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Books in TOC show as broken links, even though a topic is linked to the book

New Here ,
Apr 19, 2021 Apr 19, 2021

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I don’t have much experience with RoboHelp, so I hope this turns out to have an easy fix. I’m using RoboHelp 2019 (14.0.3.019) to update an existing project that is linked to an existing FrameMaker document. The project was originally set to output to FlashHelp, but I was told to change to WebHelp.

 

The generated Help seems to be created properly, but I have a problem with the TOC. Every FrameMaker file that has lower-level headings is shown as a book in the TOC, as it should. But when you click on a book at any level, it displays a broken link.

 

ChrisAlley_0-1618864518598.png

If you click on a topic, the content is displayed properly.

 

However, if you right-click a book and select “Open book in new tab” or “Open book in new window”, you see the correct content. So the correct content is linked to the book; it just will not display directly.

 

I hope someone can help with this problem. I’d like to click on a book in the TOC and have the content displayed properly, as well as revealing its subtopics in the TOC.

 

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Community Expert ,
Apr 19, 2021 Apr 19, 2021

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If you're switching from Flashhelp, you should go to Responsive HTML5 (in Classic. For RH2019 New UI or newer, then I'd recommend Frameless, as that's where Adobe development is likely to be focused.) Webhelp does not exist in RH2019 New UI or newer, only Responsive HTML5 with the responsiveness turned off, so you're better off going with the newer help output now, in my opinion. 

 

Regarding the TOC problem, does clicking on a topic also result in the broken link or only books? If you open the TOC in Robohelp, right-click on a book and select Properties, what does the 'Link to' field show?

 

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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I'll check out the Responsive HTML5 output. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

In the output, clicking on a topic always shows the linked page correctly. Only the books show broken links. In the TOC in RoboHelp, if I right-click a book and select Properties, it shows that the book is linked to the correct file. If I right-click the book and select Preview Topic, it shows the correct fille.

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Community Expert ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Is the FM TOC working correctly? That may be the issue - if it's not pointing to the correct content in FM, then RH isn't going to know where to point it too.

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Yes, the FM TOC is working correctly. If you see my response to Amebr, it looks like the books are all linked to the correct files, they just won't display properly. 

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Community Expert ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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I'd create the HTML5 and check it again - it may be a browser issue with what you've created.

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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In my RoboHelp, I don't see Responsive HTML5 as one of the output options. Any suggestions as to why?

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Community Expert ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Since it was an updated project, you need to add a new output.

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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The Responsive HTML5 output seems to work great. Clicking the book (which now shows as a + sign) displays the correct content, as well as expanding the subtopics. Our software developer is working with the output files to be sure they work with his system. But as standalone Help, the HTML5 browser is way better looking than the WebHelp interface.

 

I wish I knew what was wrong with the WebHelp TOC, but I'm glad to have a better alternative. Thanks for your help.  

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Community Expert ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Assuming you are using the new UI version of 2019 rather than Classic, in the Output pod click the + icon.

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Thanks, Peter. The Responsive HTML5 output seems to solve the problem.

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Community Expert ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Amber suggested going the frameless route. That would be a better option and easy at this stage.

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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How do you specify a frameless output? When I add a new output, frameless isn't on the list. 

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Community Expert ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Are using 2019 Classic or the new UI? 

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Here's where my ignorance pops out. I don't know. How would I find out?

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Community Expert ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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What's on your menu with the project open?

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Community Expert ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Looking again at your screenshot you are on Classic. That will be why you cannot see a frameless option. You can confirm that by looking at screenshots in the 2019 section of the RoboHelp Tour on my site.

 

It's a big change to go to the new UI as you will see. In the long term you will likely need to change but only you can decide if it's a sensible move right now. For speed you will likely need to stick with the Classic version and generate responsive.  

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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I do have Classic. Because my project is due soon, I guess I should stick with that for now. But there will be more in the future, so I will definitely look into changing to the new UI. Thanks for the information.

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New Here ,
Apr 25, 2021 Apr 25, 2021

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I should have left good enough alone. I kept tweaking my output until I totally lost the TOC . That pane in the output is completely empty. In RoboHelp, the Table of Contents pane shows a TOC but nothing is linked to it. It's like the connection to the FrameMaker TOC is completely lost.

 

I tried Auto-Create TOC, but that's not particularly satisfying. I tried to recreate links manually, but that's quite a chore for this long document. And worst, if I force an update to the FM book, all of my manual TOC changes are wiped out.

 

Any suggestion on how to relink the RH TOC to the FM TOC? I found a note that said right-click the FM book and click Properties, and then select Convert FrameMaker Table of Contents. But every time I try this, RH locks up.

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Community Expert ,
Apr 26, 2021 Apr 26, 2021

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Is your whole project based on Fm content? If it is then I think it might be better for @Jeff_Coatsworth to see your latest post.

 

Back up your project and then delete the CPD file before reopening it. Sometimes fixes issues but I'm not too hopeful in this case.

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Community Expert ,
Apr 26, 2021 Apr 26, 2021

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Hmm, so this RH project is the result of a linked FM book (not imported)? I can't even recall if linking really worked that well in RH2019 (I'm totally an importer myself). It would make sense that if you did an update on the FM side or re-synched the RH content with the FM content, your manual changes to your TOC would get mucked up. Maybe creating a new RH project and trying to re-link it to the FM content might provide a fix?

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New Here ,
Apr 27, 2021 Apr 27, 2021

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I need to work on a different project for a few days, but I will definitely try recreating the RoboHelp project. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll let you know if it worked. 

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New Here ,
May 01, 2021 May 01, 2021

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I recreated the RoboHelp project, and everything worked fine. The RH TOC was linked properly to the FM TOC. I was a little gunshy, so I tried not to update the link to the FM document too often.

 

The Responsive HTML5 output looked great, and the project managers seem happy with the result. I do have one question about the Responsive HTML5 viewer. I used the Azure_Blue layout. The sample layout showed Previous and Next buttons in the upper-right corner next to the Print icon. I assumed (you know what often happens when you do that) those buttons would appear automatically and take you to the previous or next topic in the TOC. On my viewer, I get the Print button but not Previous and Next.

 

I probably don't understand the real purpose of those buttons or how/why they get created. It occurred to me later that maybe they only appear if I have set up browse sequences, which I do not have. Do you have an idea about the missing Previous and Next buttons?

 

Thanks for your help. I appreciate it. I'm the lone writer here. If I had to create online help on a regular basis, I think I could get fairly good at it. But our "once every other year or so" approach makes it difficult. I'm trying to keep good cheat notes for next time.

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Community Expert ,
May 01, 2021 May 01, 2021

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Yep, the Previous and Next buttons are for when you have browse sequences set up.

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Community Expert ,
Apr 26, 2021 Apr 26, 2021

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Late thought. See Importing/Linking Word/Fm Docs (grainge.org) There is a version compatibility requirement for linking.

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