WebHelp Compile Won't Display

[thegup55]

Set WH as primary layout, tried both with no skin and skin, no server ID'ed. Compile dialog says succcessful, but no project name.htm found under SSL/WebHelp dir. Using RH 5.0.1 and IE 6.0.29 and MSWord 2003. Project compiles and displays perfectly as .chm. Anybody have an idea??

[MergeThis]

You'll be looking to launch the .htm file that appears as the Start Page in the first field of the first window in the Generation process. (Most Web authors use index.htm as the default.)

What is the path shown there (it might not be the SSL/WebHelp)?


Good luck,
Leon

[thegup55]

i don't understand what the default topic has to do with the project not compiling. Only the topic files and images and a few assorted files appear in the WebHelp/SSL dir after the compile completes. From what I gather there should be a bunch of other files (most importantly the project.htm) created that are not despite the messsage that the compile was successful. Thanks anyway.

[RoboColum_n_]

Check the properties of your single source layout folder. The output directory will list the location of the output and as Leon says the start page should be there. Are you saying it isn't?

[thegup55]

It's there. The output path is C:\Program Files\RoboHelp Office\RoboHTML\XLeRate Online Help\!SSL!\WebHelp\XLeRate_.htm and XLeRate_.htm is there. Doesn't webhelp generate a compiled project file ala .chm. All is see are the images and topic files and a few misc files.

[Hey__Steve]

For what it's worth (as I gather that your move to WebHelp is to use browse sequences), you might check my recent post "Browse Sequences in WebHelp -- Not Readily Apparent?" dated 11/04/08. Best wishes!

Steve

[thegup55]

Thanks but my problem is much deeper than not getting browse sequences to display. I can'r get anything to display at all

[Peter Grainge]

WebHelp is not compiled. Microsoft HTML help is compiled into a CHM file. The two are quite different.

Also you should not have projects and outputs in Program Files.

Create a folder called C:\webhelp just to test and point the first page of the wizard to that folder. See what gets generated there.

[thegup55]

Thanks. I realize they are different. I compiled a webhelp version of a project about 2 years ago with the globe skin and it displayed and worked just fine. I inherited this project file so I am kinda at a loss as to why this isn't working. I will try to create the dir off the root as you suggest.

[RoboColum_n_]

No. Webhelp is a collection of files - not a single file. The Index.htm file (or whatever you call it) is just the entry point to it. If you open the XLeRate_.htm file, doesn't your help file open?

BTW your path is way WAY too long. Most of us have the source files off the C: drive - mine is C:\RHSOURCE). Also why is there an underscore in the file name. Is it needed?

[thegup55]

1) I can open the XLeRate.htm from the DIR but only as a standalone file. When I click vew result from the successful compile dialog, nothing happens. I

2) I use the default path that Robohelp creates. It seems to work fine for the other 6 projects (.chms) that reside there.

2) I removed the _ as it is not needed).

Thanks

[thegup55]

No good. C:\WebHelp\XLeRate.htm returns nothing for "view result for XLeRate.htm which is appears as XLeRate_1.htm when viewed in the DIR after the compile. Any idea why it's name gets changed? There is no other file with that name. Makes no sense.

[thegup55]

I just tried to compile 6 other RH projects as webhelp with success re viewing the results. Like I said I know that I was able to to this about 2 years ago successfully so I would surmise that the problem is more of a macro level one with regurads to the RH behavior compiling webhelp than anything about the attributes of this particular project file. It could that the version is corrupted. I have been trying to get magt to upgrad to 7 since it came out but they say I don't need it. What's a poor boy to do?

[thegup55]

sorry i meant NO SUCCESS re the 6 others

[MergeThis]

There's a serious disconnect here, in that you're using a different language from the rest of us. You're looking for the project.htm as the opening file in the output, but it won't be there. What will be there will be "the .htm file that appears as the Start Page in the first field of the first window in the Generation process," as I indicated in my first response.

Just for giggles, in the Project Manager tab, right click on "Single Source Layouts > WebHelp (Primary Layout), and then select "Properties." Copy the entry that appears in the very first field (labeled "Select Output Folder and Start Page"), and then paste it here, in your next reply.

In the meantime, please read the RH Help for some background (specifically start with "Single Source Layouts > Default Layouts > WebHelp > Comparing WebHelp to Microsoft HTML Help."


Good luck,
Leon

[thegup55]

C:\WebHelp\XLeRate.htm

I did as suggested and created webhelp dir under c: and pointed to the start page file (XLeRate.htm) which for some reason gets named XLeRate_1 in the DIR.

I appreciate your help and don't take this wrong, but I have done this before. When I click "view" I get the start page with whatever skin I selected which has a TOC and all the others NAV features in the properties. Now when I click view, nothing happens except that the dialog box goes away and the project mode is staring back at me. This is not normal behavior.

[Peter Grainge]

I did as suggested and created webhelp dir under c: and pointed to the start page file (XLeRate.htm) which for some reason gets named XLeRate_1 in the DIR.

****************************************

That happens when you give the start page the same name as the default topic. They are two quite different things. Give them the same name causes confusion. Go to the wizard, make the start page C:\WebHelp\index.htm.

If View Result still does not work, go to that folder after generating (and empty it before you start) and double click index.htm.

[thegup55]

Peter, i did everything you said. Emptied the dir, changed start page to index.htm. View Result = No success and there is no file named index.htm found in the DIR.

[thegup55]

I have to go for the day but I appreciate everyone's input. Thanks.

[Peter Grainge]

Get your write permissions checked.

Also check you have admin rights attached to your profile.

[thegup55]

We run under managed desktop so our admin/write permissions are limited but why would I be able to create folders and compile .chm and not generate webhelp on my local drive? Are there different protocols re webhelp that require additional privileges? I also tried Colum's idea yesterday and built a simple project from scratch that would not display as webhelp so its obviously a more macro level problem than anything messed up inside this particular project.

[Peter Grainge]

Finally we get there. With all versions before RH7 you must have local admin rights attached to your profile to run all the RH functionality.

Your choices are either that your rights are changed or you use RH7. RH7 requires admin rights to install but it can be installed by your IT guys. To run it you only need ordinary user rights.

[thegup55]

Thanks for your patience. That solution is the worst of all possibities. To get admin rights here is virtually impossible and to get an upgrade for any software that "still works" is almost as difficult. My only chance is that this user who is paying for my time can pressure mgmt for the upgrade as he seems to get sexually arroused over these browse sequences which is why this whole webhelp thing came up. No one is going approve or execute placing that activex.dll on 250 users machines to make it work in .chm. I appreciate your help very much. Cheers.

[RoboColum_n_]

I wonder if it may be worth creating a completely new webhelp project and generating the output with just the single default topic inside it. Maybe this would pinpoint where the error is. As none of the six projects work and they have been iherited, have we established that any project works?

[thegup55]

Yes I tried this yesterday with the same result.