">
<param name="Local" value="DataGrid.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Spine Thickness">
<param name="Name" value="Spine Thickness">
<param name="Local" value="SpineThickness.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Quantity Table">
<param name="Name" value="Component Quantity Table">
<param name="Local" value="ComponentCommon\CompQtyTable.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Ink Coverage">
<param name="Name" value="Sheetfed Inks">
<param name="Local" value="ComponentCommon\Inks.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Press Comparison">
<param name="Name" value="Press Compare Button">
<param name="Local" value="ProcessesTab\PressCompareButton.htm">

Report · May 23, 2008

Pete,
I read your reference and checked the "hhk" and "hhp" files with Notepad and they look OK to me. If you have time, I am including a part of an "hhk" file from one of the child projects with the hope that might spot something. Mean

<html>

<object type="text/site properties">
<param name="SiteType" value="index">
</object>
<ul>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Data Grid">
<param name="Name" value="Data Grid">
<param name="Local" value="DataGrid.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Spine Thickness">
<param name="Name" value="Spine Thickness">
<param name="Local" value="SpineThickness.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Quantity Table">
<param name="Name" value="Component Quantity Table">
<param name="Local" value="ComponentCommon\CompQtyTable.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Ink Coverage">
<param name="Name" value="Sheetfed Inks">
<param name="Local" value="ComponentCommon\Inks.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Press Comparison">
<param name="Name" value="Press Compare Button">
<param name="Local" value="ProcessesTab\PressCompareButton.htm">

Report · May 23, 2008

Pete,
I read your reference and checked the "hhk" and "hhp" files with Notepad and they look OK to me. If you have time, I am including a part of an "hhk" file from one of the child projects with the hope that might spot something. Mean

<html>

<object type="text/site properties">
<param name="SiteType" value="index">
</object>
<ul>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Data Grid">
<param name="Name" value="Data Grid">
<param name="Local" value="DataGrid.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Spine Thickness">
<param name="Name" value="Spine Thickness">
<param name="Local" value="SpineThickness.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Quantity Table">
<param name="Name" value="Component Quantity Table">
<param name="Local" value="ComponentCommon\CompQtyTable.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Ink Coverage">
<param name="Name" value="Sheetfed Inks">
<param name="Local" value="ComponentCommon\Inks.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Press Comparison">
<param name="Name" value="Press Compare Button">
<param name="Local" value="ProcessesTab\PressCompareButton.htm">

Report · May 23, 2008

Pete,
I read your reference and checked the "hhk" and "hhp" files with Notepad and they look OK to me. If you have time, I am including a part of an "hhk" file from one of the child projects with the hope that might spot something. Mean

<html>

<object type="text/site properties">
<param name="SiteType" value="index">
</object>
<ul>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Data Grid">
<param name="Name" value="Data Grid">
<param name="Local" value="DataGrid.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Spine Thickness">
<param name="Name" value="Spine Thickness">
<param name="Local" value="SpineThickness.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Quantity Table">
<param name="Name" value="Component Quantity Table">
<param name="Local" value="ComponentCommon\CompQtyTable.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Ink Coverage">
<param name="Name" value="Sheetfed Inks">
<param name="Local" value="ComponentCommon\Inks.htm">
</object>
<li><object type="text/sitemap">
<param name="Name" value="Press Comparison">
<param name="Name" value="Press Compare Button">
<param name="Local" value="ProcessesTab\PressCompareButton.htm">

Report · May 24, 2008

Hi, Jim,

That all looks fine. Is it the case that the duplicated index keywords are embedded in the help topics instead of being stored in a separate index (.hhk) file? This is the only situation in which I can envisage the problem occurring.

What I would do is open each help file in turn and try to determine which of them contain the rogue keywords. From your description, it sounds like there may be two help files that are at fault. Having identified the problematic help files, you could use a third-party tool like KeyTools or FAR to peek inside each file and look for stray HTML files that shouldn't be there. KeyTools is free; FAR is shareware but free to use for two months.

http://www.keyworks.net/keytools.htm
http://helpware.net/FAR/index.html

In help files that exhibit these problems, one or more topics may contain hyperlinks to other topics that are outside the help project folder. When this is the case, the target topics are dragged into the root folder of the help file at compile time, resulting in broken links. So you'd then need to examine the hyperlinks in the help files and correct them if necessary.

If none of this helps, and you feel comfortable about sending your help files to me, I'd be very happy to take a look at them.

Pete

Report · May 24, 2008

Hi Pete,
Thanks again for your time and help...I will see what I can do.
Jim

Report · Jun 02, 2008

Pete,
Thanks again. Found bad hyperlinks and broken links. Created new parent project (with merge files) and all OK now. Can you recommend source where I could learn more about file structures?

Also, would you recommend upgrading to RH7?
Jim

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RoboHelp X5 Index Problems