Illegal character error on good filename

[Guest]

I created a new RoboHelp project and tried to insert a graphic named Timeline.jpg. I got the following error:

Unable to rename file, "Timeline.jpg".

The filename contains illegal characters.

I tried inserting a graphic that I had used in a previous RoboHelp project and got the same error. Then I opened a previous RoboHelp project and was able to successfully insert the Timeline.jpg graphic into that project.

I'm on Windows XP and RoboHelp 8. I would really like to avoid having to re-install RoboHelp, but I'm not sure where to look to troubleshoot this error message. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Johnt555]

No, but I will.

Thank you, again.

John

[Johnt555]

The problem remains.  I get the "Unable to rename"because of "illegal characters."  I get this even though I'm not trying to rename anything, just inserting a new, properly-named image from the same folder I was previously able to insert images from the day before.

I've gone back and traced the entire folder path and file names...no spaces or illegal characters.  I've also checked to make sure I have access to the image folders.

The reason I think it might be a bug is that this began to happen after I downloaded the update.  I've been able to continue by saving the images to Robo's "Gallery" folder.  From there, no problem.

I now have 8.0.2.208

[Johnt555]

I found the answer I was looking for here:

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/433500

Plus, I removed RB7.

THANKS for everyone's help.

[RoyceSA1]

Hey John. Glad to see you solved it. However, the link to the thread you mention is *this* thread? Was this what you meant to do? What specifically was the magic solution? Also, can you tell if removing RoboHelp 7 affected the solution, or was it coincidental?

[Johnt555]

Sorry that I wasn't more specific in reporting my solution.

I cannot say that the deletion RB7 helped because I had done that before making my other changes.  Another website that I had visited suggested that Robo sometimes has a problem when a previous version still exists, so I can't say that removing it solved the problem.

Previously, all the project files were in a folder on my desktop, several layers deep.  BeforeI upgraded to v.208 I did not have a problem inserting images and I never got the "illegal character name" or "cannot rename" errors.  AfterI upgraded the problems began.  BTW, I had checked the file path back to the image locations to make sure there were no spaces, illegal file names, etc.  So I knew the errors were bogus.

After the upgrade I also noticed that all of the images I had previously inserted remained viewable in Preview Topic, but ALL of the images disappeared when I looked at the project after compilation.  At that time I was able to insert new images by saving them to the Gallery folder of RB8.  Perhaps I may have been able to insert them from another, nearby folder...I don't know.

AfterI deleted RB7 I figured, heck, why not make everything clean and simple and copy the whole project from the desktop folder to a new folder in the root of "C."  When I re-opened the project everything was okay - back to normal.

If I can suggest anything from my experience it would be that clean, simple directory structures are what RB-8.208 likes most and if you get too far away from RB's project folders you may get similar errors.

Hope this helps, and thanks again for your assistance!

John

[Rob_in_Cleveland]

PROBABLE SOLUTION:

I don't know if this is your issue, but I had this same problem and this was the solution for me. RoboHelp hates special characters. If anywhere in the file path of the image or the project -- from C:\ on out -- there is an apostrophe or an ampersand or any special character in a folder name, the image import will crap out even if there are no special characters in the image name itself. I had to change a folder name in my directory tree and the import worked immediately. Good luck.

[Ms_Lee_Anne_Ward]

I took the spaces out of the directory name, and was able to place the previously-unplaceable graphic! What weird, demented developer at Adobe was responsible for this bizarre requirement?

Lee Anne

[Peter Grainge]

In Tools > Options do you have the Use Underscore in File Names field ticked or cleared?

You haven't told us what "previously-unplaceable graphic" you are referring to. This seems to be your first post in this thread so we have no idea what problem you are referring to. What were you trying to do that gave you a problem with a space in the folder name?

What version of RoboHelp are you using?

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Ms_Lee_Anne_Ward]

Peter,

Use Underscore is checked. The issue was a space in the folder name. Once the space was removed, the problem was solved.

The previously-unplaceable graphic was any of a number of simple .png files. No special characters or spaces in the names of the files.

“This seems to be your first post in this thread so we have no idea what problem you are referring to.” Strange, as I was replying to a response in a thread that specifically dealt with not being able to place graphics (this one), but getting an error indicating illegal characters in the file name. On my screen, my reply is clearly shown as the last reply in that thread.

The problem was seen with RoboHelp 9.02.271.

Lee Anne Ward, PMP, BSLS, BSME

Technical Writer

[Peter Grainge]

Yes I could have been clearer, still jet lagged. What I meant was I was not clear exactly what steps YOU were following, there are many posts in this thread.

Not sure quite why this problem arises, as you can see it is a while since this thread was started and I know since then there have not been other reports.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Ms_Lee_Anne_Ward]

I understand about the jet lag, although I’ve not had to deal with it for many years.

Apparently, the problem still occurs. It may be that, since the reply before mine, there was a known and posted solution, there hasn’t been a need for reports. I was basically just confirming that the solution that was proposed does work for me.

Oh, how I miss the days when Blue Sky did RoboHelp. It was so easy to use, back then. That was 1998!

Lee Anne Ward, PMP, BSLS, BSME

Technical Writer

Doble Engineering

www.Doble.com<http://www.doble.com/>

617-926-4900

[Gigenny123]

Hi Peter,

Although this is my first post, I have been using Robohelp for many many years.   I experienced the same issue as what has been discussed in this thread since 2009.  The illegal characters (e.g. apostrophe) that my co-worker inserted in his directory structure for the French project made it impossible to insert any graphics (we were getting the same error as described by others).  This series of posts gave me the information I needed to troubleshoot the issue.

After removing the apostrophes from the top level folder of the directory structure (a very simple 2 minute fix), the images could once again be inserted without any issues.  We are using Robohelp v  9.0.1.262

I am wondering if this issue has ever been reported to the Adobe Robohelp techies and if they will ever fix it?

Thanks for everyone who's ever posted.  It took me approx. 45 mins from beginning to end to troubleshoot this issue because of this knowledge base/forum.

Genevieve Richer

Consultant

Ottawa, Ontario

[Peter Grainge]

If in doubt about whether a job has been done, do it yourself.

The more people who report a bug or request a feature, the more likely it is to be actioned. Please follow this link.

http://www.Adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform&product=38

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge