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Eric J. Technical Writer
Known Participant
February 9, 2026
Answered

Doubled search result numbers and displayed results on first search on quoted search (2026.01.11 Responsive HTML5 output)

  • February 9, 2026
  • 6 replies
  • 57 views

Issue summary

Search results on live(published) RoboHelp ResponsiveHTML5 outputs display incorrect total result counts and broken pagination behavior. This issue does not occur inside RoboHelp project search or on locally generated output. It reproduces consistently across multiple projects, environments, and hosting configurations once the project has been published.

RoboHelp environment

  • RoboHelp version: 2026.01.11(Updated for testing, previous version had it too)

  • Output type: ResponsiveHTML5

  • Output language: English (US) (same result if unspecified)

Search settings

  • Search context: Text around the search term (Have also tried Starting text of topic)

  • Search context character limit: 100

  • Enable autocomplete in search box

  • AutoCorrect search query

  • Number of results per page: 20

  • Show definitions from glossary

  • Enable substring search

  • Add special characters for search: ";"

  • Excluded file types: PDF, PowerPoint

Projects affected

  • All internal corporate help sites I tested

  • Non-corporate RoboHelp site (personal site)

The issue reproduces across multiple independent help systems.

Core symptoms

On live published sites, when an exact phrase (quoted) search is performed:

  • The corporate systems are copied using an file copy script RoboCopy to an in network web server.

  • Total result counts are inflated or incorrect (Typically doubled)

  • Pagination appears even when the real number of results does not require it

  • Clicking to the next page returns no results if the real number of results was lower than the pagination settings

  • The second page without results shows result counters display impossible ranges, such as:

    • 241 of 13

    • 361 of 19

    • 1 to 20 of 168 (first page), followed by 21 to 40 of 81

  • Identical articles may appear multiple times as separate results (usually twice)

  • Repeating the same search may return different counts on different runs (Usually either twice the number of articles, or the correct number.

On local generated output:

  • Result counts are correct

  • Pagination behaves correctly

  • Results align with RoboHelp project search

  • No duplicate entries appear

Reproduction examples

Example 1: Chemical Management

Steps:

  1. Search for "add material"

  2. There are 13 real results

  3. The count says 26 results

  4. It is showing 20 results, 7 of them are repeats 

  5. Click the next page arrow

  • No results displayed on the next page

  • Footer shows 241 to 13 of 13

Local output:

  • Shows only 13 results

  • Count matches RoboHelp project search

Example 2: Environmental Accounting

Steps:

  1. Search for "add property"

Observed on live site:

  • Sometimes reports 20 results while displaying only 10

  • Sometimes alternates between 1 and 2 results

  • When 20 results are shown, It is the same 10 repeated

Local output:

  • Shows the correct number of results

  • Matches RoboHelp project search

Example 3: Control of Work

Steps:

  1. Search for "Isolation plan"

Observed:

  • First page shows 20 results

  • Footer shows 1 to 20 of 168

  • Clicking next page shows another 20 results

  • Footer changes to 21 to 40 of 81

Analysis:

  • The first page result list usually appears doubled

  • Pagination logic changes mid-search based on incorrect totals

Example 4: Non-corporate RoboHelp site

Site:

  • https://yourownnerd.com

  • Personally owned and maintained

  • Hosted on Ubuntu 20.04.23

  • Files deployed manually using FTP

  • No corporate infrastructure

  • No scripted publishing or folder swaps

Steps:

  1. Search the live site for the phrase "release notes"

Observed:

  • 7 results displayed

  • Header reports 14 total results

Local output:

  • 7 results displayed

  • Header correctly reports 7 total results

Analysis

  • RoboHelp project search (in application, not in the web browser)consistently reports the correct number of matching articles

  • Local copy of ResponsiveHTML5 output matches RoboHelp project search

  • Only the live deployed sites show incorrect behavior

  • The article lists themselves appear correct

  • The total result count used for pagination is incorrect

  • Pagination logic is operating on inflated totals rather than real article counts

  • When pagination advances beyond the real result count, result calculations become corrupted

  • The issue reproduces across:

    • Multiple projects

    • Different servers

    • Different deployment methods

    • Different hosting environments

Conclusions

  • This is not a content issue

  • This is not a project configuration issue

  • This is not specific to corporate hosting, SCN access, or server OS

  • This is not caused by file copy or publish scripting

  • The issue appears to originate in the live RoboHelp search implementation, specifically in how total hit counts are calculated and exposed to pagination logic in deployed ResponsiveHTML5 outputs on a first search by user. Searching the same exact phrase again will be correct.

Impact

  • Users see misleading or impossible result counts

  • Pagination frequently leads to empty result pages

  • Search reliability and trust are reduced

  • The issue affects multiple production help systems

    Correct answer Peter Grainge

    I think the issue can be summed up this way.


    Responsive HTML5 output using the Azure Blue template in 2026.01

    1. Open the published output https://yourownnerd.com/
    2. Click the Search icon.
    3. Enter "Release notes" with the quotes
    4. Press Enter and you will see 14 or 15 results but 7 will be duplicates. See Welcome for an example. 
    5. Press Enter again in the Search field and it will show the correct 7 results
    6. Start again opening the site afresh.
    7. This time do not use quotes but select the Include All Words check box..
    8. 7 results will be shown correctly.

