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Question

Corrupt Word output (RH2022)

Forum|Forum|10 months ago
March 13, 2025
15 replies
1989 views

Hi everyone,

We have switched from RH2015 to RH2022.5.28 and are now looking forward to using RH as our only source for maintaining our content. We have been using both Word and Robohelp ever since... However, we have problems generating Word output from Robohelp.

Exporting our RH content to Word creates a corrupt file that has to be recovered. The recovered file does not use our defined styles. Does anyone have any idea why the Word output is corrupt and what we can do about it?

Additional questions:

- Do the styles in Word and the styles in Robohelp need to be named the same in order the be mapped?

- Is there a guide for creating templates (headers, footers, cover pages...) you would recommend?

Thanks a lot in advance.

Show previous replies

Peter Grainge

Community Expert

@WoutJacobs I know you like complex HTML. 🙂 However, let's proceed step by step until we know that is the cause.

Create a new Book TOC with just one of your topics, a simple one. Then select that TOC to see if that will generate.

If not, change the associated CSS file to the default CSS supplied. Does it then generate?

As to using the network later, just remember it may or may not work.

________________________________________________________

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Help others by clicking Correct Answer if the question is answered. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

W

WoutJacobs

Inspiring

Word output is a bit of an afterthought in RH 2022.

If your content has stuff like complex tables/lists/other 'creative' uses of HTML, then it'll probably break upon generating.

R

ruth_9390Author

Participating Frequently

In fact we do have lots of tables. I would not call them complex but still there are a lot - also containing images.

Peter Grainge

Community Expert

OK but the simple topic test I suggested will help identify if that is the issue.

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

Help others by clicking Correct Answer if the question is answered. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

Peter Grainge

Community Expert

How did you upgrade your 2015 project?

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

Help others by clicking Correct Answer if the question is answered. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

R

ruth_9390Author

Participating Frequently

We used the Upgrade RoboHelp Classic project in the new RoboHelp version.

Peter Grainge

Community Expert

In your situation the first thing I would do is create a test project with just two topics and minimal content, then generate a Word output using the Simple template. That's just to make sure your setup is OK. In particular, is your project on a local drive and are you generating to the same local drive? In theory networks are OK but it is dependant on your network setup.

Assuming you get past that point, leave the preset that you have created in your main project and create a new one, also create a new Simple template, no customisation. Accept all defaults as far as possible when you generate. Does that work?

If it does, then start making the changes you want but keep generating to see if what you have done in the last 10/15 minutes has broken things. Then you get some idea of what.

Do the styles in Word and the styles in Robohelp need to be named the same in order the be mapped?

If they have the same names, mapping is automatic. Otherwise you map as you wish. That's the point of mapping, that in RoboHelp you can have StyleA and map it StyleB in Word if you want to.

Preset guide - https://www.grainge.org/RoboHelp_Tour/rh2022/outputs/outputs_word.htm

Is there a guide for creating templates (headers, footers, cover pages...) you would recommend?

Template guide - https://www.grainge.org/RoboHelp_Tour/rh2022/outputs/outputs_word.htm

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

Help others by clicking Correct Answer if the question is answered. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

R

ruth_9390Author

Participating Frequently

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the quick reply.

It works for a new project with default settings and little content. However, as soon as I try it with my original content - even only parts - a message appears saying that Word found content that could not be read. Then I need to recover the document.

For my tests, the project is on a local drive and I am also generating to this drive. In the future it should be on a network drive.

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

So you're saying that this step - "create a new one, also create a new Simple template, no customisation. Accept all defaults as far as possible when you generate. Does that work?" fails, correct?

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Are you following Peter's site? - see https://www.grainge.org/RoboHelp_Tour/rh2022/outputs/outputs_word.htm

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