Cannot add front matter or back matter to PDF (Robohelp 2019)

[Jenn98BC]

Hi - I am new to RoboHelp, and I cannot figure out how to add front matter and/or back matter to my Table of Contents. I need to generate a PDF with a TOC in the front matter, but nothing seems to work. 

I have read a bunch of threads, but I don't have any of the options available to me. Perhaps there is something off with my license and/or configuration? I'm running 2019.0.5. 
These are the options I see:

Any help is appreciated; thanks!

[Peter Grainge]

I think that is an online TOC.  Either create a book TOC or right click your existing one and change the properties.

See the 2019 TOC topic in the RoboHelp Tour on my site. 

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[Amebr]

The online help for New UI is only for the latest released version, not the version that's installed on a PC. As of today that is RH2020.6.

I think in RH2019, you need to open the output preset and tick the Include Table of Contents checkbox to get a table of contents page in your PDF.

[Jenn98BC]

Thanks for the responses. 

I don't have the options that Peter Grainge is referring to above; this may not be in my version. But I was able to get the TOC to generate based on Amebr's tip... only problem is that it has just the index entry (no entry for any other topics). 

Do the topics need to have a specific heading level? Or is there a way to specify which headings make up the TOC? 

[Peter Grainge]

Sorry, I saw Front and Back Matter and automatically my mind went to 2020. That is only in 2020.

First I would update 2019 to Update 14 to rule out that being an issue.

The topics you see should be from the TOC is you selected in the preset. Are you saying there is only the index and no topics?

This topic explains creating a PDF output in 2019. RH2019 PDF Output (grainge.org)

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[Jenn98BC]

Unfortunately, it seems that I cannot run the Update function on my computer due to some issues with software versions. I think this is a reported issue... but hopefully I can get Update 14 and try out your suggestions some time soon. 

But yes, the only entry in the TOC is for the Index. All other headings aren't showing up. 

[Amebr]

I think the only reported download issue was with RH2020.

But in case of other issues, you can manually download RH2019 updates here:  https://www.adobe.com/support/robohelp/downloads.html

[Jenn98BC]

I have downloaded Update 14, but I still get an error when I try to install it. 

[Amebr]

Another idea for the topics not showing in the table of contents. Is the first heading in your topics a H1? Or are you using a custom style?

[Jenn98BC]

I am using a custom style... I actually imported all of the content from
FrameMaker, so all of the defined styles are custom.

[Amebr]

I think the pdf toc might only pick up the h1 - h7 styles.

I defined a test style p.MyStyle and made it 20pt and blue, and the pdf did not include it in the TOC. I couldn't see any other options in the output preset that might affect it.

Are you importing from Framemaker regularly or was this a once off import? If it's a regular import, you could check the mapping options and see if you can map the custom style to a heading style in RH. I don't use FM, so I'm not sure what the options are.

If it was a once off import, I think you'll have to manually change every topic to use a heading style.

Or upgrade to RH2020.6, which I think allows you to create the pdf toc based on the RH toc. If you have access to a second PC you could download the trial and test if this works for you.

[Peter Grainge]

There are six true headings in HTML. <h1>–<h6>: The HTML Section Heading elements - HTML: HyperText Markup Language | MDN (mozilla.org)

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[Amebr]

Whoops, yes, h1 - h6. 🙂

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Did we establish that you're using RH2019 in Classic mode or the New UI mode? When you import from FM, you should have the option to import the FM TOC into RH or build one in RH based on the resulting topics.

[Jenn98BC]

I tried re-importing the FM project and playing with the setting - the issue was definitely because I didn't have it mapped to the correct styles. Thanks everyone for all your help!

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Here's the fix for that one I think - https://helpx.adobe.com/tech-comm-suite/kb/deprecated-internet-explorer-10-with-ims.html

[Peter Grainge]

Do you have admin rights on your PC?

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[Jenn98BC]

I do have Admin rights, and I have already tried the AASlapp.exe fix. 

Not sure what's up, but IT has already made sure this machine is up to date. 

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

I'd give the RH folks a buzz - see https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/enterprise-support.other.html#robohelp for your Adobe Support options. I'd recommend using the tcssup@adobe.com e-mail address as it reaches a team dedicated to Technical Communication Suite products including RoboHelp.