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Importing an index from a [very] old Robohelp project

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Folks,

I have a very old Robohelp project (created in the 1990s I think- maybe early naughties) which I have updated to 2026 version; I can compile it to a single help file with a contents tab and search tab.

However, the index is proving to be a problem.

The old project has a massive index file which I can open in a text editor (.hhk file) and I can see it is in HTML format.

If I stumble around, not really understanding what I am doing and put some links in to create an index in RH2026 it creates an output file as an idx file which looks like it is XML and a totally different format. I cannot see where the information that creates that idx file in RH2026 lives.

I would have hoped that you could take that hhk file from the old Robohelp project and use it to create the index for the RH2026, but having spent days trying this I cannot make it work.

All the very old web pages are practically the same, just a few tweaks to bring them up to modern HTML standard, but all the human readable text inside it is identical, so we really want to take that original old index and use it in RH2026. It’s a MASSIVE amount of work to create that index file, there surely must be a way to import a 1990s/early 2000s RH index file into an RH2026 project?

Many thanks.

Peter Grainge

Community Expert

I cannot see where the information that creates that idx file in RH2026 lives.

The index file contains no index entries. The details are in the header section of each topic. Are you seeing an index in the author panel?

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

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Quite possibly - what format of output are you creating?

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DiBoscoAuthor

Participating Frequently

Microsoft HTML help (hopefully that’s what you mean!)

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Phew, that’s an antique form of output! Don’t hold your breath on hoping that one is going to work much anymore - even MS has disavowed that format - and they were the ones that invented it!
Try creating something like Responsive HTML5 or Frameless to see if it’s working better.

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

So did the import of that old project into RH2019 Classic convert the index ok?

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DiBoscoAuthor

Participating Frequently

Hi Jeff,

Finally had a chance to have a go at publishing today, this is background task and I go back to it when I get a few hours here and there.

Anyway, it kind of works, but not quite. When I publish it, the index seems to work, but the formatting isn’t quite there.

So in Robohelp when I preview a page like this:

Which looks right, but when I publish it, it looks like this:

This kind of thing, perversely, was working when the Index didn’t work. Something to do with it not finding the css file properly?

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DiBoscoAuthor

Participating Frequently

I have finally had time to try running the 2019 version but it gives me this when I try to install:

You can’t see what’s on the right hand side of the message, you can’t resize the window, but if I highlight and copy the text, the message below is what is says:

“To use Adobe services, please update your Adobe applications, operating system, and browser to the latest versions”

I’m on Win11, up to date Firefox and I’m trying to update my version of Robohelp!

Anyone seen this before and can help please?

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

I suspect you’re running into the issue with the Adobe activation servers - see this article about the issue - https://helpx.adobe.com/tech-comm-suite/kb/deprecated-internet-explorer-10-with-ims.html
Did you make sure you’re installing RH as an admin? That’s caused issues in other installs too.

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Peter Grainge

Community Expert

… or see if this forum can help. https://community.adobe.com/download-install-615

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

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

@DiBosco if you haven’t had any luck with getting a 2019 Classic version to run the old project through, shoot me a PM and I can take a shot at upgrading it using my old Classic editions.

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Peter Grainge

Community Expert

2019 version is out of support from Adobe.

________________________________________________________

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

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Peter Grainge

Community Expert

Normally I would have responded that the index is a different animal in the new UI. Before you could have multiple files, now it's one file only. The conversion gets handled by Robohelp as @Jeff_Coatsworth has explained.

However, it now transpires you are upgrading from a very old version. I hope the post @Jeff_Coatsworth has found helps.

________________________________________________________

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

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

See this thread for the same issue of converting a REALLY old RH project -

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DiBoscoAuthor

Participating Frequently

Thanks, that does look helpful, but they [Adobe] are ignoring my request for the 2019 version. Is that normal? Do they take weeks to reply usually?

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Possibly - have a look around in your Adobe account - there might be a link to 2019 Classic in there.

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Peter Grainge

Community Expert

See https://www.grainge.org/RoboHelp_Tour/rh2022/toc_index_glossary/index.htm

________________________________________________________

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

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DiBoscoAuthor

Participating Frequently

I’m not understanding how this helps me import an old hhk into a newer project, sorry to be slow.

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

An index part of an old Classic project would have been upgraded when the project was converted to the New UI format. Did this not happen when the project was upgraded? See https://www.grainge.org/RoboHelp_Tour/rh2022/introduction/upgrading.htm for that section and the changes.
btw - from what I can see, the .hhk file is XML (at least in RH10 & 11) not HTML.

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DiBoscoAuthor

Participating Frequently

I don’t think it was converted per-se. It was given to me with the files there in a project, all of which were showing both errors and warning. I went through them all, took me a week, and I fixed all those issues. Hundreds of HTML files that needed fixing.

What I was handed was all the original files in the old structure which also had another subdirectory called Project Container which I assume, but don’t know for sure, was someone’s attempt at updating the project. It is this directory in why I had all the HTML files I painstakingly fixed.

I have since also tried taking all those and starting a new project with it.

These are the few first lines of the existing, ancient, hhk file, which I’ll bet is way earlier version than RH10:

<html>

<object type="text/site properties">
<param name="SiteType" value="index">
<param name="Font" value="Verdana,8">
</object>

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