External topic references (links)

[lenfrog33]

I upgraded to RoboHelp 8 and when I opened my old projects they were updraded to the new version. I now see a list of external topic references in some of my projects. These are listed in the URLs folder. I don't know how this is possible because all the links in the projects are lined to topics inside the project. How did they become external links? And, how can I fix them? Thanks

[Peter Grainge]

Wild guess here. Have the links become absolute path links? Are the target topics showing in Project Manager folders as still being there?

[lenfrog33]

They are not assolute path links because when I test them they work. They are just displayed in the URLs folder in Project Manager.

[RoboColum_n_]

How can you be sure they are not absolute paths? Just because they work for you doesn't disprove this theory. Edit one of the links and tell us what the path is.

[lenfrog33]

The links look like this:
file:////Fs2/documentation/Loan Servicing/810/Help Files/LShelp/Chapter_6_Table_Descriptions/Loan_Servicing_Documents.htm

How do you edit it?

[Peter Grainge]

Right click the link in Design View and remove the hyperlink, then recreate it.

[lenfrog33]

I did that many times and that did not solve the problem.

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

Perhaps it would help isolate what is going on if you can provide a very detailed "step-by-step" of the exact process you are using to create the link.

Cheers... Rick

[lenfrog33]

Well, I create new pages in the Project folder. Then I manually create a TOC, where the project is divided into chapters. Under each chapter, I drag the pages from the project folder and put them in the order I want them to appear in the TOC. Most of these pages have links to each other, and sometimes to other links in other chapters. To create these links I block the text then drag the correct page to link to and drop it in the selected text. For example, if I am talking about Fees in chapter 14, but Fees are discussed in a page in chapter 5, I will highlight the work Fees then drag the Fees page from the project folder to create the link.

[Peter Grainge]

The path you quoted earlier looks like it is pointing to a server.

Where is your project located?

When you look within your project folder in Windows Explorer, this file is very definitely there and not somewhere else?

The file does show in Project Manager?

[lenfrog33]

The file is on our network.

When I look in the project folder it is there and also in the project manager folder.

[RoboColum_n_]

If the file is on the network, how can it be inside your project unless your project is also on a network. If it is, you are asking for trouble.

[lenfrog33]

Yes, i do all my work on the network then back them up on my personal drive. So are you saying not to work on the network?

[RoboColum_n_]

Indeed I am. By all means work locally and back up to a network drive but never the other way around. Part of each RH project is a CPD file which is effectively an MS Access DB. Access DBs are known to cause all sorts of problems when run over a network. You may have no problems for ages but then out of the blue they start.

[lenfrog33]

You are absolutely right. Thanks for clearing that up. I really had it dead wrong. I always worked on the network and never really had any problems until now 🙂 The thought behind that was that if the system crashed the files could be recovered over the network but not on my local drive.

So with all that said, I have now copied all my files to my local drive and will from now on work from there. How do I get rid of the external URLs so when the file is published it does not go looking for external links that are not there.

[RoboColum_n_]

You'll have to revisit all those links and link them to the topics inside your project. If the link is something like "folder/topic.htm" you'll have no problems.

[lenfrog33]

OK, thanks.