Cannot read document. Make sure that the document is closed.

[gterrell TBF]

I am getting an error that says "Cannot read document. Make sure that the document is closed." when trying to create a topic from linked DOC.

[Peter Grainge]

Whatever format it is in now, change to the opposite to see if that makes a difference. DOC/DOCX.

[gterrell TBF]

I figured it out, there were two hyperlinks in the original Docx I removed them and all is well.

Thank you for your help.

[gterrell TBF]

Than kyou for the quick reply. Unfortunatly, I am still getting the error after switching to doc.

[Peter Grainge]

Is the document on your machine? If it is, try rebooting. Sometimes when you close a document, Word is still running in Task Manager. Worth a try.

If that fails, create a new project and import (not link) into that. Don't worry too much about settings. Just wanting to establish whether it will import. If it does, then try linking into that project.

Not sure what the problem is here so trying anything that comes to mind. What version of RoboHelp are you using?

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www.grainge.org

[gterrell TBF]

Hi Peter, I have tryed rebooting and a new project and still the same whan I try to import.

[Peter Grainge]

Version of RoboHelp and Word?

Try with another document in the new project.

[gterrell TBF]

I just updated ROBO HELP to 14.0.10 and word is 2016. other projects are loading OK. I tested a new project and its working fine, it seems to be in the word document. I tried copying the old doc onto a blank and it did the same error. but a completely new project worked fine.

[Peter Grainge]

Hyperlinks should not have caused that but if it's working, that's what matters.

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www.grainge.org

[Peter Grainge]

Was the problem something that others would find useful to know about? If it was, please tell us to help the next person along.

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www.grainge.org

[monicat75553580]

I am getting same error "Cannot read document. Make sure that the document is closed." I'm using RH2020. I've shut down my laptop, removed all hyperlinks in the document, create a new project in RH2020 but still get the same error when importing Word doc. I have tried changing the format from DOCX to DOC, but RH2020 do not seem to recognise DOC format. Any suggestions please? Thank you

[Peter Grainge]

RoboHelp will not recognise the DOC format, only DOCX.

Check the document is showing as DOCX in File Explorer and is closed.

________________________________________________________
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[monicat75553580]

Thank you Peter. I can confirm the file format is docx. The document is not open. I have shut down my laptop and tried the import again but still get the error msg.

[Peter Grainge]

Next step is to create a new DOCX with some content and try to import that.

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

[monicat75553580]

I have tried as suggested and it imports with no error. I will continue adding more contents to the new document and see if the error appears at some point. At least it will identify the fault. Thank you.

[karen7673]

I have a rather large document that I am trying to convert to RoboHelp. I have it saved as a docx file and have it closed. I have verified that Word is not active in TaskManager. I have been able to successfully add a different Word document to the project. However, I keep getting a document read error - cannot read. 

The document does have a table of contents and several internal links. Does that make a difference?

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

The links could be the issue - try removing them in a copy of the .docx file and test to see. What version of RH are you running and is it all patched up?

[karen7673]

I'm running RH 2020. 

The links are all necessary to direct users to other places in the document. I'm new to RoboHelp. If I remove the links, will I be able to add them back in?

[Peter Grainge]

Did you scroll all the way down in Task Manager?

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[karen7673]

Yes, I scrolled through the entire list. Word was not in the list.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

"..try removing them in a copy of the .docx file and test to see."

Nothing to lose in a test - it's not the real deal. If the links are the culprit, then you can always add them in after importing or look at tweaking your import settings to see if that will fix it.

[Peter Grainge]

@karen7673 Have you tried rebooting the machine?

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[karen7673]

Peter, I have been able to successfully add a different Word document to the project, so I don't think the problem will be solved by rebooting my computer or by making sure that Word is not running. 

I am getting a "document read error - cannot read" for one specific document. 

[Peter Grainge]

@karen7673 Is this a document you can share with me? See the Contact page on my site and attach the document to an email using the address there.

________________________________________________________
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[karen7673]

I cannot share the document with you. First, because of the nature of the content, but secondly, it is too large to email. In the past, our company has used RoboHelp and other writers have been able to include table of contents and internal links importing from FrameMaker. I've never used RoboHelp, but am importing from Word. I was hoping to not have to remove the links since there are hundreds of them in the document. The document also includes several screenshots (png). If the import from Word is the problem, can I import from a pdf or other format instead to resolve the issue?