Broken Links Return after exiting / reentering the project

[LMardenTyler]

Hey folks!  I have a really annoying issue, in a project helmed by one of my team members. The same broken links appear again and again. They are all easily repaired by importing the missing topic, which is sitting in the expected folder, with the expected name, in Windows Explorer. Importing these topics back into the project resolves the Broken Links, until he exits the project and comes back in. Pretty much the same topics appear again as Broken Links. His CPD file also tends to get bloated quickly when we don't use the option to rebuild it each re-entry. The same problems occur whether we do or do not rebuild the cpd each time.

He is in RH 10. I am in RH 11, so I took a backup of his project and brought it into RH11 a few minutes ago, and resolved a couple dozen broken links, then exited the project. Same thing happens. I am THIS close to starting a new project and setting it all up again. But is there something else I can try?

Oh - we already tried rebuilding the xpj file.

It's not all topics, but quite a few - too many to keep rebuilding each time he goes back into the project.

Laurin Marden

Lead Content Developer

Tyler Technologies, Inc.

[LMardenTyler]

More info. I am creating a new project in RH11 to try to uncover what is happening, and found an interesting twist. The FPJ files in the brand new project are not behaving. As I import topics from the old project into the new, some stick upon exit / reentry, but some do not. I find that topics are duplicated into the next folder down in the list, and new folders appear from nowhere - there's a freaking imp frolicking about in here! And yes, I know it's early, and I am only on my third cuppa joe, but I am being very careful about the files I import, making sure they start out in the right folder. The broken links resolve themselves as I do so, but only until I exit / reenter.

-Laurin

[Peter Grainge]

With the traditional "use a backup to test this" have you tried using File > Open and browsing the the HHP file and declining to use the XPJ when Rh tells you one exists?

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[LMardenTyler]

I am just working with a backup so I can do whatever I need to do - are you talking about in Windows Explorer, or in the RH startup window?

[LMardenTyler]

OK - I'm with you  - started it up from the RH Starter window. It is going through the Upgrade again (it was a v10 project, I am in V11).

It opens with the same slew of broken links.

Going to try resolving some and see if they go away this time for reals.

[Peter Grainge]

You do mean using the HHP from the Start Page, not the XPJ link, I hope.

I assume this is not a project last worked on in Rh8. Also could source control be involved here? This is not a problem normally seen in Rh10 or 11, it was a Rh8 problem.

Going offline for half an hour or so.

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[LMardenTyler]

Links re-break upon reentry.

Started with the HHP file from the Start Page

Project created in RH10

no source control anywhere - he works locally on his desktop

I need more coffee and a break so will be back in a bit. Thanks for expending brain waves on this Peter!

He's the only one who is having this issue in my group, so I have to wonder if there is something about how he is working and how he creates topics. It's going to be a looooooong Monday.

[Willam_van_Weelden]

Can you try the following script: http://www.wvanweelden.eu/product/missing-topics-fixer

I think that the files are not saved correctly in the .fpj file. And when the cpd file is deleted, RH will report it as fixed. The script above will fix the product files themselves and it may help. (Make a backup first!)

Are there special characters in the file name of the topics or of the folder that holds the topics? Perhaps that is giving trouble.

Kind regards,

Willam

[LMardenTyler]

Willam, you rock my world.

I am sending this info to my colleague to give it a shot.

I don't believe he allows any special characters except for the underscore in his file names. At first glance, I don't see any  in the backup he sent me.

Do you think he will have to run this often, or will it solve the issues he sees once and for all?

[Willam_van_Weelden]

Normally, you should only have to run this script once. This script solves FPJ file corruptions that lead to missing topics. If you still experience topics going missing, a more thorough investigation will be necessary.

Kind regards,

Willam

[LMardenTyler]

ah! even more info - just reentered, and sure enough, broken links. In Windows Explorer,opened the fpj file in one folder where a topic was dropped, and the file exists in the folder, but the fpj file is empty. So the fpj file just isn't being written to, or it loses the info upon exiting?