HH_HELP_CONTEXT called without a [MAP] section

Hello again

I'm pleased to be helpful.

Kronio69 wrote: 1.  Yes, the message only surfaces when I click the Help button from our associated application.  When I just double-click the .chm, it works perfectly, no message.  However, when my developer does it from his machine, he doesn't have this problem at all.  He's tried it elsewhere, and he can't replicate it.

Sorry, but if it creates an issue only when your developer's application calls for the CHM, there's an issue with the manner in which they are specifying the linkage. I really wish I could help more with this, but I'm not a developer. I do know enough to know that they can specify many things when they call the CHM file. They can specify that the TOC tab be the active tab, or the Index tab. They can issue the call in a manner where they are supplying a contxt ID and in that case the CHM would have a Map ID file that you or the developer have created and agreed upon.

Kronio69 wrote: 2.  The developer has been very... hands-off about this project, and is not happy about being involved; therefore, he has NOT coded much regarding the function that is calling the help.  He has no idea how RoboHelp works (do I!?!?) and has not specified that it should be looking for a Map ID.  It's all my doing via the program; however, I did NOT specify any Map ID's either, so I don't know what's going on here.

Unfortunately we hear about developers that have this attitude from time to time. My guess is that he feels the help is unnecessary. After all, his application should be so intuitive that it NEVER needs help. So he is likely viewing the help system as a necessary evil he must put up with. Not to worry, his job isn't to know how to create help files using RoboHelp. That's your role. All he needs to know is how to properly issue a call from whatever application he uses to code in (C+, C++, C#, Visual Studio, Delphi, etc.) to properly open a CHM file. You likely won't win any points by suggesting that this falls squarely in his lap, but perhaps it will be helpful if you explain that the application simply needs to open the help. Maybe even suggest that he ask his peers how they open a CHM from within their development environments.

I googled the error message and found this link. Perhaps share with your developer and see what they think.

http://www.codeguru.com/cpp/w-p/help/html/article.php/c6513/

Kronio69 wrote: 3.  Therefore, is there a way to turn Map ID's OFF via the RoboHelp program?  We are not using CSH at this time (later on, we plan to).

Well, that's just it. Map IDs are *OFF* by default. Actually, you don't really turn them off or on. What happens is that you create a file that stores the Map ID relationship. Then, if the application calls the help where it is supplying a Map ID, a lookup is performed by the help engine to try and open the topic assigned to the ID.

Kronio69 wrote: 4.  Do you recommend that I keep my whole project on the network drive, or should I just use it to back it up there, and work from my local drive instead?

With RoboHelp HTML, your best approach is to never Never NEVER have your project stored on a network drive and work on it while it is there. Best practice is to always, Always, ALWAYS keep the project on your local C drive. Copy it to the network for backup purposes. That's fine. You just never want to open RoboHelp, then click File > Open > Project and navigate to a network location to open and make changes.

When I facilitate a RoboHelp class I explain it this way. Think of your RoboHelp project as you would think about a carton of eggs. Consider the fridge to be like your local C drive. When you wanna cook eggs, you open the door and get the eggs out. No problem. Consider the fact that if you want, there is nothing stopping you from taking the carton of eggs out to a busy intersection and placing them in the middle of it. What happens when you want to cook eggs? You have to dodge traffic darting back and forth and the eggs may become broken. That's the equivalent of placing the project on a network server and attempting to work on it.

Cheers... Rick