Cannot generate PDF; Java not found

[ArielTWF]

Hello,

I recently upgraded to RH v20 to take advantage of the PDF generation features that were not in v19. However, I am unable to generate a PDF from my html files. I've tried smaller and larger TOCs, using different settings in the output configuration, creating brand new output formats in case someone was corrupted, etc. I keep getting the same error in the log after it finishes merging the htm files:"Java not found." I already saw that this was an issue for others so I uninstalled the java I had and resinstalled it with x64 version (C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_261\bin) and I'm still getting the same error. I've got the latest versions of RH and Media Encoder and everything else I can from Creative Cloud installed and am at a loss about what I can do to fix this. 

I don't know if it matters, but I can generate Word and Responsive HMTL 5 outputs fine.

[Peter Grainge]

Everything you have said points to the problem genuinely being the Java installation. You could try generating the About RoboHelp sample project as we know that generates fine if the Java installation is correct.

There is no need to set a Java path so I am wondering if you have set something up that is causing a problem.

1. Did you do anything over and above installing it?
2. Try uninstalling it and rebooting before reinstalling.
3. I don't think it's necessary for this by if you haven't installed Update 1, do that.

If the issue is still there after that, I think you will need to go to Adobe Support. techcomm@adobe.com or your local phone number.

[ArielTWF]

Thank you for your reply, Peter. I haven't done anything special in terms of my installation process. I uninstalled my java installation as well as my RH 20 installation and reinistalled both with their default installation directions. I have also updated RH 20 via Creative Cloud as much as I can and am still seeing the issue. I will contact support to see if anything else can be done. Thanks.

[Peter Grainge]

Do you also have the problem if you generate a PDF from the About RoboHelp sample project?

[ArielTWF]

Yes, the sample project also fails to generate a PDF

[Peter Grainge]

In that case there is either something still wrong with your Java installation or there is something unusual about your PC setup.

If you are in a corporate environment, seek the help of your IT people. Beyond that you need to contact Adobe Support.

I have assumed you are working on a local machine and RoboHelp is installed to the default location.

[ArielTWF]

Thank you for your help. With the assistance of support I was able to get the default TOC as well as my own TOCs to generate a PDF. I'll include the steps that helped me here in case anyone else runs into this issue:

1. Go to the “Edit the system environment variables” option.
2. Under Advanced Tab > Click Environment variable
3. Under System Variable there should a variable name “JAVA_HOME”. This variable should show the install location of the JRE version you want to use. If there is more than one JAVA_HOME variable under the system variable then you can remove the one you don’t want to use. If this location is in an odd spot other than the expected default location, you can try changing it to the default value (see image below).
4. If there is no JAVA_HOME variable showing under the system variable then you can click on “New” under the system variable. You can type JAVA_HOME as a variable name and enter the install location of JRE you want to use as Variable Value(image below).
5. Click ok and Apply changes.

6. Restart your system Launch RoboHelp and check for the issue again. 

7. If the issue persists then you create a new test project and check if the same issue is reproducible or not If the issue is still reproducible then you can remove JAVA and RoboHelp 2020.

8. Install JAVA 8 (64bit)  and then install RoboHelp 2020.

9. Launch RoboHelp. Click on Help> Update and install the latest update patch.

Check for the issue again.

[Alexandra Duffy]

Hello,

We followed the instructions in this post and it helped us successfully generate PDFs from RoboHelp 2020.

My company is very concerned about the recent log4shell security exploit, which uses a logging module used by Java web applications called log4j.

I hope that Adobe issues a statement about the use of the Java runtime environment with RoboHelp, so we know whether users should be concerned about this latest security vulnerability.

Alexandra

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

I think the answer is to check if you have that log4j file(s) around on your system, check the versions and look at updating them - I think the later versions have been fixed on the Apache site.

[Peter Grainge]

Also I think there are some posts about this on the Creative Cloud app forums. Sorry I can't look right now.

________________________________________________________
See www.grainge.org for free Authoring and RoboHelp Information

[Peter Grainge]

I am aware Adobe are preparing an official answer. I don't know where it will be posted but will update here when I see something. 

Meantime Google the issue. From what I have seen it potentially affects all web servers and is a much wider issue than just RoboHelp.

________________________________________________________
See www.grainge.org for free Authoring and RoboHelp Information

[Alexandra Duffy]

Yes, I'm aware that it's a much wider issue! We're just looking at any place that may be affected by the vulnerability. Thanks for your reply and I'll look for an official statement from Adobe.

Alexandra

[Peter Grainge]

Please see Log4j 2 (adobe.com) for Adobe's official response.

________________________________________________________
See www.grainge.org for free Authoring and RoboHelp Information