Removing unused files from the user's ability to search

[vaprocura]

I have a lot of topics that I have not added to my TOC. Any of those topics could display to the user when they use Microsoft HTML Help to perform a search via its Search tab, what is the best way to remove those topics that I don't want to appear to them? Some of them are being referenced via hyperlinks so I can't just get rid of them by deleting everything that is not in the TOC.

[Captiv8r]

Hi vaprocura

Is this for compiled .CHM output? If so, you will probably find the following approach is probably best.

Step behind RoboHelp's back and rename each unwanted topic from using .HTM extension to .XHTM. Then, within RoboHelp HTML, methodically add each of these to your list of Baggage Files. After you have done this, make sure anything inside RoboHelp is correctly referencing the file with the new .XHTM extension. Then recompile.

Cheers... Rick

[bdeeb]

Hi Rick:

I have something similar to this but there is an exception. I have several books where the same topic will be referenced in each. I need the Topic to be seen in the TOC under each book but only display in the search once when the user performs a Search in Webhelp. Currently when searching a specific topic it will return multiple searches, as many times as I have it indicated in the project.

Example:

Bookkeepers User Guide
Topic - Cash Sales

SX.e User Guide
Topic - Cash Sales

User performs a Search in WebHelp - topic Cash Sales returns two searches.

I only want Webhelp to return one search.

Also each Topic in my project is linked with a Next and Previous link that brings the user to the next topic. If I use a Build Tag of "Not" then the link is greyed out and the user can not click on it to get to the next page.

I am using RoboHelp x5

Please let me know if changing the htm file to xhtm will help in this situation as well.

Thanks,

Amy

[Captiv8r]

Hi Amy

The TOC may reference a specific topic more than once. For example, you may have 10 links to the same topic from different spots in your TOC if you need to.

Assuming that you don't much care for this approach, you could also create a redirect topic for each TOC node. All redirects would point to the same topic. In either case, the topic would truly only exist a single time in the project. Hence, the search should only find one instance.

Cheers... Rick

[bdeeb]

"The TOC may reference a specific topic more than once. For example, you may have 10 links to the same topic from different spots in your TOC if you need to.

Assuming that you don't much care for this approach, you could also create a redirect topic for each TOC node. All redirects would point to the same topic. In either case, the topic would truly only exist a single time in the project. Hence, the search should only find one instance".


Hi Rick:

I tried applying the Unconditional Build tag(s) (TAG1 and TAG2) to the applicable topics I wished to display in the search and those topics that were duplicates to not display in the search. This did work beautifully with the exception, the duplicate topics were removed from the TOC.

I am really trying to find an easy way around this situation so any help would be appreciated.

I am not understanding what you mean by creating a redirect topic for each TOC node. I tried using the RoboHelp x5 Help as well as searching online and could not seem find anything remotely like this.

Again this is how the search displays:

Perform Search for ARRO:

Results:
ARRO - AR Open Receivable Cash Account Report - (Belongs to the Bookkeepers User Guide - there is a Next link at the bottom of the page that brings you to the next topic and so on)

ARRO - AR Open Receivable Cash Account Report - (Belongs to the Bookkeepers Guidelines)
ARRO - AR Open Receivable COD Account Report - (Belongs to the Bookkeepers User Guide)
ARRO - AR Open Receivable COD Account Report - (Belongs to the Reports Guide)
ARRO - AR Unallocated Credits Report - (Belongs to the Reports Guide)
ARRO - AR Unallocated Credits Report - (Belongs to the Bookkeepers Guidelines)
ARRO - AR Unallocated Credits Report - (Belongs to the Reports Guide)

In the TOC each user guide has its own book, each book has their own independete topic(s). If there are duplicate topics throughout the project these were created by right-clicking the first topic created and selecting Duplicate. I then changed the links of the Previous and Next at the bottom of the page and the Book Mark in the title to reflect the book I am working in as well as the Properties to reflect the appropriate topic name and guide.

Table Of Contents

Bookkeepers User Guide

ARRO - AR Unallocated Credits Report
ARRO - AR Open Receivable Cash Account Report
ARRO - AR OPen Receivable COD Account Report
GLRA - Credit Card Transaction Report

Bookkeepers Guidelines

Void And Lost Business Report
ARRO - AR Unallocated Credits Report

Reports Guide

ARRO - AR Open Receivable COD Account Report
ARRO - AR Open Reeceivable Cash Account Report
ARRO - AR Unallocated Credits Report

my goal is to show the output of the TOC as is but when searching for ARRO only one topic for each should display search.

Any ideas you have would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Amy

[EileenPalsson]

Hi,

We've been using Peter's solution for popup definition topics that we don't want to show up as hits when users search.

The problem with this solution is that you can no longer see them in RoboHelp! So, for example, it's a PITA to add links to those topics. And you tend to forget they're even in the project at all.

Seems like there ought to be an better way to exclude topics from the search.

