Output and preview displays topic layout not content in 2020 RoboHelp version

BTW. Please use the photo icon to insert images within the post. Seeing an image inline with the text makes it easier for anyone answering or viewing the post.

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

There are several points to raise here.

1. If you go the the Help menu, what is your version? I suspect it is 2020.0. That had a bug whereby it told you there was no update available. You have to go to this link where you can jump straight to Update 8.
2. That said, the 2022 version has been out for some time now and your subscription entitles you to upgrade to that.
3. Personally I would have gone straight to 2022 but that's up to you.
4. I think the first step is to put beyond doubt this is a project issue rather than an installation or environment issue. On you start menu you should see the About RoboHelp project. If not, click Open Project and browse to Documents, then My RoboHelp Projects. See if you have the same problem there. I doubt you will but if you do, then post back and do no more.

Assuming you establish it is your project, which I think it will be, we need to look at that and also your understanding of the very new UI.

Your preset will have carried through its name from 2015 but it is no longer webhelp, it will be a responsive skin. That's explained here. RH2020 WebHelp Output (grainge.org)

FRAMELESS v RESPONSIVE

I would very strongly recommend that this is the time to switch to Frameless outputs. Whilst Adobe will continue to support the existing responsive skins, future development will be with the frameless skins that can be customised much more than responsive skins. So STEP 1 is to create a frameless skin. The skin on the page I have pointed you to above is the Orange skin. To keep the appearance of the three pane webhelp you are familiar with, you can deselect Use Home Page in the preset so that it works in the way you are familiar with. Worry about Home Pages later.

WHAT CONTROLS THE OUTPUT CONTENT

Whichever type you go for, with WebHelp the output was everything in your project unless a build expression excluded it. Now a topic must be in your TOC to get included. That doesn't mean the user has to see everything there as you can hide topics in the output TOC. They just have to be in the source TOC. This is all explained in RH2020 The Table of Contents (grainge.org)

WHAT NEXT

Leave the upgraded preset for now and create create a frameless skin (known as template in 2022) and create a new preset. See if that has the same issues.

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Post back when you have worked through all this and let us know where that has got you. It might be nowhere but then we can explore other things.

________________________________________________________

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