Linking FrameMaker documents using relative file paths

Report · Sep 24, 2009

Does anyone know if it's possible to link FrameMaker documents into RoboHelp projects using relative file paths? Right now, the documents are linked with absolute file paths, which causes problems when the documents are opened on other computers.

I tried modifying the RHFrameDocs.apj file, substituting the absolute file paths for relative paths. (I backed up the original file before editing it.) But when the project is updated, so is this file, and the relative paths are all replaced with the absolute paths.

We use Visual SourceSafe to store the files, and we edit the files on our local computers. Each user may store the files in different locations, but the file structure is the same for all users.

Does anyone have any other hints?

I'm using Technical Communication Suite 2.

Thanks,

- Maura

Report · Sep 25, 2009

My understanding of this functionality makes what you want to do untenable. If you link to a file, it has to be in the same location if any updates are to be applied to the RH project. If you have different authors checking FM files out of VSS and storing them in different locations any updates they apply can't be updated inside the project. Shooting from the hip maybe you could link to the FM file in VSS if you know the path?

Read the RoboColum(n).