    This does not occur with the locally generated output, only when published.

    The key point is it only happens on the first search after opening the published help

    I have temporarily created a copy of my site at www.grainge.org/demos/grainge2/index.htm Try the same there searching for "single sourcing" That will be taken down in a couple of days. Please confirm you see the same..

    If all the above is correct, then I think your first step is to go to Adobe Support to see if they have a fix. Remove the paragraph about my test project. See https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/enterprise-support.other.html#robohelp for your Adobe Support options. The email link tcssup@adobe.com is recommended as it reaches a team dedicated to Technical Communication Suite products including RoboHelp.

    IF they don’t have a fix, then go to https://tracker.adobe.com/#/add_bug and log a bug. With that said and as there is a way of avoiding the issue, I’m not hopeful of a short term fix. Focus is on Frameless Help where quotes work fine. See www.grainge.org. 

    In the bug report you can add a link to this thread but I suggest you restrict it pretty much to what is above.

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

    6 replies

    Peter Grainge
    Community Expert
    Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 12, 2026

    I think that for now the thread has come to a pause. How to create the issue is documented and the next step is to see what Support say. If you emailed with what is in your first post here, I would follow up with what I put in what you have marked as Correct.

    If they cannot help, then it’s a bug report. I think in terms of prioritisation, it will come low. Firstly if the Include All Words check box is used, the search works correctly; the likely response could be that it is working as designed. Quotes not working properly has been fixed in frameless.

    Let us know how you get on.

    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.
      Peter Grainge
      Community Expert
      Peter GraingeCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      February 11, 2026

      I think the issue can be summed up this way.


      Responsive HTML5 output using the Azure Blue template in 2026.01

      1. Open the published output https://yourownnerd.com/
      2. Click the Search icon.
      3. Enter "Release notes" with the quotes
      4. Press Enter and you will see 14 or 15 results but 7 will be duplicates. See Welcome for an example. 
      5. Press Enter again in the Search field and it will show the correct 7 results
      6. Start again opening the site afresh.
      7. This time do not use quotes but select the Include All Words check box..
      8. 7 results will be shown correctly.

      This does not occur with the locally generated output, only when published.

      The key point is it only happens on the first search after opening the published help

      I have temporarily created a copy of my site at www.grainge.org/demos/grainge2/index.htm Try the same there searching for "single sourcing" That will be taken down in a couple of days. Please confirm you see the same..

      If all the above is correct, then I think your first step is to go to Adobe Support to see if they have a fix. Remove the paragraph about my test project. See https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/enterprise-support.other.html#robohelp for your Adobe Support options. The email link tcssup@adobe.com is recommended as it reaches a team dedicated to Technical Communication Suite products including RoboHelp.

      IF they don’t have a fix, then go to https://tracker.adobe.com/#/add_bug and log a bug. With that said and as there is a way of avoiding the issue, I’m not hopeful of a short term fix. Focus is on Frameless Help where quotes work fine. See www.grainge.org. 

      In the bug report you can add a link to this thread but I suggest you restrict it pretty much to what is above.

      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
      Eric J. Technical WriterAuthor
      Known Participant
      February 11, 2026

      On www.grainge.org/demos/grainge2/index.htm 
      When I searched for “single sourcing” I received an article count of 14. 7 articles were actually displayed.
      I refreshed, the count changed to 7.
      I closed and opened again. I searched for “single sourcing” again and I received 14 article count and there were 14 articles displayed. I checked and there were 7 unique articles and doubles of each one.
      I do have an email out to  tcssup@adobe.com  that I am waiting on a response from.

      Peter Grainge
      Community Expert
      Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 11, 2026

      If you open your  personal site and click Include all Words and then enter the search term without quotes, it is giving me 7 results. Please confirm you see the same.

      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.
      Peter Grainge
      Community Expert
      Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 10, 2026

      Like ​@Jeff_Coatsworth, I get 7 results if I select the check box and press Enter or if I put the words in quotes. Otherwise I get 15 as the search looks for either of the words. That is how it is set up to work.

      Check your other project and let us know if you still see an issue.

      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
      Jeff_CoatsworthCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 9, 2026

      I get 7 on your site - 

       

      Peter Grainge
      Community Expert
      Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 9, 2026

      Late here so I'll look in the morning but some quick questions,

      1. Was it working and has now broken, if it was working when did it break?
      2. Which template?
      3. Have you checked the output on the server matches the local output?

      ________________________________________________________

      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
      Eric J. Technical WriterAuthor
      Known Participant
      February 10, 2026

      New found issue, may have existed before.
      The corporate sites use a template modified from single page dark.

      My personal site uses a different template, I cannot pull that up at the moment because I am at work. 
      The 14 result happens when you first do the search. You should not have to check the check box because if you put it in quotes, it is supposed to be doing an exact search for that phrase, not as two different words.

      If you refresh the search, it comes down to 7 like it is supposed to be.

      I think it may be a bug in RoboHelp. I have found it in every RoboHelp site available to me.

      Peter Grainge
      Community Expert
      Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 10, 2026

      Both ​@Jeff_Coatsworth and I got 7 results only using quotes. I'll check that out again tomorrow but pretty sure it worked first time.

      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.
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