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Kate Sasnyk
Known Participant
July 4, 2011
Answered

Blank topics in the Compiled Help

  • July 4, 2011
  • 1 reply
  • 4197 views

Hello,

While compiling Help in ReboHelp 8, I've encountered the following problem: after each compilation there is one or several blank topics in my Help - each time different. For example, after one compilation, the first topic contains only the title and no content and the other topics are ok; after the next compilation, the first topic is no longer blank but one of the others becomes blank.

Did anyone encounter the same problem or has any ideas how to solve this problem?

Thank you,

Kate

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer riteshpai

    Hello Garima,

    We found no permanent solution to this issue. It seems to be a RoboHelp bug that appears under certain conditions...

    However, we've elaborated a workaround:

    1. After first WebHelp compilation, I copy the output to some temporary location on my PC.

    2. Compile the WebHelp for the second time.

    3. Replace the empty HTML files in the Output temporary folder with the good files from the second compilation.

        Sometimes, some blank files from the first and second compilation output remain blank. So, I recompile the WebHelp as many times as needed to replace all the blank files in the Output folder that is in the temporary location. Once done, I replace the Output folder from the last compilation with the Output folder that I copied to the temporary location in step 1 and which now contains all good files.

    I know, the process is not convenient at all; however, it is better than nothing

    Regards,

    Kate


    Hi Kate,

    I was also facing the same problem with the blank topics in the Webhelp output and found the solution to it. It's because of the antivirus software. One of the antivirus software's tools used to scan all newly-created files instantly, which was interfering with the Webhelp generation. Once I turned off that tool, this issue was resolved. So you can either turn off the antivirus completely or just this specific antivirus utility.

    Regards,

    Ritesh Pai

    1 reply

    Captiv8r
    Captiv8r
    Legend
    July 4, 2011

    Welcome to our community

    Unfortunately we have nothing much to offer you at this point but more questions.

    All we know at this point is that you are using RoboHelp 8. What we don't know is the following:

    RoboHelp 8 has two service release patches. Each must be installed in order. Have you installed those patches?

    RoboHelp 8 comes in two flavors. RoboHelp for Word and RoboHelp HTML. Which "RoboFlavor" are you using?

    RoboHelp8 is capable of producing many different output formats. HTML Help (Compiled CHM), WebHelp, FlashHelp, AIR Help, JavaHelp, Oracle Help, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp Pro. Which output format are you producing?

    RoboHelp 8 output may be viewed in a variety of ways. Clicking preview, viewing in the Web Browser, etc. How are you viewing?

    RoboHelp 8 output may be placed in a variety of places. Network drives, Thumb drives, External Hard drives, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Web Servers. Where is your output being viewed from when you are seeing this issue?

    Does this issue manifest with ALL output types? Or is it specific to one output type only?

    Cheers... Rick

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    K
    Kate SasnykAuthor
    Known Participant
    July 6, 2011

    Hello Rick,

    Here are the answers to your questions:

    • I've got both release service patches installed.
    • I use RoboHelp HTML
    • I use it for creating Web Helps
    • I view the output in Web browsers (IE, Mozilla, Opera, Chrome)
    • I'm viewing the output from the hard disk of my PC
    • I haven't investigated this issue for other output types. As I produce only WebHelps, this issue appears for them each time I compile.

    Thanks,

    Kate

    Captiv8r
    Captiv8r
    Legend
    July 7, 2011

    Hello again Kate

    Sorry for the delayed reply. I was stuck in PowerPoint purgatory for many hours yesterday chasing a problem!

    For the topics where you don't see content, have you examined the HTML page to see if the content is actually there?

    Admittedly I'm grasping a bit at straws here. But it almost sounds like we are dealing with a CSS issue. If you examine the HTML page using something like Windows Notepad, it should tell us whether the content is there or not. And if the content is there, it means some other action is hindering display of the content. But if the content isn't present, we need to examine more on the RoboHelp side.

    By chance are you using Build Tags? That could also account for it.

    Cheers... Rick

    Helpful and Handy Links

    RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form

    Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7, 8 or 9 within the day!

    Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training

    SorcerStone Blog

    RoboHelp eBooks

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