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jaybeMMP
Participating Frequently
September 29, 2010
Answered

RoboHelp crashes during generation of Microsoft Help

  • September 29, 2010
  • 1 reply
  • 1145 views

I have been using RoboHelp for a couple of months now and have been able to generate .CHM windows help files from all of the project created so far.  I have just encountered an issue with RoboHelp whereby the application crashes whilst generating a Windows help file.  My installation has not been upgraded or otherwise changed so I am assuming this is a project specific issue. 

I've been on the phone to Adobe technical support which proved fruitless.  I was expecting this after the adobe employee was finding it hard to remeber what RoboHelp was!!

I have raised a bug with adobe regarding this issue but was unable to provide much information as there appears to be no error log.  The Windows event viewer is clear and the application is in a clean state when re-opened.

A couple of questions for you:

Are there any know issues generating Windows Help Files?

How can I narrow down the search for the cause (get information from a log file etc.)?

Regards,

James Bewley

Version Adobe RoboHelp 8.0.2.208

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Peter Grainge

    Hi Peter,

    I have now narrowed the issue to a single problem topic but the preview is generated and operates correctly.  Is there anything I can do to debug this topic?

    Regards,

    James


    Save a copy of the file somewhere outside the project and back up the project for extra safety.

    Then look at what is in the topic apart from simple text. Remove bits at a time until it will compile. Then post back what you removed that seems to have fixed it.

    See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

    @petergrainge

    1 reply

    Peter Grainge
    Community Expert
    Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 29, 2010

    Try generating a CHM from one of the supplied sample projects and make sure you generate it to a local folder.

    You will find the samples at

    C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp 8\RoboHTML\Samples\en_US

    or

    C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Technical Communication Suite 2\Adobe RoboHelp 8\RoboHTML\Samples\en_US

    See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

    @petergrainge

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    J
    jaybeMMPAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    September 29, 2010

    Hi Peter,

    Thank for the response, I've just tried opening a sample project and export as .CHM which worked perfectly.  I wasn't able to find any existing sample projects in the locations you mentioned but created a new 'Application Help' project which populates the new project with a small sample.

    I'm pretty sure this is a project specific issue but am unsure which part of the project is causing the issue.  Any idea how I can narrow the search?

    Regards

    Peter Grainge
    Community Expert
    Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 29, 2010

    You should have found two folders there, CCC and Web Graphics.

    However, you seem to have established the problem is the project and that was the objective.

    First just try creating a new (not duplicate layout).

    If that still fails, continue using the new layout and create a build tag called Test or suchlike. Using the topic list, apply it to half the topics. If that generates an output, add some more topics until it fails and then you will have an idea of which topic is causing the problem.

    Give that a whirl and post back if no joy.

    See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

    @petergrainge

    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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