Inspiring

Question

TOC not linked to the book

Forum|Forum|6 months ago
December 23, 2025
7 replies
1005 views

I created a TOC yeasterday for a book with 12 chapters. Everting we fine in creating it. It sits at the top of my list and looks like it is attached. WHen I open the book and open all the chapters I get a error message the TOC does not exist. I can go int to my file and there it is and I can open it. I delete the file from the book, open it to check it and reattach it to the book. Save the book, close all the file, go to reopen and again the file does not exist.

Barb Binder

Community Expert

Hi Eric:

So the good news is that you now have a working book TOC, right? And it updates with the book update? That's cause for celebration!

Like Jeff (again! 😊) I think the ~ is associated with temp files. Cloud drives save in the background and they seem to create temp files during the save process.

I know you said you're using OneDrive and I want to begin by saying I don't use OneDrive because I'm a long-time Dropbox user. When I'm working on an InDesign layout project, I save directly to Dropbox and everything works great. However, the same workflow in FrameMaker was a nightmare because DropBox created numbered temp files while saving in the background that would break the book update. I settled for working locally and backing up the project folder to Dropbox multiple times a day. This shifts to burden to me to remember to backup my files, but after losing work over the years, I'm pretty good about it. It is a risk, though, and I do want to point out that an automated backup system (like we get from cloud drives) is the way to go. Maybe someone else can help with that part of it.

But with that in mind, can you clear enough space to work directly on your local drive? And if yes, does that solve the ~ issue?

~Barb

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training

E

ericCessnaAuthor

Inspiring

I tried to copy the folder I was working on to my hard drive like suggested. No help, I still put the temp sign on the file. This is driving me crazy because I have created dozens of manuals with a TOC and mini-TOC in each chapter with a master in the front of the book. I have played around with a portable hard drive and nothing seems to work the way it should or has worked in the past. I really appreciate everyone’s help with this.

Like I said I can create the file, remove the temp symbol and it will work. I copied a TOC from an earlier version and changed the title and it worked. But it still will not work correctly like it did. Maybe when I get my IT team updated. Doesn’t make sense but I’ll try it. Again, thanks for all the help and the video. Everyone have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I’ll pick this back up next year.

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

If you used File Explorer and copied the exact project folder as shown in your screenshot, then you probably would have ended up with a \~Training\...\~WB_2026_Student Workbook.book file. You would need to rename them to strip off the tildas and then open the .book file and create a new TOC.

Barb Binder

Community Expert

On re-reading the thread, I think I see the issue... please disregard my earlier reply.

I had the system create Stand alone TOC and I moved the paragraph titles over and it create a stand alone TOC above my firat chapter in the book.

Fm supports three types of TOCs:

A book TOC is added to the book window automatically, has the orange/black icon, collects headings from all the files in the book and updates with the book.
A mini TOC is added to inside of a chapter, collects the headings from the individual chapter and updates with the book.
A standalone TOC is for a single chapter, collects all the headings for the active chapter in a new file and does not update with the book. You have to manually add the standalone TOC ahead of each chapter in the book, and update each standalone TOC individually, so these are less useful for most of us than the other two.

toc2.png

All of this is covered in greater detail in this webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCgKwBGGXLw

~Barb

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training

E

ericCessnaAuthor

Inspiring

Barb you are always such a great resorce. I found a fix to get it to work. However, using the proper Create TOC still is giving me fits. I coped one from another project and changed the name worked. I saved it and fif some other things to amke sure it worked. Then I went and copied my book to try some stuff to see where I'm getting the issue. Whe I try to create a TOC, the name is generated with "~" in front of the name. If I remove the ~ ansd save everything it works fine.
Do you know why I am getting the ~ ?

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Can you post a screenshot showing what you're getting? Usually a "~" means a temp file (in Windows at least).

Barb Binder

Community Expert

It does sound like you and @Jeff_Coatsworth have this figured out but just in case...

What color is the icon for the TOC in the book window?

I delete the file from the book, open it to check it and reattach it to the book.

An orange/black Fm icon indicates a generated file (managed by FrameMaker) and a white/orange icon indicates a user file. If the TOC file icon is white/orange (and it will be if you removed it and added back in like a user file) that will be an issue.

To re-add a generated TOC to a book, you need to use Insert > Create TOC and not Insert > File.

~Barb

toc.png

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training

Peter Grainge

Community Expert

In RoboHelp OneDrive is frequently reported as giving trouble. There GoogleDrive works better.

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

Use the menu (bottom right) to mark the Best Answer or Highlight particularly useful replies. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here.

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Ok, now that you're in the right spot, let's figure out what's going on. You said you created the TOC - how did you do that? Manually or by having the system create one for you?

E

ericCessnaAuthor

Inspiring

I had the system create Stand alone TOC and I moved the paragraph titles over and it create a stand alone TOC above my firat chapter in the book. I saved it to never return. I can open it as a chapter from the file but it will not open when I try to open all file in the book.

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Does it update if you update the book? Where are the files located? local c: or some network drive?

Peter Grainge

Community Expert

On my site look for your version in the RoboHelp Tour. Check the page on creating a TOC. Does that help?

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

Use the menu (bottom right) to mark the Best Answer or Highlight particularly useful replies. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here.

E

ericCessnaAuthor

Inspiring

My system is blocking your site.

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Let's start with some basics - what version of RH? what output are you creating? are you using any source control?

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ericCessnaAuthor

Inspiring

Version: 16.0.7.1138 FrameMaker. I will be creating a PDF when done and it all works. Not sure what source control is but I don't think so. My origanal files I have copied were written in either Japan or China and I am modifing them. With these files I have never had this happen in 7 years of doing this. As you can execpt I'm gett ing ver frustrated.

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Hang on - Framemaker? You've posted in the wrong forum. Shall I move you over to there?

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