Skip to main content
A
Anonymous
June 15, 2010
Question

Remove numbered Rank column in RoboHelp 8 Search results?

  • June 15, 2010
  • 2 replies
  • 1792 views

Hi. I'm using RoboHelp HTML 8.0.2.208, having recently updated from 5X, generating WebHelp. In a discussion about a year ago (May 2009 - http://forums.adobe.com/message/1924387#1924387) I learned that as of that time there was no option for "turning off" ranked search results.

Point #1 - Maybe behind the times to want Search to return a simple, non-ranked alphabetized list, but forum postings make it seem that it is desireable for a number of users to at least have the option. Currently lacking that option (and, yes, possibly for the better), we're fine with bringing our help users up-to-date with ranked search results (generate with the "Show Context in Search Result" not selected).

Point #2 - However, at least in our case, the left-hand Rank column of the search results seems more a waste of screen real estate than it is an aid. Eventually having the option to leave this column out would be great. I've entered both of these points through the Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form but wonder in the meantime whether in the intervening year since the above thread anyone has learned of a way to turn this off?

Thanks!

Celeste

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    2 replies

    A
    Anonymous
    June 16, 2010

    This seems to have done the trick! In my case, the width value is defined in pixels rather than %; I changed it to 0px, and the Rank column no longer appears in the generated help file. The Search Results number entry box is still present, as are the numbered boxes and forward arrow box below the listed Search results; we'll have to live with those for the time being (still would like to see options in RoboHelp for removing those). We'll keep our eyes peeled for any issues, but so far so good. Thank you!

    A
    Community Expert
    AmebrCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 17, 2010

    Possibly there is somewhere in that file which will allow you to hide/remove the number of results box. But I don't know enough about javascript to know how to do that without stuffing up the search. Removing the pages and arrows might be a bad idea unless you figure out how to return all results on one page.

    A
    Anonymous
    September 20, 2011

    I had one of our dev guys helping me out. It was not obvious, we ditched the whole idea of removing ranking.

    A
    Community Expert
    AmebrCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 16, 2010

    You should be able to do it here. I'm not sure whether this will survive patches, and probably won't survive upgrades, so you might want to make a note of the changes somewhere, to investigate after either event. (at least it's better than having to redo the change in the output files each time, as I've had to do with some "fixes". )

    Find the following directory. The location might vary a bit, depending on where Robohelp is installed

    C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp 8\RoboHTML\WebHelp5Ext\template_stock

    Create a backup copy of whfhost.js. (e.g. "whfhost_original.js")

    In the original file, find "function writeTableHead".

    There should be two TD ID='OdinFtsRank' entries. (The first one looks like it's only for AirHelp.) In the second one, change the 'width:15%' value. If you specify 0%, the ranking column is removed, although I think the search results are still in ranking order. To remove the ranking completely, you'd probably have to comment out/remove a bunch of javascript, and I don't know enough to do that.

    I couldn't see any obvious problems with doing this, but I haven't conducted a lot of tests. As always, your mileage may vary.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices