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It appears that I can check the file location where my RoboHelp projects are saved from within RoboHelp by going to File --> Recent Projects, but how can I create a backup copy? I've been told that network policies/traffic may otherwise end up corrupting files. So I'd like to save every project to my local drive and then back it up on our network.
Provided it's only you (or a small number of other authors), @Peter Grainge recommends on his site to just perform a zip of the project and copy it up to your servers for backup. I use this method to trade control of a project that I don't work on frequently with an employee of mine in Pakistan - works just fine.
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Provided it's only you (or a small number of other authors), @Peter Grainge recommends on his site to just perform a zip of the project and copy it up to your servers for backup. I use this method to trade control of a project that I don't work on frequently with an employee of mine in Pakistan - works just fine.
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Prefix the zip file with a date in YYMMDD format and any build numbering. That keeps them in date order.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring information
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I can vouch for Peter's method. I am in the habit of making a .zip file each AM before I begin my 'regular' work. I go to my c:\rh folder in Windows Explorer, select the folder, right-click and choose Send To > Compressed folder.
If there's any relevant notes I think would be helpful, I add that to the name of the file. For example, today, when I went to create a .zip file of my entire c:\rh folder, the .zip file wouldn't create because my c:\ drive is filling up. In order to create a .zip of my main project, I deleted the !SSL! folder. Today's backup .zip file is named: 2017_08_25_C_RH_DRM+NO_SSL_Folder_AM_0850.zip
I am glad Peter shared this tip as it's my insurance policy "just in case" something out of the ordinary happens.
Paul
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Hi all, thanks so much for all the helpful responses! I created a zipped file in 7z format and backed it up to my local drive as well as the network. But it appears I lost my project and will have to start again from scratch When I opened up RoboHelp, TWO versions appears but were both removed from the list.
I must have done something wrong. Rick and Peter, I will try using both of your methods instead of the way I did it. Is there a way I can retrieve my project before backing it up?
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What did you do that would cause you to lose the project?!?! All you needed to do was zip it up & name the zipped copy...
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I've not done the zip thing in a while. But I do recall that when zipping, one had an option to remove all the files that were packed into the zip. Effectively leaving an empty folder with nothing but a zip inside. Perhaps that's what has happened here?
Kinda why I'm a fan of the copy/paste way.
Cheers... Rick
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Paul's right-click - Send To Zip is the simplest IMHO...
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I'm not sure but if I'm unable to retrieve the files, then I plan on re-uploading them.
The Word documents (topics) I'd previously imported into the folders aren't showing up in the RoboHelp Project Manager when that project is open.
So I just clicked on the first empty folder in the Project Manager, clicked the Document Import button, selected Word Document from the drop-down menu, and navigated to where the Word doc is saved on our network.
Then this message came up:
So if this file already exists in RoboHelp, why isn't it showing up in the Project Manager and how can I fix that?
(The Treatment_Plan folder above appears empty.)
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The files (Word docs) are still saved on the network. They just don't show up in the RoboHelp Project Manager although I had previously imported them and they were showing up before.
I figured hitting "Save All" would save everything in my RoboHelp project so I'm still not sure what happened.
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Try this - close RH; find the project's .cpd file in Windows File Explorer, rename or delete it; start RH project back up again.
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Personally, I'm not sure clearing the CPD will help. But it won't hurt to try.
Again, in case a video helps you figure out how to clobber the CPD...
Cheers... Rick
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Also, there's a tricksy bug I've been reporting for nigh on a decade in multiple bug tracking systems which may be affecting you. (unlikely given the number of files that seem to be missing, but won't hurt to try the temporary "fix")
Sometimes, deleting the cpd "loses" files in project manager. My current projects lose the css files, for example, but a previous workplace "lost" a couple of random htm files.
Now, these files are "lost" only because they don't display in Project Manager but they are still in the correct folders in the project.
What you need to do is create a new folder. Anywhere in the structure and call it anything you want. Once Robohelp finishes thinking (can take some time for large projects), check if the missing files have redisplayed. You can then delete the temporary folder. As near as I can tell, creating the folder forces Robohelp to refresh its database in some way that that recreating the cpd doesn't. If this is affecting you, you will need to repeat the new folder trick each time you delete the cpd.
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I notice your second image in Post 9 shows HTML Files. Try toggling the first icon above so the text reads Project Files. Do the missing files then appear?
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring information
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Good idea! That was the simplest fix so I tried but it didn't work.
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Can we step back a bit?
You had a project, you zipped it and it disappeared. Correct?
So I guess then you extracted the zip and found certain files missing. Correct?
You didn't try to run the project from within the zip did you? That will not work.
Have you tried extracting the zip afresh?
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring information
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Hi Peter,
I don't think the loss of data in RoboHelp is related to me zipping the file. I never actually unzipped it and I still have the project folder, which I believe is perfectly intact, saved on my local drive. So I must have copied the project before zipping it.
Even before I lost the data, this happened once before, and I didn't lose everything. I seem to have reverted back to a previous iteration. So I tried importing the project again, which meant overwriting the files that were evidently already in RoboHelp. Still, I can only see the previous iteration in the Project Manager.
So it seem that either: