Files missing from Robohelp 2020 RHTM5 output

[Tarun5C71]

Hello,

We have a pretty large Robohelp project that we've recently upgraded to Rh2020.

This project in Rh2019 (.xpj), we had several files that we had "excluded from search". These files were not part of the TOC, nor were they linked from any of the normal "topic" files. We'd link to these files directly from the product UI. This was because we wanted these topics to be visible only to these special customers who have these very special features. This worked fine in Rh2019. When we generated the output in Rh2019, these files would make their way to the output folder automatically. These were not searchable, but were part of the output folder.

However, in Rh2020 this doesn't seem to work. The output folder completely ignores these files. They do not make their way into the output folder.

As part of our troubleshooting, we tried adding a link from one of the regular topic files to these hidden files, and then generated output. All the hidden files from this folder then made its way to the output folder. However, these files are now no longer "hidden" because it is linked from one of the public-facing topics.

Do we have a workaround for this? Looks like Rh2020 is forcing us to include all topics as part of the TOC, or link them from other topics. This overwrites the way we were using the "Exclude from Search" functionality.

Any help is appreciated.

[Peter Grainge]

You need to read this page. The Table of Contents (grainge.org)

In 2020 the TOC controls what goes into a build. Not in the TOC and not linked to, then the topic does not go into the build.

You need to add these topics to the TOC to get them into the build, then select the hide option. That way the topic gets into the build but does not show in the TOC.

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

[Chinny2520739077r0]

I have autogenerated the TOC in order to get all the topics into the build, but I do not want 99% of the topics to show up in the TOC. Is there way to hide multiple topics all at once instead of doing it one by one? Or a way to hide all topics then unhide only a handful of them to show up in the TOC? Thanks.

[Jeff_Coatsworth · Accepted solution]

Haven't heard of any quick way - can you select multiple topics (using the Control or Shift keys)? If so, you might be able to do some right-click action and toggle their status.

[Chinny2520739077r0]

Yes, it does work with Control or Shift to select multiple topics. Thanks!

[Tarun5C71 · Accepted solution]

Thanks a lot!! This seems to have solved our problem. We'll do a further round of testing to validate, but we seem to be on the right path!