Eileen

[EileenPalsson]

quote:

---

Step behind RoboHelp's back and rename each unwanted topic from using .HTM extension to .XHTM. Then, within RoboHelp HTML, methodically add each of these to your list of Baggage Files. After you have done this, make sure anything inside RoboHelp is correctly referencing the file with the new .XHTM extension. Then

---

Besides the disadvantage I already mentioned (the fact that XHTM files don't show up in RH Explorer), I just discovered another one: Popup links to XHTM topics don't work on Windows Server 2003 when viewed using Internet Explorer 7. Nothing happens when you click them. You just see "Error on page" in the status bar (if your status bar is turned on)

The server is already set as a "trusted site", so this does not seem to be a security problem.

Anybody know a workaround for that? Urgent!

/Eileen

[RoboWizard]

Hi Eileen

I suppose I would try and sort the root cause. Is it the fact that the files are .XHTM? I would think you could easily confirm that by creating a simple link to one of them. Maybe the Windows 2003 server doesn't like that file type.

Assuming the link works, it would seem logical to conclude it's not an issue with Windows 2003 server and perhaps we are looking at a different issue.

The next step would be to ensure the location of the files match what is expected. Maybe when adding to Baggage, you failed to factor in the folder where the file was located? It's quite easy to add things in the wrong place with Baggage.

Just pondering out loud... Rick

[EileenPalsson]

Rick, thank you for pondering with me.

It IS the fact that the files are XHTM. Popups to HTM files work fine. The files are found in the location where they are expected. And the popup hotspots work just fine on Windows XP. It's Windows Server 2003 that doesn't like them.

Any other ideas?

Thanks
Eileen

[EileenPalsson]

Rick, thank you for pondering with me.

It IS the fact that the files are XHTM. Popups to HTM files work fine. The files are found in the location where they are expected. And the popup hotspots work just fine on Windows XP. It's Windows Server 2003 that doesn't like them.

Any other ideas?

Thanks
Eileen

[Peter Grainge]

See Snippet 57 on my site. Different problem but I wonder if it is related?

[Guest]

New to this forum and need help with basic question.

The RoboHelp for HTML Version 7's OWN HELP says something completely INSANE:

"Unused files report

You cannot remove these files from within your project. Use Windows Explorer to delete the files.

Note: Avoid using Windows Explorer or your version-control application to remove files. The Project Manager cannot
update file references. This results in broken links, missing images in topics, etc."

That is two INSANELY contradictory sentences in a row.

Does anybody know how I can safely remove Unused Files? Had no problem generating the report, and I can't worry about the report misleading me into removing something that IS needed until I try to remove files.

Thanks!

[Peter Grainge]

They haven't excluded a hammer and chisel so try that. :-)

Clearly the help is flawed. Unused files should be removed using Windows Explorer for the simple reason they do not appear in Project Manager. That makes removing them from there rather difficult.

I would suggest you create a backup of the project first just in case something goes wrong.

This one is as good as the now corrected topic on what to do if you lost your serial number. You had to phone and guess what one of the pieces of information you had to have was. You got it, the serial number. Boom boom.

[Guest]

Egg-sellent, Smithers. I'll try just that. Thanks for the advice, Peter.

[Peter Grainge]

It's not my solution, I cannot take credit for it.

[EileenPalsson]

Well, I only meant that you posted it. Sorry, I didn't mean to blame you for it. 🙂

[Peter Grainge]

No I wasn't try to defend myself over the problem you have with it. I just didn't want to take credit for having come up with the solution.

[RoboWizard]

Hi all

LOL - Peter wasn't the one that posted it either! I was. But even then it wasn't me that arrived at the solution. I was only parroting what Pete Lees initially suggested.

Eileen, please do take a moment and complete a Wish form to request this feature be added to RoboHelp. After all, if Adobe is unaware of the need, it's likely we will never see it emerge as a feature! And that would would be a doozy for many folks to have.

Click here to view the WishForm/Bug Reporting Form

Cheers... Rick

[Pete_Lees]

quote:

---

Originally posted by: RoboWizard
I was only parroting what Pete Lees initially suggested.

---

I nicked the idea from Rob Chandler...

Pete

[EileenPalsson]

Oops! Now I see who really posted it. And I blame no one! It is a solution that works. :-)

And Rick, I did report this issue (Macromedia Product Support Incident [8207861]) in late December 2004 -- for all the good it did. We didn't get any sort of reponse, and after I emailed Support a couple of times, they replied that they couldn't find the bug report but would re-enter it in their bug database. Then we never heard from them again.

I don't even know if the issue still exists in RH7, so I hesitate to report it again. Perhaps it's actually been fixed there.

Eileen

[Peter Grainge]

Come on Rob. Was this you?

[EileenPalsson]

Hi,
I read the snippet and passed it on to our developer who is working on the problem. However, doesn't the fact that popups to HTM files are working fine imply that the security settings in Windows 2003 Server are not blocking JS files? If that were the case, NONE of the popups would work. The popups are all controlled by ehlpdhtm.js, right?
/Eileen

[Peter Grainge]

True. Sorry head cold stopping me thinking clearly.

[RoboWizard]

My own guess here is that for some reason the 2003 server doesn't much like serving up XHTM files. Maybe there is a configuration setting in there somewhere.

[Peter Grainge]

So maybe the Snippet was on the right track, a file type that has not been registered.